Craig Fugate inched closer to heading the Federal Emergency Management Agency after acing confirmation hearings before the Senate Homeland Security Committee Tuesday.
Fugate rode into the hearings on a swell of support from Florida lawmakers, as well as Louisiana Sen. Mary Landreiu, who said she was convinced Fugate was the “right person” for the job, according to the Times-Picayune. Once in, Fugate didn’t rest on his laurels but, by all accounts, wooed committee members with strong responses to questions about cyber security, improving agency morale, and whether FEMA should remain part of the Department of Homeland Security.
On that much-debated issue, Fugate is a “FEMA in” guy, saying he’d rather put emphasis on disaster response than bureaucratic restructuring, according to an article in the Federal Times.
“I believe that the next confirmed administrator of FEMA needs to be focused on the next disaster, and being focused on that means that debate, as far as I’m concerned, is over,” Fugate is quoted as telling the committee.
Fugate also told committee members that FEMA needed to beef up communication technologies so it would be more nimble when it came to issuing disaster warnings, according to the Times.
Fugate’s confirmation will now be decided by the full Senate. That decision could come next week.