increased workloads during the 2004 hurricanes.  As previously stated, while 

we recognize that FEMA was able to get through the hurricanes, this 

accomplishment was not without significant IT and user problems.  Like the 

EP&R CIO, we acknowledge that much of the credit can be attributed to the 

efforts of IT and recovery staff who worked heroically during the hurricanes 

to sustain operations and register and assist disaster victims.  We also 

appreciate the EP&R CIO's challenges and lack of resources to carry out 

operations on a day to day basis.  However, as we recommend in our report, 

EP&R needs to place priority on gathering requirements and analyzing 

alternatives to determine the most appropriate technology needed to meet 

business needs. 

System Reporting:  Although the EP&R CIO stated that LIMS III provides 

substantial reporting capabilities, the cited section of our report discusses 

NEMIS and IFMIS challenges and does not mention LIMS III.  We have 

revised the topic sentence for the section to indicate reporting challenges with 

some, but not all, of FEMA's systems.  

Need for Updated NEMIS Requirements and Alternative Analysis:  The 

EP&R CIO affirms the responsibility of management at all levels to recognize 

and act on problems such as the need to update NEMIS requirements and 

conduct an alternatives analysis.  We look forward to the results of the EP&R 

CIO's efforts to solicit broad stakeholder involvement in the e NEMIS 

requirements definition process.  Additionally, we have revised our report to 

incorporate the EP&R CIO's acknowledgement of the need to integrate and 

update systems such as IFMIS and FEMA's deployment systems. 

Funding for NEMIS Upgrade:  In response to the EP&R CIO's comment, we 

have revised our report, deleting the statement that program offices were 

reluctant to fund development of an online registration capability for NEMIS. 

Emergency Preparedness and Response Could Better Integrate Information Technology  

with Incident Response and Recovery 

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