Civics -- Green/Raby

Marisa Tavolacci

1/10/13

1^st hour Civics

FEMA and Federalism

1) What role did the National, State and Local Governments have in preventing, mitigating and reacting to Hurricane Katrina?

A:  From 1940 to about 1979, the state and local governments handled the natural disasters that occurred near them.  Until the height of the New Deal, the Roosevelt Admin­istration and Congress greatly expanded the federal government's role in disaster response by giving three entities enhanced roles:

• The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was per­mitted to provide loans following earthquakes.
• The Bureau of Public Roads was allowed to pro­vide funds to repair roads and bridges after a hurricane.
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers received greater power to implement flood measures.

By this time more declarations were issued and in 1979, President Jimmy Carter created FEMA.

2) Evaluate how each level of government performed its duties. Be specific and back up your points with facts and logic.

A:  From the Frontline movie about hurricane Katrina, the local did in my opinion none of the following:

• Provide warnings
• No proper evacuation
• Failed communication
• Not a lot of major resources

The State governments held unnecessary press conferences and had an unprepared governor.

In the year that Katrina struck New Orleans, at the scene there were no national guard, no army, the U.S. military waited too long, there was no awareness, only ¾ of the force showed up for duty, and they failed to provide the state and local governments with the proper resources.

3) After reading the "FEMA and federalism" article, take a stand about the role of the federal government in natural disasters.

A:  The federal government used FEMA to get involved with these disasters.  Through the 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s FEMA involvement was at its peak. During President Bill Clinton's two terms, FEMA's involvement in disasters again increased dramatically. From 1993 to 2000, FEMA was involved in an average of 88 declarations per year-- almost triple the average of the previous 12 years. From 1953 to 1992, the total number of declara­tions issued totaled 1,137, but in only eight years, FEMA issued 707 declarations. During President Clinton's two terms, FEMA dealt with 33 billion-dollar disasters that caused $143.5 billion in dam­ages and 2,034 deaths. Of these, six were hurri­canes, one was an earthquake, and the other 26 were storms, floods, and droughts.

FEMA was even busier under President George W. Bush. In the first six years of the Bush Adminis­tration, FEMA issued 760 declarations--an average of over 126 declarations per year. In March 2003, FEMA became part of the newly created Depart­ment of Homeland Security (DHS). From 2001 to 2006, FEMA dealt with 20 billion-dollar disasters that caused an estimated $244.5 billion in damages and approximately 2,360 deaths. (Hurricane Kat­rina accounted for over half of the damages and deaths.) Of these 20 disasters, almost half were hur­ricanes, and the rest were storms, floods, and droughts.

Given the tripling of declarations from 1992 to 2006, one would have expected a substantial increase in FEMA's budget. In 1992, FEMA had roughly 2,500 employees and a nominal appropria­tion of $4,834,065,000. In contrast, it had roughly 2,000 employees in 2006 and a nominal appropria­tion of $4,834,744,000.[6] After 12 years in which its activity tripled and its staff was reduced by 20 per­cent, FEMA's lack of preparation for the next cata­strophic event--Hurricane Katrina--should not be surprising.

State governments are clearly not sanguine about having the federal government play a larger role in directing local responses. In fact, USA Today found that at least 36 gover­nors disagreed with a significantly greater federal role in disaster responses.