Norton Resolution Honoring Haiti Rescue Teams to be Introduced at 2pm Hearing on Lessons for Home

Norton Resolution Honoring Haiti Rescue Teams to be Introduced at 2 P.M. Hearing on Lessons for Home

February 3, 2010

Washington, DC - At a 2 p.m. hearing today, "FEMA's Urban Search and Rescue Program in Haiti: How to Apply Lessons Learned at Home," Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2167, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) will introduce a resolution in appreciation of search and rescue workers in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) National Urban Search and Rescue System for their determination and work as first responders to victims of disasters, including the recent earthquake in Haiti.

FEMA Search and Rescue Task Forces, comprised of individuals from Fairfax, VA, Virginia Beach, VA, Miami-Dade, FL, Miami, FL, Los Angeles County, CA, and New York, NY, are multifaceted and cross-trained in six major functional areas of search, rescue, medical, hazardous materials, logistics, and planning. The FEMA teams rescued at least 47 individuals from the rubble in Haiti. The Congresswoman said that the FEMA urban rescue teams' experience in the Haiti earthquake rescue can shed light on disaster mitigation, as well as on rescue and recovery, here.

Norton chairs the subcommittee holding the hearing. Her opening statement is below.

The hearing will be webcast live at: https://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx.