Federal Emergency Management Agency of the United States
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- "FEMA" redirects here. For other uses, see FEMA (disambiguation).
The Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA is a government agency in the United States which is organized under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate. The agency is charged with what it defines as four domains of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Mainly, FEMA responds to any disaster that occurs in the United States that is declared a federal disaster area by the President of the United States.
FEMA coordinates the work of federal, state, and local agencies in responding to floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. FEMA provides financial assistance to individuals and governments to rebuild homes, businesses, and public facilities; trains firefighters and emergency medical professionals; and funds emergency planning throughout the United States and its territories.
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History
The United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has existed in one form or another for over 200 years. The history of FEMA can be divided into the following parts.
Pre-1930
The first major disaster in the history of the United States was a series of devastating fires in the port city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The Seventh Congress passed a number of measures in the Congressional Act of 1803, which provided relief for the merchants of Portsmouth by waiving duties and tariffs on goods. This is widely considered the first piece of legislation passed by the federal government that provided relief after a disaster and can be viewed as the beginnings of federal policies to provide relief after a disaster.
Between 1803 and 1930, ad-hoc legislation was passed more than 100 times for relief or compensation after a disaster. Examples of these include the waiving of duties and tariffs to the merchants of New York City after a fire in the mid 1830’s. After President Abraham Lincoln's assassination at Ford's_Theatre, the 54th Congress passed legislation compensating those who were injured in the theatre.
Piecemeal Approach (1930s – 1960s)
After the start of the Great Depression in 1929, President Herbert Hoover had commissioned the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) in 1932. The purpose of the RFC was to lend money to banks and institutions to stimulate economic activity. RFC was also responsible for dispensing federal dollars in the wake of a disaster. RFC can be considered the first organized federal disaster response agency.
The Bureau of Public Roads in 1934 was given authority to finance the reconstruction of highways and roads after a disaster. The Flood Control Act of 1944 also gave the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authority over flood control and irrigation projects and thus played a major role in disaster recovery from flooding.
This “piecemeal approach” to disaster recovery was troubled by poor interagency cooperation and bureaucratic red tape.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (1960 -1979)
By the start of the 1960’s, federal disaster relief and recovery was brought under the umbrella of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) which created the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration. This agency would oversee disasters such as Hurricane Carla in 1962, Hurricane Betsy in 1965, Hurricane Camille in 1969 and Hurricane Agnes in 1972, the Alaskan (Good Friday) Earthquake of 1964 and the San Fernando Earthquake of 1971.
Many government agencies were still involved in disaster relief, in some cases over 100 separate agencies may be jockeying for control and jurisdiction of a disaster.
FEMA as an Independent Agency (1979 – 2003)
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter, at the prompting of the National Governor’s Association, signed Executive Order 12148 which put a new agency, FEMA, in charge of coordinating all disaster relief efforts at the federal level. FEMA absorbed the Federal Insurance Administration, the National Fire Prevention and Control Administration, the National Weather Service Community Preparedness Program, the Federal Preparedness Agency of the General Services Administration and the Federal Disaster Assistance Administration activities from HUD. FEMA was also given the responsibility for overseeing the nation’s Civil Defense, a function which had previously been performed by the Department of Defense’s Defense Civil Preparedness Agency.
One of the first disasters FEMA responded to was the dumping of toxic waste into Love Canal in Niagara Falls, New York in the late 1970’s. FEMA also responded to the Three Mile Island nuclear accident where the nuclear generating station suffered a partial core meltdown. These disasters, while showing the agency could function properly, also uncovered some inefficiencies.
In 1993 President Bill Clinton elevated FEMA to a cabinet level position and named James Lee Witt as FEMA Director. Witt initiated reforms that would help to streamline the disaster recovery and mitigation process. The end of the Cold War also allowed the agency’s resources to be turned away from civil defense to natural disaster preparedness.
FEMA under DHS (2003 - Present)
Following the Terrorist Attacks of 11 September 2001, President Bush created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to better coordinate between the different federal agencies that deal with law enforcement, disaster preparedness and recovery, border protection and civil defense. FEMA was absorbed into DHS as of 2003. As a result, FEMA is now part of the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate of DHS. The name FEMA however, popularly applies to the entire directorate. The director of FEMA now has the official title of Under Secretary, Emergency Preparedness and Response. FEMA currently employs more than 2,600 full time employees.
FEMA and DHS both came under intense criticism for their handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005 (see Katrina and Criticism sections below). As a result, then FEMA Director Michael Brown was relieved of command of the Gulf Coast region and resigned shortly thereafter.
Organization
Today, FEMA exists as part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate. The official position of the director of FEMA is Under Secretary, Emergency Preparedness and Response. He reports directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security.
FEMA currently manages the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Flood Insurance Program. Other programs FEMA previously administered have since been internalized or shifted under direct DHS control.
Response to Major Disasters
Hurricane Andrew - 1992
(see also Hurricane Andrew)
In August 1992, Hurricane Andrew struck the Florida and Louisiana coasts with 165 mph (265 km/h) sustained winds. FEMA was widely criticized for the agency’s response to Andrew, summed up by the famous exclamation, "Where in the hell is the cavalry on this one?" by Dade County, Florida, emergency management director Kate Hale. FEMA and the federal government at large were accused of not responding fast enough to house, feed, and sustain the approximately 250,000 people left homeless in the affected areas. Within five days, the federal government and neighboring states had dispatched 20,000 National Guard and active duty troops to South Dade County to set up temporary housing. FEMA had previously been criticized for its response to Hurricane Hugo, which hit South Carolina in September 1989, and many of the same issues that plagued the agency during Hurricane Andrew were also evident during the response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Terrorist Attacks on 11 September, 2001
(see also September 11 2001 attacks)
In the minutes after the first hijacked plane slammed into the World Trade Center towers, FEMA as well as emergency services all over the city and state of New York were mobilized. FEMA had deployed 25 of the 28 Urban Search and Rescue teams at its disposal to the World Trade Center site, however the New York City Office of Emergency Management was in charge of the WTC recovery effort. FEMA played its largest role in the appropriation of federal funds to aid local and state governments in paying for the disaster. As of 2003, FEMA had received US$5.5 billion to distribute amongst local and state agencies to help offset the cost of recovery. Within the $5.5 billion, FEMA was also allotted funds to pay for its own recovery efforts.
Hurricane Katrina – 2005
(see also Hurricane Katrina)
August 2005 saw one of the worst natural disasters in United States history. FEMA received intense criticism for its response to the disaster. FEMA had propositioned response personnel in the Gulf Coast region, however many were only able to report of dire situation along the Gulf Coast, especially from New Orleans. FEMA was responsible for the evacuation of the thousands of people who remained in New Orleans during the storm, as well as initial recovery work and appropriations. Within three days, a large contingent of National Guard and active duty troops were deployed to the region.
The enormous number of evacuees simply overwhelmed rescue personnel. The situation was compounded by flood waters in the city that hampered transportation and poor communication between the federal government and state and local entities. FEMA was widely criticized for what is seen as a slow initial response to the disaster and an inability to effectively manage, care for and move those trying to leave the city.
Then FEMA Director Michael Brown was criticized personally for a slow response and apparent disconnect with the actual situation on the ground. Michael Brown would eventually be relieved of command of the Katrina disaster and soon thereafter resign.
Katrina was seen as the first major test of the nation’s new disaster response plan under DHS. It is widely held that many things did not function as planned. However, formal investigations have yet to determine who exactly is to blame (and to what extent) for the Katrina disaster.
The telephone number to receive disaster assistance from FEMA is 800-621-3362. Survivors of Katrina can learn more about FEMA assistance available at a wiki web site FEMAanswers.org.
Criticism
In 1997, James Bovard criticized FEMA for subsidizing rebuilding in places that are vulnerable to natural disasters, asking, "[D]o we really want to help rebuild homes and government property in areas that should never have been built on in the first place?" He also claimed that localities are less likely to fund their own snow removal if they know the federal government will bail them out in the event of snow emergencies[1]. Moreover, he said that FEMA is used by incumbent presidents to shore up political support[2]. The Cato Institute's Handbook for Congress argues that private companies could perform the tasks carried about by FEMA, and that this would encourage home construction in safer areas[3]:
- Any time there is a natural disaster FEMA is trotted out as an example of how well government programs work. In reality, by using taxpayer dollars to provide disaster relief and subsidized insurance, FEMA itself encourages Americans to build in disaster-prone areas and makes the rest of us pick up the tab for those risky decisions. In a well-functioning private marketplace, individuals who chose to build houses in flood plains or hurricane zones would bear the cost of the increased risk through higher insurance premiums. FEMA's activities undermine that process. Americans should not be forced to pay the cost of rebuilding oceanfront summer homes. This $4 billion a year agency should be abolished.
FEMA does encourage disaster victims to reduce future losses by considering "taking steps to rebuild safer and smarter," advising them to[4]:
- Take measures to reduce losses in the future.
- Encourage community to participate in National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
- Consider buying flood insurance.
Some critics, particularly in the anti-government far right, believe that the powers extended to FEMA upon declaration of a federal emergency either are or will be the basis of a dictatorship in the United States. This is dismissed by most as a conspiracy theory. Other conspiratorial rumors focus on FEMA's supposed cover-up of events surrounding specific disasters, including the 1994 Northridge Earthquake and the September 11th attacks of 2001.
South Florida newspaper Sun-Sentinel has an extensive list of documented criticisms of FEMA during the four hurricanes that hit the region in 2004.[5] Some of the criticisms include:
- When Hurricane Frances hit South Florida on Labor Day weekend, (over 100 miles north of Miami-Dade County) 9,800 Miami-Dade applicants were approved by FEMA for $28 million in storm claims for new furniture, clothes, thousands of new televisions, microwaves, and refrigerators, cars, dental bills and a funeral even though the Medical Examiner recorded no deaths from Frances. A U.S. Senate committee and the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security found that FEMA inappropriately declared Miami-Dade county a disaster area and then awarded millions, often without verifying storm damage or a need for assistance.[6][7]
- FEMA used hurricane aid money to pay funeral expenses for at least 203 Floridians whose deaths were not caused by the 2004 Hurricanes, the state's coroners have concluded. Ten of the people whose funerals were paid for were not even in Florida at the time of their deaths.[8]
List of FEMA Heads
As director of the agency:
- James K. Hafer, E.O.P. Office of Emergency Preparedness, May 1975-April 1979
- Gordon Vickery (acting), April 1979 - July 1979
- Thomas Casey (acting), July 1979
- John Macy, August 1979 - January 1981
- Bernard Gallagher (acting), January 1981 - April 1981
- John W. McConnell (acting), April 1981 - May 1981
- Louis O. Giuffrida, May 1981 - September 1985
- Robert H. Morris (acting), September 1985 - November 1985
- Julius W. Becton, Jr., November 1985 - June 1989
- Robert H. Morris (acting), June 1989 - May 1990
- Jerry D. Jennings (acting), May 1990 - August 1990
- Wallace E. Stickney, August 1990 - January 1993
- William C. Tidball (acting), January 1993 - April 1993
As director of Cabinet-level agency:
- James Lee Witt, April 1993 - January 2001
- John Magaw (acting), January 2001 - February 2001
- Joe M. Allbaugh, February 2001 - March 2003
As Under Secretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response within DHS
- Michael D. Brown, March 2003 - September 2005
- R. David Paulison (acting), September 2005
The President is currently hiring for this position. Qualified persons may submit applications here.
After the formation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, the official title of the head of FEMA became Under Secretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response. This position includes additional responsibilities beyond FEMA including the oversight of the Department of Energy's Nuclear Incident Response Team, or NIRT.
FEMA in Fiction
In The X-Files movie, Alvin Kurtzweil tells Fox Mulder that FEMA is involved in the global conspiracy involving aliens.
In the video game Deus Ex, Walton Simons is the director of FEMA.
See also
- Office of Emergency Management (OEM)
- Civil defense
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- U.S. Fire Administration
- Emergency Prepardness Canada - Canadian counterpart disaster response agency
References
- Bovard, James: [9], The American Spectator, Sept. 1997.
- Bovard, James: The FEMA Snow Job, 19 February 1997.
- Cato Handbook for Congress.
- FEMA: The Disaster Assistance Process for Individuals.
- Fema: The US shadow Govt.
- FEMA: Cashing in on Disaster.
- FEMA History.
- DHS organization chart
