Depends on what your deffinition of a good job or a bad job is. I've had the (un)fortunate experience of having to deal with FEMA on several levels as a first responder and I can say they do some things well and other things poorly.
The Good:
The reorganized the entire "chain of command" system by adopting ICS (Incident Command System [Though nationally they call it National Incident Management System (NIMS)]) nation wide and requiring the training and use of the system. ICS is a much more efficient and affective command struture for incidents large and small then what was previously being used. On top of that standardizing the system allows quicker and smoother intigration of various assets.
Training information and documentation. If the government is good at anything, it's writing things down and killing trees. :) They provide lots of good training materials at little or no cost to the local agencies, as well as provide online courses. (Which anyone can take if you want to see what we do. http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is700.asp )
Provides connections between speciallized units across the country. Do you need body dogs? How about 10 different dog teams? USAR teams? (Urban Search and Rescue) If you need more then your area has, or things your area doesn't even contemplate having (Smoke Jumpers anyone?) then FEMA is your one stop shopping place.
Speaking of shopping, need to buy new equipment that'll work with everyone elses? FEMA's regulations and standards are used to make Emergency equpiment we all use.
The Bad
It's a huge beuracracy. All that paperwork will slow things down. In fact if you look at the dates on filings and response times for claims they can take years to finish the process.
It's a very large and massive organization, and as such is slow to respond. Once it gets going it'll come smashing down, often with too much force so that much of it is wasted. The amount of waste and excess in the system is terrible.
Another problem with it's size is the "one hand doesn't know what the other is doing" idea. Many times you'll make a claim with FEMA, or they have a problem with something on your end and you'll end up having to file forms, talk to reps, and the like multiple times on the same subject. Sometimes months after the incident occured.
The money programs they have are great for small towns and the like, but getting access to that money isn't always the easiest or most expident of things. Our local fire departments seem to end up "competiting" agasint one another for funds because FEMA shows the resources "in our area" but when in fact they're not. Just because we're all the same Area code doesn't mean there's not 100's of miles between us. :|
FEMA as a "face" is also a bad thing. In a natural disaster everyone naturally goes looking to FEMA for answers when FEMA is actually the last group spoken to about everything. They're actually more of a paper pushing group then a rescue force, yet too many folks think of FEMA like you do your local PD or Fire. Which leads to misunderstandings and poor information control. (I'd hate to be the PIO or PR guy for FEMA. SHEESH!)
They've got all the regulatory power in the world, but no real enforcement ability. Sure they can ask you if you've got a plan in place, and if you've reviewed it, but it's not like they can audit each and every municipality and fire district in the nation. Nor are they in charge of local area's training or readiness levels. If your area reports that they are "ready" or are marked "ready" on some pencil pushers board then they are "ready" as far as FEMA is concerned. If that isn't reality FEMA has no way of checking or of fixing that status. A lot of FEMA's stuff is organizational and not operational.
So again, it all depends on your deffinition of good or bad. In the end it IS a beurocracy. No matter where you put the "head" of it, or how you label it if it stays nothing more than a big group of pencil pushers that's all it'll ever be.
In the end it all comes down to the men and women in the field. The First responders and those in charge of them. A good IC (Incident Commander) who knows how to take charge and not bend to political pressures will do much better than one who worries about FEMA or the local mayor/govenor/general.
a long history? Please explain the history of FEMA failing. I was under the impression it did quite a good job with previous disasters when it was a cabinet level posisition.
Depends on what your deffinition of a good job or a bad job is. I've had the (un)fortunate experience of having to deal with FEMA on several levels as a first responder and I can say they do some things well and other things poorly.
The Good:
The reorganized the entire "chain of command" system by adopting ICS (Incident Command System [Though nationally they call it National Incident Management System (NIMS)]) nation wide and requiring the training and use of the system. ICS is a much more efficient and affective command struture for incidents large and small then what was previously being used. On top of that standardizing the system allows quicker and smoother intigration of various assets.
Training information and documentation. If the government is good at anything, it's writing things down and killing trees. :) They provide lots of good training materials at little or no cost to the local agencies, as well as provide online courses. (Which anyone can take if you want to see what we do. http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is700.asp )
Provides connections between speciallized units across the country. Do you need body dogs? How about 10 different dog teams? USAR teams? (Urban Search and Rescue) If you need more then your area has, or things your area doesn't even contemplate having (Smoke Jumpers anyone?) then FEMA is your one stop shopping place.
Speaking of shopping, need to buy new equipment that'll work with everyone elses? FEMA's regulations and standards are used to make Emergency equpiment we all use.
The Bad
It's a huge beuracracy. All that paperwork will slow things down. In fact if you look at the dates on filings and response times for claims they can take years to finish the process.
It's a very large and massive organization, and as such is slow to respond. Once it gets going it'll come smashing down, often with too much force so that much of it is wasted. The amount of waste and excess in the system is terrible.
Another problem with it's size is the "one hand doesn't know what the other is doing" idea. Many times you'll make a claim with FEMA, or they have a problem with something on your end and you'll end up having to file forms, talk to reps, and the like multiple times on the same subject. Sometimes months after the incident occured.
The money programs they have are great for small towns and the like, but getting access to that money isn't always the easiest or most expident of things. Our local fire departments seem to end up "competiting" agasint one another for funds because FEMA shows the resources "in our area" but when in fact they're not. Just because we're all the same Area code doesn't mean there's not 100's of miles between us. :|
FEMA as a "face" is also a bad thing. In a natural disaster everyone naturally goes looking to FEMA for answers when FEMA is actually the last group spoken to about everything. They're actually more of a paper pushing group then a rescue force, yet too many folks think of FEMA like you do your local PD or Fire. Which leads to misunderstandings and poor information control. (I'd hate to be the PIO or PR guy for FEMA. SHEESH!)
They've got all the regulatory power in the world, but no real enforcement ability. Sure they can ask you if you've got a plan in place, and if you've reviewed it, but it's not like they can audit each and every municipality and fire district in the nation. Nor are they in charge of local area's training or readiness levels. If your area reports that they are "ready" or are marked "ready" on some pencil pushers board then they are "ready" as far as FEMA is concerned. If that isn't reality FEMA has no way of checking or of fixing that status. A lot of FEMA's stuff is organizational and not operational.
So again, it all depends on your deffinition of good or bad. In the end it IS a beurocracy. No matter where you put the "head" of it, or how you label it if it stays nothing more than a big group of pencil pushers that's all it'll ever be.
In the end it all comes down to the men and women in the field. The First responders and those in charge of them. A good IC (Incident Commander) who knows how to take charge and not bend to political pressures will do much better than one who worries about FEMA or the local mayor/govenor/general.
steve,
I don't remember a Secretary of FEMA in any of the Cabinet photos. Can you tell me when FEMA was Cabinet level?
Whirled Peas?
It had a position in the Cabinet from 1993-2001.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FEMA#FEMA_as_an_Independent_Agency_.281979_.E2.80.93_2003.29
Can someone tell me how making FEMA have a Cabinet level representative change anything? I've outlined several things FEMA does, how will being able to talk "directly" at cabinet meetings help that in any way?
New name or no, the country needs an organization like FEMA to do the jobs FEMA is supposed to be doing.
If FEMA is incapable of dealing with terrorist attacks or hurricanes, it must be revamped. Not removed.
FEMA failed miserably with Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Well, if you define "failure" in the new Katrina-speak where people were stranded for several days before help could arrive, otherwise the FEMA response was much in line with that for Hurricane Katrina.
Of course, the media was all-too-eager to point out how difficult it was for FEMA, or anyone bringing heavy equipment and supplies, to reach the ravaged areas due to the inundated roads and bridges. It makes you wonder how the perception of Katrina would be if the media had similarly pointed out the difficulties in reaching New Orleans, but that wouldn't play into the "Bush hates black people" meme. Who "hated" the black people in North Carolina who suffered and died in the aftermath of Floyd?
Matt, why are you surprised that the NYT doesn't want FEMA abolished?
ITS A GOVERNMENT PROGRAM! OF COURSE THEY DONT WANT TO ABOLISH IT!
Let's see...hurricance season is less than 2 months away and the dems want to break up FEMA, and replace it how???
Brilliant!!
I'm still waiting to hear how making FEMA a cabinet level position again will improve FEMA's job performance. I'm also wondering how many actually understand what the frack FEMA is supposed to do.
Who cares what the New York Slimes thinks about dismantling FEMA - or anything else for that matter?!
Their staff is filled with slimebags who take delight in smearing the President and his policies, our troops in harm's way, the capitalist system, and anyone who stands in the way of their socialist agenda...
It weird how Sean Penn could make it into New Orleans but a truck of water couldn't. Isn't that interesting? Plus I saw no shortage of camera crews that were able to get into the city despite the "innundated" roads. Oh yea, and people drove supplies from Baton Rouge..., seems odd that the National Guard of all people are less equiped to travel with branches on the road then Sean Penn and his publicist...
I think FEMA works best when in an advisory and purse strings role. While state of Florida emergency authorities, County authorities and city mamnagers played the leadership role In Florida's recovery,FEMA hung back and provided those authorities with the funds and some management they needed. Florida had 7 hurricanes in 12 months yet they opened for Spring Training right on schedule as always! You saw blue tarps on roofs but one thing you didn't see was garbage on every street. Florida clears debris quickly since the insects alone could take over the population like they are currently in New Orleans, thanks to the warmer temps. Key West was accepting tourists just 10 days after Wilma. No thanks to the feds but to local authorities who know that it's their personal responsibility to lead and get the work done!!
Almmost 9 months later and trash is still piling up on streets in New Orleans, where are the local authorities? One firm in Texas was willing to give New Orleans $500 for every car they picked up off the streets, yet the New Orleans authorities wanted to pay someone $1000 per car for removal rather than COLLECT money for car removal.. What kind of decision is that?
The corruption still lives in Louisiana and after a while I think it will be time for those good people to take care of their own problems since they spent 40 years taking our federal tax dollars for the levees and then ended up spending them elsewhere.
Florida proves that state and local leadership and responsibility is what it takes to recover from a storm quickly, they learned their mistakes after Andrew hit southern Florida.
Hurricanes have been hitting our shores for centuries and it's time for people to be responisble enough to take care of themselves when they live in the path of devastating storm.