Remarks by Daniel Sutherland,
Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties,
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Contact (202) 282-8010
April 15, 2005

WASHINGTON – Thank you. We welcome this report by NCD because it highlights an issue that is very important and very timely. President Bush and a number of federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, have recognized that integrating the special needs and talents of people with disabilities in the emergency preparedness effort must be a national priority.

We have made tremendous progress in translating this commitment into reality. There is, of course, a great deal of ground that still must be covered. Given the new levels of coordination on, and commitment to, this issue, we can be very optimistic about significant new advances in the future.

On July 22, 2004, President Bush signed an Executive Order to expand on his New Freedom Initiative, a series of policies designed to advance the interests of people with disabilities, by directing the federal government to address the safety and security needs of people with disabilities.

President Bush directed that it shall be the policy of the United States government that the unique needs of individuals with disabilities must be considered in the emergency preparedness and planning process across the country.

In the Executive Order, the President also created an “Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and People with Disabilities.” The Council is chaired by DHS, and includes senior officials from all of the major government agencies. President Bush’s decision to establish this Council will significantly enhance the federal government’s efforts to ensure that all Americans, including those with disabilities, are prepared and secure. This Council is working to:

• Coordinate the work being done currently by a variety of federal agencies, state and local governments and private organizations;

• Identify gaps in the current work that is being done; and

• Stimulate work at the federal, state and local levels, and in the private sector, to address and resolve issues.

The Council will have significant influence on this issue both in the long-term and in the short-term.

The Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities has met three times formally, and many times in working group meetings. We have divided into eight subcommittees, each tackling a major issue of concern. For example, the Department of Transportation is leading work on transportation issues in emergencies; the Department of Labor is leading work on evacuation in the workplace; and the FCC is leading a group on emergency communications issues.

I have about 15 examples of efforts taken by a variety of agencies in this arena, but I’ll just give you a few examples:

• Citizen Corps has established a National Citizen Corps Council subcommittee on emergency preparedness for people with disabilities and special needs. This subcommittee will be a key component of the Interagency Coordinating Council’s efforts to reach out to communities across the country on these issues. The subcommittee has representatives from a number of national disability consumer organizations, and has met formally three times.

• The leaders of the National Capital Region, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the National Organization on Disability, hosted a major conference on emergency preparedness for people with disabilities.  The conference took place from September 22-24, 2004. Secretary Ridge, Secretary Mineta, and Under Secretary Michael Brown, the Director of FEMA, were keynote speakers. Over 400 people attended the conference, with 200 more people who wanted to attend turned away because of space limitations. The audience was approximately one-half from the disability community and one-half from first responders; it was approximately half from the National Capital Region and half from outside the beltway.

• The Office for State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness, as part of its Fiscal Year 2004 Competitive Training Grants Program, sought applications addressing training gaps related to prevention and preparedness.  One of the issue areas specified included assistance for special needs populations.  As a result, a $1.4 million award was given to a consortium of organizations that work with the deaf community. The consortium is lead by Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc., and includes partner organizations in four states across the country.

• FEMA has prepared a number of technical assistance materials on emergency preparedness for people with disabilities, and is committed to publishing new guidance and assistance materials in the upcoming months.

• Ready.Gov, the Department of Homeland Security’s citizen preparedness web site, includes new and updated information to help people with disabilities prepare for and respond to emergencies of all kinds.  The Council’s work will lead to the inclusion of more comprehensive guidance for people with disabilities.

• Our recent terrorism preparedness exercise, TOP OFF 3, hosted observers from disability consumer organizations. An important part of our analysis and review of the exercise will be to incorporate the observations of these groups into better policy for people with disabilities during incident response.

The Council is responsible for providing the President with a progress report on our work by July of this year. Before that time, we anticipate a number of major advancements on these issues, including in the areas of communications; evacuation procedures; new literature on the subject; and transportation developments.

One of the key elements in our work will be the following theme: People with disabilities will not be, have not been, passive consumers in this process. They have so much to offer all Americans because they and their families have thought a great deal about how to overcome vulnerabilities in times of crisis, and they bring innovation and determination to solving problems. By addressing this specific population’s needs, the entire emergency preparedness effort will be significantly improved.

I think that this Executive Order will be one of the most significant developments in the area of disability policy in many years. Since 9/11, the disability community, like many in America, has been very focused on preparing for emergencies. This Council will be a major step to ensure that the current work being done across the country is coordinated and new work to address chronic problems in this area is stimulated.

When a group of us were in the Oval Office signing the Executive Order, the President directed our attention to a painting on his wall. The painting was of a small band of cavalry soldiers, walking and riding through the forest at the end of a long day. They looked tired and wet and cold, but they were still moving forward. He told us that the painting’s title is, “A Charge to Keep,” which comes from an old Methodist Hymn.

He told us that the soldiers had a charge to keep, and even though they were beaten down they were pressing on to complete their mission. President Bush then said to us, “I have just signed this Executive Order, and now you all have a charge to keep. This is important work and I am trusting that you will see it through.”