Confirmation hearings for David Paulison as Under Secretary of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will commence 9:30 a.m. on May 24, according to a FEMA spokesperson.
Paulison was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve as Under Secretary of Federal Emergency Management and Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in April 2006.
His nomination will be under heightened scrutiny after the Homeland Security Committee that encompasses FEMA issued a bipartisan report claiming the agency should be abolished.
"FEMA is in shambles and beyond repair," Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine and the committee's chairwoman, said at the time.
In its place, the committee proposed a new National Preparedness and Response Authority (NPRA) in the Homeland Security Department with a leader who directly answers to the department secretary. The suggestion was rebuffed by the Bush administration, the House, and the Department of Homeland Security itself.
Paulison has served as Acting Director of FEMA since his appointment in September 2005. Previously, he acted as Administrator for the U.S. Fire Administration since 2001, and as the Director of the Preparedness Division of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate/FEMA from 2003-2004.
Before being appointed to FEMA, Paulison spent 30 years as a Florida firefighter, climbing the ranks to chief of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department.