WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, in a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), U.S. Senator Angus King questioned an administration nominee on his willingness to follow the science in the face of increasingly occurring and violent weather events. In his questioning of Mr. Adam Telle to be Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, King asked about the importance of Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) in responding to natural disasters and how, if confirmed, he would lead the Army Corps of Engineers to work with FEMA.

Senator King began, “Does FEMA play an important role in disaster response in this country, particularly for major disasters that affect more than one state?

“Senator King, thank you for the question. And FEMA certainly has played a role in disaster response,” Telle responded. “The US Army Corps of Engineers under the National Response Framework, is of course, charged with leading on debris removal, and that relationship between our emergency managers and the Corps of Engineers is important as we respond to disasters like those that occurred recently, recently in North Carolina and Tennessee and surrounding areas with Hurricane Helene.”

Senator King said, “I just don't see how we're going to be able to turn disaster response entirely over to the States, given the fact that disasters don't respect state borders. Resiliency planning. That has to be part of the responsibility when the Corps is doing projects wherever they are. Do you agree?”

“Yes, Senator, resiliency is critically important,” Telle affirmed.

Senator King continued, “And do you agree that we are facing more and greater and more devastating storms than we have in the in the past?”

“Senator King, we've certainly faced devastating natural disasters throughout our nation's history,” Telle said. “It's been a long-standing issue that we've dealt with. I don't have the specific data about the intensity of those disasters, but they're still happening. They've been happening throughout our nation's history, and we have to stay vigilant to make sure we're up to date with the latest data.”

Senator King continued asking Mr. Telle, if confirmed, he would follow the science in his role leading the Army Division of Civil Works.

“Well, I hope that regardless of the position of the administration on climate change, that the corps will take advantage of the science, which I think you've committed to, and particularly in resiliency planning. The worst thing we could do would be to build to 100-year-old standards instead of 100 years from now standards. Do you agree?” Senator King asked.

Telle responded, “Senator, I do agree, and the Corps of Engineers currently, and it's my understanding, we'll continue to use the latest hydrological trend data that we can measure to make decisions about investments and the design of flood control infrastructure.”

Senator King followed up, “Just follow the science, correct?”

“Senator, we should follow the science,” Telle concluded.

Because Maine faces increasingly extreme weather and storms, modernizing energy infrastructure through clean solar energy and new storage technologies can help ensure public buildings are able to maintain access to energy during destructive weather events. Last year, Senator King secured $2.5 million through the bipartisan Fiscal Year 2024 Congressionally-Directed Spending appropriations package for the Maine Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future to support an energy resiliency pilot program. The pilot program is helping to fund climate resiliency initiatives in Caribou, Carthage, Dover-Foxcroft, Fairfield, Jonesport, Limestone, Lubec, Machias, Millinocket, and Rockland.

Senator King is also a longtime supporter of working waterfronts and small businesses. He previously introduced the bipartisan Providing Resources for Emergency Preparedness and Resilient Enterprises (PREPARE) Act to reauthorize the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Pre-Disaster Mitigation Pilot Program, which would give small businesses the opportunity to take out low-interest loans for the purpose of proactively implementing mitigation measures that protect their property from future disaster-related damage. He also led a bipartisan bill to provide working waterfronts with a 30 percent tax credit on up to $1 million in mitigation expenses, adjusted for inflation annually.

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