Testimony to the House of Representatives Committee on Rules’ Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process for the Hearing: Using Budget Principles to Prepare for Future Pandemics and Other Disasters Testimony Submitted January 16, 2022 By: Jeff Schlegelmilch, MPH, MBA Thank you for the opportunity to testify before the Subcommittee today. In my role leading the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University’s Climate School, as well as through other positions, I have dedicated my career to fostering the impact of disaster research in the fields of policy and practice. As everyone is well aware, the challenges we face from disasters are increasing in both severity and frequency. This is driven in part by human-caused climate change, as well as aging infrastructure, and a world that is growing smaller and more connected, virtually and physically. We are now entering an era in which disasters are the norm, and overlapping disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires during a pandemic are transpiring. As we struggle with this evolving reality, our disaster readiness
January 19, 2022
On each anniversary of the tragedy which struck humanity on 9/11/01 we take a moment to reflect on those lives that were lost, families forever changed, and the strength, heroism, and resilience seen in America. It is also a time for us, particularly in the disaster preparedness community, to reflect on what has changed since 9/11 and what has not.
September 10, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of coordinated responses among emergency management and other stakeholders to implement an effective
May 12, 2021
This pandemic, so pervasive it seems dreamed up in Hollywood, can lead to a feeling of helplessness as we sit
November 11, 2020
The avoidable death count from COVID-19 continues to rise. Using simple comparative mortality rates we have expanded the prior national comparative study to look at how we can also estimate the number of lives
October 30, 2020
As the United States enters its second month of widespread closure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, state and local governments across the country continue to rely on stay-at-home orders to stem the spread of the virus.
May 20, 2020
As the world scrambles each week to grapple with the seemingly insurmountable number of positive cases and deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic, public policy is failing some of America’s most vulnerable communities. Although COVID-19
May 13, 2020
