By Gabrielle Lewis
The Frederick News-Post
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. April McClain Delaney and over 60 other members of Congress did not receive an answer from the federal government to a letter demanding more details by Wednesday on why the Trump administration canceled trainings at the National Fire Academy and Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg.
Several senators, including Maryland Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, and over 50 Congressional representatives signed a letter dated March 14 to Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, and Cameron Hamilton, the acting FEMA administrator.
They requested a response from Noem and Hamilton by Wednesday. Sasha Galbreath, a spokesperson for McClain Delaney, said Thursday morning that no response came back other than a confirmation of receipt.
McClain Delaney said in a statement Thursday that she “is disappointed in FEMA’s lack of urgency to reinstate training to secure our communities’ public safety and support our first responders.”
The DHS and FEMA did not respond to requests for comment Thursday afternoon.
On March 7, FEMA announced it was canceling all in-person first responder training courses for the National Fire Academy and the Emergency Management Institute, which are on the same campus.
An email sent out to National Fire Academy instructors the day courses were canceled said that “FEMA is currently in the process of evaluating agency programs and spending to ensure alignment with Administration priorities.”
On March 11, in response to questions from The Frederick News-Post about cancellations at the National Fire Academy, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said: “The bottom line is we are no longer paying for non-employee travel. We are only authorizing travel for mission-critical programs, this isn’t one.”
The National Fire Academy opened in 1974 and offers free specialized courses and advanced management programs to thousands of people across the country. It offered classes on its campus in Frederick County, as well as off-campus locations across the U.S. and online.
The Emergency Management Institute offers training for thousands of local, state and federal emergency response professionals annually. It began as the Civil Defense Staff College in Olney in 1951.
The letter includes several questions about the cancellations asking:
- What criteria were used to determine the classes should be canceled
- What FEMA’s reasoning was to justify canceling the courses to review the programs
- How long FEMA’s review process will take and what criteria will be used to conduct the review
- If local fire departments and students would be reimbursed for lost expenses related to the canceled courses
- If a March 6 order from a Rhode Island federal judge that prohibits a federal spending freeze will impact the choice to cancel the classes
“We call on the Administration to reverse course and reinstate these critical classes for first responders,” the letter said.
The legislators’ letter said this decision to cancel the courses “undermines first responder public safety and potentially poses an equal threat to public safety.”
“Without the services of the NFA and EMI, local departments will lose access to key tools and knowledge necessary to effectively respond to emergencies of all kinds and efficiently manage their agencies,” the letter said.
“Course offerings at the NFA and EMI are unique, supplementing, rather than duplicating, state-led certification and professional development programs.”
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