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"Do Feds Secretly Control The States' Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)?
Who controls state-to-state requests for disaster assistance, the states or the federal government?
by Lynn Landes

9/28/05
Most people would say the states, of course. But, that might not be the case. The federal government may secretly control state-to-state assistance requests through a little-known entity called, the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC).

In the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, which included communications and logistics failures across the board, and with similar problems after Hurricane Rita (voiced today in Congress by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX)), EMAC has largely escaped public scrutiny.

EMAC is touted by federal officials as central to national disaster relief efforts. In fact, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) strongly urges that all state-to-state requests for disaster assistance, including requests for National Guard units, be processed through EMAC, particularly if the states want reimbursement of costs from FEMA.

For such an important organization as EMAC, Congressional investigators should ask why the Department of Homeland Security's 'National Response Plan' (NRP) doesn't even mention EMAC.


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What is EMAC and who controls it? Originally, it was founded in 1993 by the Southern Governor's Association and funded by member states. Its mission was to improve the coordination of disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Andrew. Today, it is a 'congressionally ratified' organization based in Lexington, Kentucky. Every state except Hawaii has joined it. "