WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 -As Hurricane Wilma threatens South Florida, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is making around-the- clock preparations to assist the coordinated federal response. GSA plays supporting and leading roles in the government's National Response Plan, by providing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal agencies with needed information and resources, including supplies and services. The USA Services program, managed by GSA's Office of Citizen Services and Communications, also helps citizens access accurate, timely and consistent answers about the hurricane and the response via phone, the Internet and e-mail.
"We are ready to provide acquisition services and resource support to FEMA and the interagency community to help them carry out their missions to provide assistance to the people who may be impacted by Hurricane Wilma," said GSA Administrator Stephen A. Perry.
Steps GSA has taken as a responder:
* Provided a contingency plan for uninterrupted service from USA
Services' National Contact Center (NCC) -- 1(800) FED INFO
(1-800-333-4636) in the event that the hurricane damages the call
center location in Florida. NCC is operating nationally 24 hours a
day, seven days a week.
* Updated USA Services' FirstGov Web site (http://www.FirstGov.gov) with
links to services tracking the course of Hurricane Wilma. FirstGov and
FirstGov en Espanol (http://www.espanol.gov; FirstGov's Spanish-
language counterpart) also provide information on emergency
preparedness.
The following are among the steps GSA is taking:
* Communicating with senior-level members of the Federal Executive Board
in the region, which includes representatives from all of the agencies
involved.
* Communicating with GSA agency customers including FEMA about
preparations.
* Shipping two of six Recreational Vehicles (RV) from Gulfport,
Mississippi, where needs are decreasing, to Orlando, Florida, where
they will be deployed as necessary.
* Deploying three real estate specialists to Orlando, Florida from the
Public Buildings Service to assist agencies.
* Tapping approximately 50 GSA contracting specialists from outside the
region to stand ready to help.
* Deploying satellite phones and GPS devices to the personnel being
deployed and those already in the area.
GSA is a centralized, federal procurement, property management, policy development and information provision agency, created by Congress to improve government efficiency and help federal agencies better serve the public. In this role, GSA acquires products and services on behalf of federal agencies; plays a key role in developing and implementing government-wide policies; provides services and solutions for the office operations of more than one million federal workers; and encourages a citizen-centric relationship with government by providing a single "point of entry" to the information and services citizens need in a timeframe they can appreciate. This allows citizens to receive accurate, timely and consistent answers and information, and helps federal agencies better respond to citizen inquiries.
