It's time to restructure FEMA

[Downdraft]

This is NOT a blame post. Heaven knows there has been to much of that already. As a Floridian that went through 2004 and saw FEMA in action for 3 hurricanes here and Ivan in the panhandle I seriously questioned the ability of FEMA then. Now, having seen the incredible mess along the Gulf Coast it's time to make some changes. In my humble but educated opinion FEMA cannot function in the Department of Homeland Security. We can write all the flowery documents we want about the National Incident Management System but the truth is the beauracratic mess that is Washington is an impediment to disaster mitigation and relief.
On the scale of disaster that is the Gulf coast now effective relief can only come by having relief valves in the laws that are designed to set aside the normal course of operations. I'm not recommending solutions but leave the thread open to discussion (WITHOUT ASSIGNING BLAME) to anyone person or agency. Let's have a rationale discussion on how we can fix the problem before we have another repeat. The blame game only focuses on the effect not the cause and won't help cure the problem.
To the mods if you think this belongs in Hurricane Recovery please move it or delete it and I will repost it there.

[cyclone_eye]

Agreed.

There was reason at the time of 911 to move it under Homeland Security and at that time it made good sense.

Now on hindsight there is need to refocus on disasters. My suggestion, however, would be to create two branches of FEMA - one that deals with traditional natural disasters and the other which specialised in man-made disasters under which falls the categories of epidemics, civil strife, and terrorism.

[JPmia]

Without diving into the political sensitivities of this issue I will say only this: I would take James Lee Witt back anyday!

[Ixolib]

I guess I'm a little interested in the specific "problem" you are referring to. In my opinion, FEMA has done a pretty good job. They responded quickly in my neighborhood, and have been in touch since.

If we are going to use Katrina as a test for their abilities, or lack thereof, that may be a little unfair. I don't believe there was ANYBODY who knew "exactly" what the consequences of Katrina were going to be. At no time in modern history, or in the history of our government, has any federal department had to respond to such an event. Therefore, the benchmarks did not exist.

Sure, the NHC sounded the extreme alarm in the hours before landfall - but even at that, the actual outcome was still completely unexpected by most officials from the local level on up. FEMA is doing what it can, and actually, is learning and doing it better as each day passes.

This was an unprecendented event, and the response to such an event - I believe - was and is generally spot on. Give about a week and let's see how they respond for Rita. I'm thinking they will be reacting appropriately from lessons quickly learned. And that, I believe, is about the most we should ask of anyone.

[Tommedic]

I think that before we decide about FEMA, we must decide who ultimately is responsible for our Emergency Management, the local and state governement or federal government. Once we decide this, then we can decide if the role of FEMA should change from the Coordinator of resources to the command and control element in a disaster. Or maybe we should decide in advance that in a major catastrophe the federal government should aqssume command. There are a lot of issues that must be decided. Up to this season, FEMA was considered a resource for the state and local government to utilize in order for them to command the situation.
I must clarify my comments. I am a paramedic in a county that was struck multiple times in the late 90's. Our county commissioners, local EM manager, EMS director, Fire command officers, and other officials went to Maryland for training sessions that ensured they were totally aware of how to interface with FEMA. This made our episodes much easier to deal with.
By the way, I think that dividing FEMA into one group for natural disasters and prevention with the other maybe going back to old Civil Defense atmosphere for man-made situations. The Civil Defense could be under Homeland Defense with FEMA being a Cabinet level office. We know that one day we will see other hurricanes, earthquakes, and possibly volcanoes in our future.

[Dick Pache]

FEMA's Briam Bowman's Remarks in todays Army Corps media roundtable
http://www.usace.army.mil/transcripts/0926ACE.DOC
MR. LOGUE: Thank you. We're glad today to have Brian on with us from FEMA, and I would invite him to go ahead and open with any opening remarks that our FEMA PA team may have and then I'll be glad to fill in whatever else is needed. Thanks.
MR. BOWMAN: Thank you, Mike. This Brian Bowman in Jackson with FEMA.
I'll just give a quick overview of some of the things that are going on with FEMA in the past several days, and obviously we're very happy to be on this call with the Corps and they've obviously done a lot of incredible things in Mississippi in terms of debris removal and protective blue roofs as everyone knows. I'll try to give you a little bit more of an overview.
As of late last week we had processed more than 407 households for individual assistance in Mississippi. Typically a household we figure to be about 2.5 individuals, so we've reached out to more than a million individuals in Mississippi who have registered for FEMA, and we have obligated funds in excess of $334 million. That was as of late last week and that number has certainly grown over the weekend, although I did not have the latest figure with me. We can certainly get that for any media member who wants the most current numbers as of the close of business yesterday.
That need as you know deals with minimal home repairs, direct housing, temporary rental assistance and other things not covered by insurance, and necessary expenses and serious needs. The Small Business Administration who is in partnership with FEMA is also on the scene in Mississippi and has started the low interest loan process, and I know they've crossed the 3 million mark.
Typically, however, I might add that the Small Business Administration typically loans a lot more than FEMA grants, so you can imagine that that number will grow and hopefully we can have the SBA with us at some future point.
As far as our cooperation with the Corps, the Corps is on the lead on debris removal. I know that more than 3 million cubic yards of debris have been removed so far. There's a lot to go. I know the blue roof program is in full swing. The latest numbers that I saw for Mississippi were close to 10,000 roofs that had been completed which was I believe about 40 percent of the total applications that they had received, but those numbers certainly can be confirmed by mike. Of course, I'm just here to answer any questions that may come up and if we can't get you the answer on this call, I will certainly take down your name and track down the answer and get back with you. Thanks.

[Downdraft]

FEMA's Briam Bowman's Remarks in todays Army Corps media roundtable
http://www.usace.army.mil/transcripts/0926ACE.DOC
MR. LOGUE: Thank you. We're glad today to have Brian on with us from FEMA, and I would invite him to go ahead and open with any opening remarks that our FEMA PA team may have and then I'll be glad to fill in whatever else is needed. Thanks.
MR. BOWMAN: Thank you, Mike. This Brian Bowman in Jackson with FEMA.
I'll just give a quick overview of some of the things that are going on with FEMA in the past several days, and obviously we're very happy to be on this call with the Corps and they've obviously done a lot of incredible things in Mississippi in terms of debris removal and protective blue roofs as everyone knows. I'll try to give you a little bit more of an overview.
As of late last week we had processed more than 407 households for individual assistance in Mississippi. Typically a household we figure to be about 2.5 individuals, so we've reached out to more than a million individuals in Mississippi who have registered for FEMA, and we have obligated funds in excess of $334 million. That was as of late last week and that number has certainly grown over the weekend, although I did not have the latest figure with me. We can certainly get that for any media member who wants the most current numbers as of the close of business yesterday.
That need as you know deals with minimal home repairs, direct housing, temporary rental assistance and other things not covered by insurance, and necessary expenses and serious needs. The Small Business Administration who is in partnership with FEMA is also on the scene in Mississippi and has started the low interest loan process, and I know they've crossed the 3 million mark.
Typically, however, I might add that the Small Business Administration typically loans a lot more than FEMA grants, so you can imagine that that number will grow and hopefully we can have the SBA with us at some future point.
As far as our cooperation with the Corps, the Corps is on the lead on debris removal. I know that more than 3 million cubic yards of debris have been removed so far. There's a lot to go. I know the blue roof program is in full swing. The latest numbers that I saw for Mississippi were close to 10,000 roofs that had been completed which was I believe about 40 percent of the total applications that they had received, but those numbers certainly can be confirmed by mike. Of course, I'm just here to answer any questions that may come up and if we can't get you the answer on this call, I will certainly take down your name and track down the answer and get back with you. Thanks.

Good Luck Mississippi! The blue roof program has been in full swing in Florida since last hurricane season and we still have them.

[timNms]

I guess I'm a little interested in the specific "problem" you are referring to. In my opinion, FEMA has done a pretty good job. They responded quickly in my neighborhood, and have been in touch since.

If we are going to use Katrina as a test for their abilities, or lack thereof, that may be a little unfair. I don't believe there was ANYBODY who knew "exactly" what the consequences of Katrina were going to be. At no time in modern history, or in the history of our government, has any federal department had to respond to such an event. Therefore, the benchmarks did not exist.

Sure, the NHC sounded the extreme alarm in the hours before landfall - but even at that, the actual outcome was still completely unexpected by most officials from the local level on up. FEMA is doing what it can, and actually, is learning and doing it better as each day passes.

This was an unprecendented event, and the response to such an event - I believe - was and is generally spot on. Give about a week and let's see how they respond for Rita. I'm thinking they will be reacting appropriately from lessons quickly learned. And that, I believe, is about the most we should ask of anyone.

I'm glad to hear that Fema has responded well to your area. However, I talked to someone from Waveland and he says that they appear to be dragging their feet when it comes to providing housing. As a side note, Fema seemed to have forgotten about rural areas that suffered great damage. This could have been blamed on the lack of communication or maybe it was red tape. However, now things are looking much better.

[Mississippi Storm Magnet]

I guess I'm a little interested in the specific "problem" you are referring to. In my opinion, FEMA has done a pretty good job. They responded quickly in my neighborhood, and have been in touch since.

I received money and a visit from FEMA within 2 weeks. Wish my insurance company was that responsive.

[arcticfire]

We just need to make an NDA "Natural Distaster Agency". Whos only function is natural disaster preperation and response.

[bevgo]

I recieved money from FEMA in 3 weeks and a visit today. My personal experience has been OK. heard others stories that are less satisfying though. A friend of my daughter lost her home in Slidell (renter). Fema offered her a trailer but in TN. She and her husband have jobs waiting in the burbs of NOLA but cannot work if they have no home. TN is too far to commute and all her family is in the NOLA area. FEMA closed her case since she refused to move to TN.

I was dissapointed in the Red Cross assistance here in Ocean Springs. I had food, water and Ice but the 2 y/o grandson would not eat hurricane food.. After 3 days Red Cross was not here. The baby looked like he was losing weight (he did lose 2 lbs) and we both got sick with respiratory problems. NO Red Cross. We left after 3 days of deprivation and heat. We had to sleep outside 2 nights just to keep cool.

[Ixolib]

I guess I'm a little interested in the specific "problem" you are referring to. In my opinion, FEMA has done a pretty good job. They responded quickly in my neighborhood, and have been in touch since.

I received money and a visit from FEMA within 2 weeks. Wish my insurance company was that responsive.

I'll second that on the insurance company. On an encouraging note, though, State Farm called yesterday and said an adjustor would be here on October 4. Yee Haa!!!

As for FEMA, they've actually provided some pretty impressive assistance for me - MUCH more than I would have ever expected, and all in short order. Of course, it was MY responsibility up front to get the ball rolling and MY responsibility after-the-fact to ensure it stayed rolling. IMO, nobody "owes" us anything, except the insurance company to which we've paid our premiums. Anything else from another source, federal or otherwise, is a welcome gift, but I have never viewed it as an "entitlement"...

As for the Red Cross and Salvation Army - wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!! In fact, even four weeks later, they are still delivering hot meals to our front door twice a day. It ain't Outback Steakhouse, but it is surely appreciated when you're up to your neck in mud, insulation, and moldy, smelly, and wet sheetrock!!

[Rob Beaux]

I guess I'm a little interested in the specific "problem" you are referring to. In my opinion, FEMA has done a pretty good job. They responded quickly in my neighborhood, and have been in touch since.

I received money and a visit from FEMA within 2 weeks. Wish my insurance company was that responsive.

You rinsurance company is slowed down because of the MS AG filing the suit to cover flood damage on nonflood policies. It in affect places an injunction on settleing claims on houses that may have been in the flooded area. My nieghbor is an adjuster and said this is hurting the people who need the help the most. Good luck.

I have to disagree witheh AG, flood insurance is a national program for those who dont have it on thier policys. But that might be to political for this board.

[Ixolib]

I guess I'm a little interested in the specific "problem" you are referring to. In my opinion, FEMA has done a pretty good job. They responded quickly in my neighborhood, and have been in touch since.

I received money and a visit from FEMA within 2 weeks. Wish my insurance company was that responsive.

You rinsurance company is slowed down because of the MS AG filing the suit to cover flood damage on nonflood policies. It in affect places an injunction on settleing claims on houses that may have been in the flooded area. My nieghbor is an adjuster and said this is hurting the people who need the help the most. Good luck.

I have to disagree witheh AG, flood insurance is a national program for those who dont have it on thier policys. But that might be to political for this board.

Well... they can call it "flood" if they want to. But it was nothing more than wind-driven water that would not have been present had a hurricane not "blown" it in. This was NOT a rain event. In fact, I'd be willing to bet the total ranifall for my neighborhood was relatively minimal.

Had water entered my home any other way (tree through the roof, roof blown off, vents being knocked off, etc) - as a consequence of the wind - I would have been covered. But because the water DID enter my home as a consequence of the wind, SF ought to pay. This property was NOT in a supposed flood zone -- ever. For this area of Biloxi, and countless others, this was a first.

But back on topic... FEMA is working with us on the water issue, so there is a ray of sun in there somewhere!!

[Mississippi Storm Magnet]

You rinsurance company is slowed down because of the MS AG filing the suit to cover flood damage on nonflood policies. It in affect places an injunction on settleing claims on houses that may have been in the flooded area. My nieghbor is an adjuster and said this is hurting the people who need the help the most. Good luck.

I have to disagree witheh AG, flood insurance is a national program for those who dont have it on thier policys. But that might be to political for this board.

Rob, that's a load. Some people who have Met life, etc, ALREADY have their money. I have State Farm, and they have been terrible neighbors. After this is settled, I will be changing carriers.

[mikemiller18]

Do away with FEMA completely. I never asked the federal government for money regarding damages to my house after Frances and Jeanne (and they were pretty extensive). In my opinion, it's not their role to add to the deficit with these kind of grants. Only adds to the deficit which hurts us more than any hurricane could.

[timNms]

Do away with FEMA completely. I never asked the federal government for money regarding damages to my house after Frances and Jeanne (and they were pretty extensive). In my opinion, it's not their role to add to the deficit with these kind of grants. Only adds to the deficit which hurts us more than any hurricane could.

While that may be a good solution for those of us who can afford insurance, what about the people like my mother, 71 yrs old, living on social security, who cannot afford insurance on her property? Her meds alone each month would take all of her check and then some if it were not for Hospice. As it is now, she barely has enough income to pay her utilitiy bills. She doesn't get food stamps because she and my father wanted to have the American dream. They worked hard all of their lives, built and paid for a home, got 20 acres of land, and has a 1986 Chevy pick-up truck that my dad bought new before he died. Now the state of MS requires her to insure the vehicle, which takes another piece of that SS check she gets each month. After my dad passed away in 1989, my mom applied for help but was told she owns too much to get food stamps! Today, they still say she owns too much to get stamps.
So, yes, for you and me, Fema is an unnecessary part of government. But for the many people who are in similar situations as my mother is in, Fema is a God-send.

[dhweather]

You rinsurance company is slowed down because of the MS AG filing the suit to cover flood damage on nonflood policies. It in affect places an injunction on settleing claims on houses that may have been in the flooded area. My nieghbor is an adjuster and said this is hurting the people who need the help the most. Good luck.

I have to disagree witheh AG, flood insurance is a national program for those who dont have it on thier policys. But that might be to political for this board.

Rob, that's a load. Some people who have Met life, etc, ALREADY have their money. I have State Farm, and they have been terrible neighbors. After this is settled, I will be changing carriers.

I'm still waiting for that "good neighbor" to be there as well.

[Downdraft]

So maybe all the negative stories we've been hearing about FEMA dragging their feet or putting roadblocks in front of the process are media hype and not the truth?
Wouldn't be interesting if it was the media creating these stories and they aren't based in reality?
I know for a fact that FEMA paid thousands to Metro-Dade in Florida last year and that was one area not affected by the hurricanes at all. Of course, it was an election year and Jeb's brother was running. Again, pretty interesting.

[mikemiller18]

While that may be a good solution for those of us who can afford insurance, what about the people like my mother, 71 yrs old, living on social security, who cannot afford insurance on her property? Her meds alone each month would take all of her check and then some if it were not for Hospice. As it is now, she barely has enough income to pay her utilitiy bills. She doesn't get food stamps because she and my father wanted to have the American dream. They worked hard all of their lives, built and paid for a home, got 20 acres of land, and has a 1986 Chevy pick-up truck that my dad bought new before he died. Now the state of MS requires her to insure the vehicle, which takes another piece of that SS check she gets each month. After my dad passed away in 1989, my mom applied for help but was told she owns too much to get food stamps! Today, they still say she owns too much to get stamps.
So, yes, for you and me, Fema is an unnecessary part of government. But for the many people who are in similar situations as my mother is in, Fema is a God-send.

That sounds like a terrible situation. It's a shame that the big business drug companies and the government conspire to inflate these costs of medicine. And for all of the money she put into social security, i'm sure instead of that when they were hard workers, they could have put a lot of that extra income in something more stable for their future.

Overall, it sounds like a situation in which your mom has been taken advantage by the government. They force her to pay into the system yet make her bargain by their rules and their failed programs.

If there were aspects smaller in the federal government, i'm sure we wouldn't see these inflated costs and the rise of competition would keep them down, so that your mom could afford these drugs that costs pennies to make.