Their actions
demonstrate that they have actually weakened the Federal role in disaster
preparedness by cutting Emergency Management Grants by nearly $15 million and
narrowly focusing most of the Department 's resources on terrorism related
issues.
* Give emergency responders the tools they need and set up funds for
public employees and relief volunteers.

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Approximately one-third of Angel Flight America's 6,200 pilots are already
certified as first responders in the HSEATS program .

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Angel Flight America (http://www. No actual planes will be flown during the exercise. "The trouble was, we had nothing
planned.
* Provide health coverage to every evacuee by enrolling every evacuee in
Medicaid, and don't cut this vital program.

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In a national emergency
they have the advantage of being able to use smaller airports for take-off and
landing, unlike the larger commercial planes, which rely on major airports
that could be closed in the event of a major national catastrophe. Two
international partners, the United Kingdom and Canada, will also be conducting
simultaneous exercises. In New London, Connecticut,
a chemical incident will occur, and in Union and Middlesex Counties, New
Jersey, a biological attack. After 9/11 these highly
valuable workers got a lot of lip service but not enough action.

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Calls will be relayed from
AFA's National Communications Center to the other Angel Flight regions
including Angel Flight Southeast (AFSE) outside of Orlando, Angel Flight
Northeast (AFNE) outside of Boston, Angel Flight South Central (AFSC) in
Dallas, Angel Flight Central (AFC) in Kansas City, and Angel Flight West (AFW)
outside of Los Angeles.
Angel Flight America works with the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Southern
Baptist Disaster Relief and other national organizations active in disaster
aid. Unfortunately, Secretary Chertoff and the
Bush Administration recognize the Federal role in word alone. Guarantee prevailing wages for the men and
women rebuilding hurricane-torn areas.

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org -

Contacts:
For Angel Flight(R) Mid-Atlantic For Angel Flight(R) America
Steve Patterson, Executive VP Marcia Robbins
Virginia Beach, VA The Robbins Group
757 . We can't afford to make that mistake again."

AFSCME calls on Congress to promptly move ahead with a comprehensive
preparedness and relief plan:

* Immediately suspend tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans
and use the money to provide relief to evacuees and rebuild the Gulf
Coast.

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* Make the investments in infrastructure necessary to protect against
future disasters, such as a major earthquake in California or a
devastating hurricane in Florida.

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"Secretary Chertoff's proposal is just another example of placing a small
band aid on a gaping wound. The Secretary's recommendations do little to
address the larger problems caused by separating the preparedness and response
functions at the Department of Homeland Security.
McEntee added, "The President should announce he is reversing his proposed
Draconian cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, two of the very programs many of
the hurricane victims will need the most.

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Angel Flight(R) Mid-Atlantic Local Angel Flight(R) America Member to Play National Role in TOPOFF 3 Department of Homeland Security Exercise

Ed Boyer, Mercy Medical Airlift's chief executive and president,
anticipates that the TOPOFF 3 drill "will go well throughout the Angel Flight
organization.
Some of our missions included flying blood and medical supplies, emergency
response personnel, the dog booties to protect the paws of the Search and
Rescue dogs at Ground Zero, and many families of victims of the bombing
attacks who wanted to search for or be reunited with their loved ones in New
York and Washington. Thompson
(D-MS), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, issued the
following statement regarding Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's
plan to turn FEMA into a better "response" agency.
* Give immediate relief to states housing evacuees.

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org), a charitable volunteer
corps of 6,200 volunteer pilots nationwide who routinely use their own planes
to fly patients and their families to specialized medical facilities free of
charge, also has a homeland security program component known as HSEATS
(Homeland Security Emergency Air Transportation System). The
volunteer corps of Angel Flight pilots stand ready on a 24/7 basis to
transport small priority cargo, including blood supplies, and key emergency
personnel , such as physicians and rescue workers, to the disaster site. 1, 2003,
article in the Richmond Times -Dispatch. There sat this huge resource, and over here was this huge need and
there was no way to put that together.angelflightamerica. To focus only on some disasters only weakens the federal government 's
response."
According to McEntee, the government's response to Hurricane Katrina was a
disaster marked by poor decision making before, during and after the crisis. If we don't provide
some relief, these states will have to cut programs that serve the
people hit hardest by this tragedy .

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- http://www. 3

"The Department of Homeland Security has a record of presenting half-
truths and half-solutions, which do little more than grab the headlines .
"I challenge the President to announce a real disaster preparedness and
relief plan - not a cynical attempt to gut work salaries to reward Big
Business," said AFSCME President Gerald W. We
have staff working out of AFSCME Council 17's office in Baton Rouge and
the Harris County Central Labor Council.

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gov), to test for preparedness in the face of
a terrorist attack. Angel Flight America -- which will be prepared to provide
emergency transport in private planes during a national crisis -- will be
participating from the offices of Angel Flight Mid-Atlantic in Virginia Beach
during the national drill, which takes place on Monday, April 4 through
Friday, April 8 . 11 attacks, half of Angel Flight America's
pilots had called in to offer their help," Boyer said in a Sept. We have set up a toll free
number to reach them: 1-800-272-8368.

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No real weapons will be used but all parties
will respond as if to an actual crisis.
* Starting an "adopt a family" program under which our members would
agree to house or find and fund housing for an AFSCME family, help an
AFSCME member find a job or provide other basic necessities.

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United States participants will respond to simulated
terrorist attacks in Connecticut and New Jersey. But
the American people see through it and deserve better. Challenges Bush to Use Thursday's Presidential Address to Announce New
Priorities

WASHINGTON, On the eve of the President's address
to the nation about Hurricane Katrina, AFSCME challenged the Bush
Administration to abandon plans to give more tax cuts to the wealthy and
immediately implement a comprehensive plan that would both prepare for another
Katrina-like disaster and bolster relief efforts. "Hurricane Katrina showed
us what happens when tax cuts for the wealthy are made a priority over
critical infrastructure needs.

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Mercy Medical Airlift, which serves as the National Communications Center
for HSEATS, is conducting the pilot mobilization drill to test emergency
communications capability throughout the entire national Angel Flight America
organization.

AFSCME's relief efforts include:

* Putting $100,000 for Katrina relief into an established fund.

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" Expected outcomes are improved communication and collaboration, and
correction of deficiencies .angelflightamerica."
Within hours of the September 11th bombing attacks on New York and
Washington , hundreds of Angel Flight private pilots around the country
volunteered to fly relief missions when commercial flights were grounded. We are
also soliciting on-line donations from members across the nation via
our web site, http://www.

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According to
a Department of Homeland Security fact sheet, it is to be "the most
comprehensive terrorism response exercise ever conducted in the United
States. HSEATS was developed
through a three-year federal grant awarded to MMA in 2002 by the Corporation
for National and Community Service.9174 818.
The President should make suspending these tax cuts priority number one so we
can afford to pay for real relief .

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dhs.afscme.

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* FEMA must operate in accord with the emergency management "cycle" system
-- requiring the re-unification of preparedness, response, recovery, and
mitigation efforts .

AFSCME Urges Bush Administration and Congress to Reorder Misplaced Priorities

McEntee. For example , they've
suspended the Davis-Bacon Act for hurricane recovery efforts and have exempted
private contractors from developing affirmative action programs. These dedicated public service employees have been on the
front lines helping get their fellow citizens to safety, often while coping
with the personal losses they themselves have suffered.

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, Mercy Medical Airlift (MMA)
and Angel Flight(R) Mid-Atlantic (AFMA), two of the seven members of Angel
Flight(R)America (AFA), will participate in TOPOFF 3, a national Department of
Homeland Security drill (http://www.
"The only way to avoid the past failures of FEMA is to address three
fundamental problems, which Katrina brought so vividly to light:

* FEMA must be led by a director statutorily required to possess
experience in emergency management.
* Create a WPA-like jobs program for the nearly half a million workers
who have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina, putting evacuees to work
rebuilding the Gulf Coast.org.

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The Center's radio equipment is being tested by volunteers who
belong to the Virginia Beach Amateur Radio Club.
Boyer, who created the HSEATS program following the 9-11 disaster, says
the TOPOFF exercise is important because "it keeps the mind focused and
practiced in a way that will allow you to be effective when real disasters
occur.

Thompson Calls Chertoff's Proposals to Restructure FEMA a Band Aid Fix

This money will be used to help feed and
clothe hurricane victims.

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"
With the successful implementation of the HSEATS program and with the
anticipation of a successful completion of this week's drill, Boyer is
confident that thousands of Angel Flight America pilots will now be able to
participate in AFA's relief efforts when a natural or manmade disaster takes
place on our homeland."

But instead of trying to right their wrongs, the Bush Administration's
misplaced priorities are resulting in bad decisions now.


AFSCME has also developed a comprehensive relief effort to help our 3,000-
plus members in Louisiana, more than 800 of whom work in the hardest-hit city
of New Orleans.

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The pilots are enthusiastic and want to help.776.

* The organizational structure of the Department of Homeland Security must
reflect the vital connection between the FEMA director and the President
of the United States -- the director must report directly to the
president during all incidents of national significance.
* Deploying a team of union staff to provide support on the ground.

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VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.318. WASHINGTON, Today Congressman Bennie G.
"The ability of the federal government to effectively respond to an
emergency is directly tied to its efforts to prepare and enable first
responders to deal with a disaster. No new tax cuts should be considered.

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TOPOFF 3 (Top Officials 3) is the third in a series of congressionally
mandated exercises and will involve more than 10,000 participants representing
over 200 agencies and organizations, including volunteer groups.
Joining the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies in
the TOPOFF 3 drill are the States of Connecticut and New Jersey."
"Within hours of the Sept.

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