Ney to Convene Regional Emergency Management Summits in Ohio Next Week

Ney to Convene Regional Emergency Management Summits in Ohio Next Week
10/06/05

WASHINGTON D.C. - U.S. Rep. Bob Ney (OH-18) announced today that he will convene two regional emergency management summits in Ohio on Friday, October 14th to review the many important issues that have been raised about federal emergency relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The goal of the summits will be to discuss possible reforms at the federal level, particularly to FEMA, that are already being considered by some in Washington in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and how any future reforms could affect state and local emergency plans.

The first summit will convene from 9:00 to 11:00 AM at Belmont Technical College's Red Room located at 120 Fox-Shannon Place, St. Clairsville, Ohio. The second summit will convene from 2:00 to 4:00 PM at The Inn at Hocking College, 15770 SR 691, Nelsonville, Ohio. Invitations have been extended to officials at all levels of government, including officeholders from areas in and around the 18th Congressional District, and particularly those involved with emergency management issues, such as County EMA Directors, first responders, and representatives from non-profit aid groups.

"As I said last month, I believe it will be of great benefit to bring together all those involved with emergency response efforts in our region to share their thoughts and ideas for not only responding to future problems that we might face here in Ohio, but to ensure that any future changes made to FEMA and other related federal programs, do not adversely impact the plans that they have in place already on the state and local levels," Congressman Ney said today. "I believe that as we continue to make progress in the recovery operations in Louisiana and Mississippi, attention will turn in the Congress to looking at what went right and what went wrong. In doing so, I want to be sure that the Congress has first heard from those officials at the local level, such as those in and around the 18th District, to ensure that whatever is done, is done the right way."

"Those on the front lines need to hear from each other and those in Washington need to hear from those on the front lines. That will be the focus of next week's meetings and I look forward to an important dialogue on October 14th," Ney concluded.

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