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Lawmakers press PEMA on urban search‑and‑rescue funding; Joint State Government Commission study expected in June
Summary
Representatives asked why a $6 million urban search‑and‑rescue line item was omitted from the governor’s proposed budget. PEMA said prior appropriations have funded Western Pennsylvania capability and that a Joint State Government Commission review will recommend future funding levels.
Representative Jason Kahl asked PEMA why a $6 million line item for urban search‑and‑rescue (USAR) was removed from the governor’s 2025–26 proposal and how the state is supporting regional USAR capability.
Randy Padfield, director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, said the $6 million was included in last year’s budget and that the city of Pittsburgh has been identified as the sponsoring agency for the Western Pennsylvania USAR team. He told the committee that an interagency agreement and grant transfer documents are being finalized to move previously appropriated funds to that sponsoring agency.
Padfield said a separate review is underway through the Joint State Government Commission. “There is a joint state government commission report that is being generated. There is a committee … to take a look and assess urban search and rescue in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” he said, and added that the commission’s report should make recommendations about ongoing financial needs and how USAR should be structured; the committee expects that report in June.
Why it matters: Pennsylvania’s USAR capability is organized in regional teams that respond to structural collapse and similar incidents. Lawmakers pressed PEMA on whether current investment is sufficient and whether the $6 million should be a recurring appropriation.
Background and current funding Padfield told the committee the Western Pennsylvania USAR effort has received prior allocations including $4.4 million in fiscal 2023 through the Department of Community and Economic Development and the $6 million from last year’s appropriation. “So $10.4 million is a significant investment in USAR capability,” he said, adding that the state’s system was designed after 2001 and that response needs and structures warrant reassessment for the coming decades.
Padfield described USAR capability as a tiered system that begins with local responders, uses regional teams for larger structural collapse incidents and escalates to state support only when needed. He said the vast majority of such incidents are handled at the regional level and that there are eight regional teams in the Commonwealth.
Ending Committee members said they want the commission’s report and PEMA’s recommendations before making long‑term appropriations decisions. Padfield said PEMA will await the Joint State Government Commission findings and then adapt funding requests as required.
