Conference Examines Private Sector Role

Small businesses have an important role to play in emergency planning and response, according to practitioners in emergency and disaster management; scholars; and a number of federal, state, and local officials who gathered in Washington, DC, in February for a conference co-sponsored by the U.S. Chamber and hosted by American Military University (AMU).

The conference, Homeland Security: The Ripple Effect, focused on the needs of outlying and smaller communities after a disaster. A number of speakers, including Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director R. David Paulison, addressed the need for public-private partnerships. Private industry controls much of the nation's infrastructure-communications, energy, and transportation-and therefore must cooperate with public officials in emergency planning and response, Paulison told the audience.

Other speakers said that for greater cooperation to occur, there first must be a greater level of trust between government and business. "There is a reluctance of business to share information because of possible media and public access to confidential data," said Patrick McCrory, mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina, and a member of President Bush's Homeland Security Advisory Council. He advised "rules of engagement" and confidentiality agreements to address these concerns.

Andrew Howell, former Chamber vice president of homeland security policy, said that businesses of all sizes must be part of local and regional emergency planning-not just response-especially in terms of pandemics. For more information go to www.apus.edu/disaster or www.uschamber.com/goto/disasterplan.