STATEMENTS OF WENDELL H. GILBERT, TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS, DEPUTY TO THE GOVERNOR FOR HOMELAND SECURITY; KENNETH BURRIS, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY; PHILIP THOMAS, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, MEMPHIS FIELD OFFICE, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION; JAYETTA Z. HECKER, DIRECTOR, PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES, U.S. GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE; STANLEY H. COPELAND, DIRECTOR, PLANNING AND TRAINING, TENNESSEE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY; ADJUTANT GENERAL JACKIE WOOD, TENNESSEE NATIONAL GUARD; AND ALLEN CRAIG, M.D, STATE EPIDEMIOLOGIST, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICABLE AND ENVIRONMENTAL DISEASE SERVICES

Mr. GILBERT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee. Mr. Chairman, I am a little bit intimidated here this morning because Congressman Bryant is my Congressman and he tends to tell stories about me, stories that are not true. Mr. Chairman, would you make sure that he exercises some restraint this morning? [Laugher.]

I am currently serving as deputy to Governor Sunquist

Mr. BRYANT. General Gilbert, could I just make sure that you understand you are under oath. Laughter.]

Mr. GILBERT. Thank you, Congressman, I had forgotten that. [Laughter.]

Mr. GILBERT. I currently serve as deputy to the Governor for Homeland Security and I am also commissioner of Veteran Affairs. Those of you in uniform know you usually have a job description in the Army that says other duties as assigned, and the Governor has exercised that particular clause in my job description, I guess. The Governor has also appointed a Council for Homeland Security, which is made up of those senior members of the State government who would have a part to play in this mission, and several of the council members are here today. The council has worked diligently to develop a supplemental budget for this year and also a budget for next year, items that we feel are essential to be plussed up. Our dilemma is that the State of Tennessee-it appears unless some new revenue is found, will be in the hole about $350 million in July and for the following year about $800 million.

Many of the departments who are involved in this mission in State_government have funding that we call over-appropriation. The Governor realizing that we were going to have a shortfall began to reduce State budgets several months ago. So some of the departments that are involved in this mission have an over-appropriation. For example, the Department of Health and Agriculture. And they have now been authorized by the Governor to spend some of that money on those vital projects relating to homeland security. There are several departments that do not have an over-appropriation, including mine and some that are represented here, the National Guard and TEMA does not have an over-appropriation. So that is the reason I have come forward to ask for a supplemental from the General Assembly and that is before them at this time. What we did in the Council for Homeland Security was to estab

for priority 1 items. Priority 1 items are those things we think are absolutely essential to this mission. We developed a priority 2 category in the event-and I pray that this will not occur, but if a threat got more serious, then we would already know what those other improvements are.

We are very encouraged by the President's 2003 budget. I recognize that there is a need to get funding down to our first-responders on the local level. We also hope that some of that funding can also come to State governments, because we recognize that we are not the only State in the Nation that has serious budget problems. I will tell you that Governor Sunquist is very much hands-on on this subject, and I have received very, very strong support from all the members of our council. They always respond, they always do what I ask and they always participate in a very meaningful way. I do recognize that one major problem that needs to be addressed is intelligence at the Federal level. I would urge the committee to do everything it can to enhance the intelligence capability of this great Nation, especially vertical intelligence, so that information is analyzed quickly and sent all the way down to where the rubber meets the road. That, I think, needs to be plussed up.

Mr. Chairman, you asked me to answer two specific questions. The first one is: What is the mechanism for disseminating information from your office to the local officials? Our Office of Homeland Security provides homeland security bulletins. We have already put out four of those. The bulletins contain a variety of information. Early on, we put out a bulletin that explained all about anthrax. A biological threat is something that is fearful. People are afraid of that, and we feel that if they know more about biological threats it will take some of the fear away. For example, anthrax is not contagious from one person to another.

Also, the Governor has hosted two-we are planning a third conference call with all county executives, all mayors, all police chiefs, all sheriffs and all emergency management personnel across the State. We found those to be particularly helpful. In fact, we are planning one this month and the Director of FEMA has agreed to participate in our conference call. Information of an emergency nature is immediately disseminated through law enforcement channels and through our emergency management agency TEMA.

The next question you asked me to answer, Mr. Chairman, was: Is there someone who has coordinated emergency management among Tennessee's VA medical facilities and local hospitals? The answer to that, Mr. Chairman, is yes. Coordination for hospital emergency management is done through several channels. During emergencies, the State Emergency Operation Center at TEMA coordinates all emergency management activities 24-hours a day through a collection of emergency service coordinators, which includes representation from the Tennessee Department of Health and VA hospital. The individual spearheading this planning efforts on a daily basis is Robert L. Ruth, Central District Manager, Emergency Management Strategic Healthcare Group and John D. Phillips, Jr., Management Assistant, Emergency Management Strategic Health Care Group, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA hospitals in Tennessee are a part of the VA National Medical Response Network.

I was also asked to comment about the planning. They are in the process of putting together a bioterrorism plan for the VA. It is a work in progress, but they are working diligently on that, Mr. Chairman.

I want to commend Governor Ridge for the regional conference calls that are now being conducted every other week. They are very helpful in obtaining information and allowing us to provide input. In summary, let me say that we are in desperate need of some Federal funding here in the State of Tennessee for our homeland security mission and we need funding in a variety of areas. We hope the Congress will approve the President's budget request for homeland security in a timely way.

We also urge the Congress to approve actions to enhance our intelligence capabilities. We must have timely and meaningful intelligence.

Thank you again, Mr. Chairman, so very much for focusing attention on this very, very vital subject for the future of America. Thank you, also, for coming to the great Volunteer State of Ten

nessee.

[The prepared statement of Mr. Gilbert follows:]

Testimony of

COMMISSIONER WENDELL H. GILBERT

TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

DEPUTY TO THE GOVERNOR FOR HOMELAND SECURITY

before the

COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM'S SUBCOMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY MARCH 1, 2002

I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TESTIFY THIS MORNING. I AM CURRENTLY SERVING AS DEPUTY TO GOVERNOR SUNDQUIST FOR HOMELAND SECURITY. IN THAT CAPACITY, I ALSO CHAIR THE COUNCIL ON HOMELAND SECURITY, WHICH HAS BEEN APPOINTED BY THE GOVERNOR. THE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL INCLUDE ALL THE SENIOR CABINET OFFICIALS THAT HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY IN THIS MISSION OF HOMELAND SECURITY. THE COUNCIL HAS WORKED DILIGENTLY TO DEVELOP A SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET REPORT FOR THIS YEAR AND ALSO A BUDGET INCREASE FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR. THE SUPPLEMENTAL AND 2003 BUDGET ARE CURRENTLY BEFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR APPROVAL. THE STATE BUDGET IS ESTIMATED TO BE AROUND $350 MILLION SHORT AT THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR. UNLESS NEW REVENUE IS FOUND, IT COULD BE AS MUCH AS $800 MILLION SHORT NEXT YEAR.

MANY OF THE DEPARTMENTS WHO ARE INVOLVED IN THIS MISSION HAVE OVER-APPROPRIATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN SET ASIDE BY THE GOVERNOR IN ANTICIPATION OF THE SHORTFALL THIS YEAR. THE GOVERNOR HAS AUTHORIZED THESE DEPARTMENTS TO MOVE

AHEAD WITH EXPENDITURES FOR HOMELAND SECURITY. THE SUPPLEMENTAL IS A REQUEST TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO FUND THE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS WHO DO NOT HAVE AN OVER-APPROPRIATION.

THE COUNCIL ESTABLISHED PRIORITY 1 FUNDING INCREASES ON THE BASIS THAT THESE WERE THE MINIMUM ESSENTIAL THINGS THAT NEEDED TO BE ENHANCED. WE ALSO HAVE ESTABLISHED A PRIORITY 2 CATEGORY THAT WAS DONE SO THAT IN THE EVENT THAT THE THREAT GETS MORE DIFFICULT WE WILL BE READY TO MOVE ON TO FURTHER ENHANCE OUR CAPABILITIES. WE ARE ASKING THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AT THIS TIME ONLY TO FUND PRIORITY 1.

WE ARE ENCOURAGED BY THE PROPOSAL BY THE PRESIDENT IN HIS 2003 BUDGET. WE RECOGNIZE THE NEED TO SEND FUNDING DIRECT TO FIRST RESPONDERS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. WE ALSO ARE HOPEFUL THAT SOME OF THOSE FUNDS WILL COME TO THE STATES BECAUSE IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT MANY STATES ARE HAVING BUDGET PROBLEMS.

I APPRECIATE THE SUPPORT THAT WE ARE RECEIVING FROM GOVERNOR RIDGE'S OFFICE, ALSO FOR THE EPA AND THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH. HERE IN TENNESSEE, WE HAVE