Cross-posted from Legal Planet.
Today’s FEMA is a lot different from the organization that flubbed the Katrina response. There have been a number of positive changes, mostly during the past four years.
First, as the Washington Post explains, FEMA’s authority has expanded:
Congress has broadened FEMA’s authority so that the agency can respond in advance of major storms, instead of waiting for governors to request federal aid after a disaster strikes. The measures earned plaudits from then-Gov. Haley Barbour (R) of Mississippi and Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) of Louisiana — usually tough Obama critics — and professional emergency managers who had sought the changes for years.
Second, unlike the hapless “Brownie” who headed FEMA during Katrina, the current director is an experienced professional. W. Craig Fugate was the head of the highly regarded Florida emergency response agency under Governor Jeb Bush. Fugate began his career as a firefighter, then became head of emergency management in Gainesville, Florida, before going to work for Bush. He knows what he’s doing.
Third, FEMA has new management procedures. Using a new system called FEMAStat, the agency is monitoring outcomes and tying them to program activities, providing important feedback for planning. The agency has also centralized procurement and has done intensive reviews of specific programs, determining that some aren’t cost-effective and others need more support. In short, the management process is a lot more professionalized.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, FEMA has the full, direct backing of the White House. FEMA’s primary role is to coordinate responses from diverse federal agencies, from the Pentagon to the Commerce Department. They all have bureaucracies and priorities of their own. But they’ll respond a lot more quickly and effectively if they know that White House is focused on the issue and will back up FEMA.
None of this guarantees a smooth response to the unprecedented scope of Hurricane Sandy. But the chances of a quick, effective federal response are much higher than they would have been four or five years ago, let alone in 2005.
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Daniel Farber | October 31, 2012
Cross-posted from Legal Planet. Today’s FEMA is a lot different from the organization that flubbed the Katrina response. There have been a number of positive changes, mostly during the past four years. First, as the Washington Post explains, FEMA’s authority has expanded: Congress has broadened FEMA’s authority so that the agency can respond in advance […]
Daniel Farber | October 29, 2012
Cross-posted from Legal Planet. The federal role in disaster response dates back to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, when General Funston sent troops from the Presidio to deal with the city’s desperate emergency. Governor Romney seems dubious about this century-old federal role. During one of the GOP primary debates, Governor Romney was asked what he […]
Robert Verchick | October 26, 2012
If you like sparkling diamonds and saffron saris, you will love Surat, India’s bustling, no-nonsense city, some 250 kilometers north of Mumbai, near the Arabian Sea. If you’re wearing a new diamond, there’s an 80% chance its was shaped by Surati hands (and laser beams too). And nearly every Indian has something in the closet […]
Thomas McGarity | October 25, 2012
In the week before Christmas last year, 14-year-old Anais Fournier went to Valley Mall in Hagerstown, Maryland with some friends. While there she purchased and consumed a 24-ounce can of an energy drink manufactured by the Monster Beverage Corporation. She returned to the mall the next day and consumed another Monster energy drink. Later that […]
Daniel Farber | October 24, 2012
Cross-posted from Legal Planet. Deregulation is one of Mitt Romney’s five steps in his plan to add jobs. But how do we supposedly know that deregulation will add jobs? It’s a fascinating story, featuring a Nobel laureate’s economic model. The model is very fancy, lots of complex math, but it’s justified on the basis of […]
Ben Somberg | October 19, 2012
Here’s a final compilation of our posts on the Clean Water Act at 40: William Andreen: The Clean Water Act at 40: Finishing a Task Well Begun Dan Tarlock: Forty Years Later, Time to Turn in the CWA Clunker for Something Suited for the 21st Century Robin Kundis Craig: The Clean Water Act at 40: […]
Michael Patoka | October 18, 2012
CPR President Rena Steinzor and Member Scholar Thomas McGarity sent a letter this morning to Paul Verkuil, Chairman of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), taking the independent federal agency to task for its increasingly apparent bias toward the views of industry groups and its troubling alliance with current and former officials at […]
Aimee Simpson | October 18, 2012
Last week I visited a dairy farm with my two year-old son. Complete with hayrides, homemade ice cream, cows mooing, and a bluegrass band, the fall festival provided us with some good, wholesome entertainment. My son giggled as the baby cows licked his hand, oohed and awed at the fluffy baby chicks, and, of course, […]
Amy Sinden | October 18, 2012
The Clean Water Act turns 40 today. One of the remarkable things about those four decades is the extent to which the Act has largely withstood repeated attempts by industry to water down its technology-based standard-setting provisions with cost-benefit analysis. Just three years ago, when the U.S. Supreme Court decided Entergy Corp. v. Riverkeeper, environmentalists […]