From HSToday: GAO Warns DHS on Contractor Oversight Failings.   An excerpt:

The watchdog’s review of waived procurement actions also found that the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer at DHS waived several Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) actions for disaster response activities and CBP actions for services at temporary soft-sided facilities used for holding detainees on the U.S.-Mexico border. Previous GAO reviews have found challenges in requirements development and acquisition planning for these types of contracts.

For example, in April 2019, GAO reported that contracting officers at FEMA were receiving requirements packages for disaster contracts that lacked technical specificity or had inaccurate estimates of the products and services needed. And earlier this year, GAO reported on acquisition planning, requirements development, and information sharing challenges with one of the waived procurement actions—a CBP delivery order for a soft-sided facility and services to hold and care for detainees—finding that these challenges led to CBP spending millions of dollars on services that were not ultimately needed.

The GAO report is here: DHS Service Contracts: Increased Oversight Needed to Reduce the Risk Associated with Contractors Performing Certain Functions. GAO-20-417: Published: May 7, 2020.

From Grist: Forget the TP: Here’s what you really need to get through a disaster.
Note that is article quotes extensively from two authors in the emergency management field who experienced disasters first-hand. Susanna M. Hoffman is the co-author of the book reviewed on April 28th on this blog,

Here is a copy of the 17-page detailed guidelines prepared by the CDC but rejected by the Trump Administration.

Updates on May 8,  from CNN:

The CDC guidance contained detailed advice on safe reopening for child care programs, schools, religious communities, employers with vulnerable workers, restaurants, bars and mass transit systems.

But the White House rejected it as too stringent and too prescriptive, sources told CNN. The move was the latest instance in which Trump has ignored or downplayed CDC advice in his aggressive push to reopen the country, despite warnings from scientists that doing so could cost tens of thousands of lives. His dismissal of that guidance and White House efforts to lower the profile of his top medical advisers strengthen the impression that he has turned against a comprehensive response to the worst public health threat in 100 years.

COVID-19 Conversations Webinar Series: Toward the ‘New Normal’ Protecting Public Health as America Reopens. May 13, 2020 | 5 – 6:30 p.m. ET

From HuffPost: Kushner’s Inexperienced COVID-19 Volunteers Bungled Hunt For Medical Supplies: Reports. A whistleblower said in a complaint that a volunteer coronavirus force recruited by Jared Kushner was “falling short” and had “little to show” for their work.

Update on May 9th: This actions has been reviewed by a court and it may recommend reinstating Dr. Bright.

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While it is not the intent of this posting to take a political position on a current event, the Diva thinks it is worth sharing some observations of a recent author published here.

Readers may recall the recent review of an important new book from the National Academy of Sciences titled Exploring Lessons Learned from a Century of Outbreaks –  Readiness for 2030 : Proceedings of a Workshop (2019) , reviewed by Don Watson

Mr. Watson called to my attention the fact that in the review he had highlighted the work of Dr. Rick Bright, (now former) director of Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) for the extensive briefing on the impact of infectious disease outbreaks across the world. Bright reviews the essential elements of effective pandemic preparedness and response: early detection, vaccination, behavioral countermeasures, and gaps in host-based treatment in which early detection. Watson wrote in the review that, [Bright] “…makes the point familiar to emergency managers experienced in natural disasters that, ‘a vaccine intervention alone would only slightly—and insufficiently—shift the epidemic curve. The combined effects of multiple interventions are what effectively suppress the epidemic curve.’”

In Watson’s opinion “Every elected official, health planner and pandemic responder, should read the publication. The last sentence especially should resonate across county and world. “

FEMA Disaster Workforce: Actions Needed to Address Deployment and Staff Development Challenges ,  GAO-20-360, May 4

National Preparedness: Additional Actions Needed to Address Gaps in the Nation’s Emergency Management Capabilities . GAO-20-297, May 4

Updates:

On May 5th, the GAO WatchBlog posted this article:  Is FEMA Ready to Respond to Emergencies?  Even before COVID-19, a rising number of natural disasters has meant an increased reliance by state, local, and tribal entities on federal funding and resources.

May 6: From GovExec: FEMA Is Deploying Employees Ill-Prepared for Disaster Response, Report Finds. The agency is also dealing with severe shortfalls in its on-call and reservist workforce.