FEMA, ICE nominees pledge to focus on agency performance (4/22/09) — www.GovernmentExecutive.com
Key members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee endorsed President Obama’s choices to lead the Homeland Security Department’s Federal Emergency Management Agency and Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau at a wide-ranging confirmation hearing on Wednesday aimed at exploring the candidates’ views on several contentious issues.
In expressing support for Craig Fugate and John Morton, tapped to lead FEMA and ICE, respectively, senators praised their long experience and qualifications for the posts. Fugate, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, has more than two decades of experience responding to major disasters at the state and local levels. Morton is a career federal prosecutor who began as a trial attorney for the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service.
