The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Plan for Revitalizing U.S. Civil Defense: A Review of Three Major Plan Components.

Abstract

In 1980, the Congress amended the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950, stating that civil defense should be improved. To address this need, the Federal Emergency Management Agency in 1982 proposed a 7-year plan for revitalizing the National Civil Defense Program. The Subcommittee requested GAO to review three components of FEMA's 7-year plan: Nuclear Attack Civil Preparedness, Radiological Defense, and Direction and Control. GAO found that while FEMA has made some program improvements, civil defense generally continues to be characterized by inadequate funding and little interest at all levels of government. Also, some important civil defense systems comprising the components of FEMA's 7-year plan have numerous operational deficiencies. It is unclear whether state and local participation in nuclear attack related civil defense will be adequate to make FEMA's 7-year plan effective. This report discusses the status of the selected components of the 7-year plan, recommends actions for improvement, and presents issues for the Sub-committee's consideration.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 16, 1984
Accession Number
ADA142546

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accidents
  • Business Administration
  • Civil Defense
  • Control Systems
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Disasters
  • Emergency Response
  • Employment
  • Industrial Equipment
  • Local Governments
  • Management Personnel
  • Mass Production
  • Medical Personnel
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • United States
  • Warning Systems

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Emergency Management and Homeland Security.