The Role of Federal Executive Boards in Pandemic Preparedness

According to a recent Government Accountability Office study released in May 2007 (GAO-07-515) entitled The Federal Workforce: Additional Steps Needed to Take Advantage of Federal Executive Boards’ Ability to Contribute to Emergency Operations, federal executive boards have a significant role they can play in the event of an emergency and in particular, the event of a pandemic outbreak. GAO found that FEB executive directors can communicate across agencies and use their contacts to reach a broad spectrum of a local federal workforce, they can play a vital role in responding to an emergency. FEBs have worked with OPM, the CDC, and FEMA in this effort and even sponsored preparedness training programs for some federal, state, and local governments. However, their role has not been formalized in the preparedness response effort for local areas, and there are no dedicated resources or accountability measures in place to secure their role. The hearing will examine ways to improve the Federal Executive Boards’ (FEBs) role in the preparedness of the federal workforce and urban areas in responding to an emergency and specifically a pandemic influenza outbreak.