Senators slam FEMA for poor IT

{mosads}”Given the importance of FEMA’s mission and the integral role that IT systems play in helping to fulfill that mission, it is essential that FEMA properly manage its IT investments,” the senators wrote.

The letter followed a report from the Homeland Security Department’s (DHS) Office of Inspector General that faulted FEMA for not doing enough to improve its technology.     

The report found that the decentralized and uncoordinated nature of FEMA’s IT systems leads to inaccurate information in the agency’s databases and requires staffers to duplicate work.

“It is critical that FEMA evaluate and account for all of its IT systems so that it may prioritize where improvements are most needed,” the senators wrote. 

They called on DHS Secretary Napolitano to prioritize upgrading FEMA’s IT systems and requested she respond to a series of questions about how her department planned to fix the problems.

“Under our current leadership, FEMA has undertaken significant modernization projects to improve information technology infrastructure, services and systems that support disaster response activities,” Rachel Racusen, a FEMA spokeswoman, said. “We recognize that there is still much work to be done and that is why we are constantly working to enhance and improve our systems and processes.”

This post was updated at 3:54 p.m. to include a response from FEMA.

This post was updated at 6:17 p.m. to correctly identify the party affiliation of Sen. Joe Lieberman.  He is an independent.