FEMA - How Presidents & Administrations Choose Its Leaders Says All You Need To Know
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FEMA was created in 1979 by President Carter, yet its mission was (largely) that of Cold War civil defense and nuclear fallout shelters. And it was largely considered a dumping ground for political appointees — nearly 10x the number compared to other agencies. The turning point was the 1992 arrival of Hurricane Andrew, with not only the lack of experienced emergency management officials, but also the use of motorized vehicles that were designed for wartime usage. The Bush/Quayle administration had treated natural disasters much like the Reagan years, with indifference. His FEMA director (Wallace Stickney) was described in a House report as "weak" and "uninterested in the substantive programs of FEMA."
During his campaign (including a visit to Homestead, Florida) then Gov. Bill Clinton took note, and in his memoirs wrote:
“Traditionally, the job of FEMA director was given to a political supporter of the President who wanted some plum position but who had had no experience with emergencies. I made a mental note to avoid that mistake if I won. Voters don’t choose a president based on how he’ll handle disasters, but if they’re faced with one, it quickly becomes the most important issue in their lives.”
And he followed-through by hiring as FEMA director his own Arkansas director of emergency management, James Lee Witt — who moved the agency away from nuclear war priorities (admittedly, an easier task with the end of the Cold War) to natural disasters. In one of his first acts, Witt eliminated ten presidentially appointed posts in the agency. “The White House didn’t like that”, Witt said of the political operatives. “But the President didn’t mind”. Bill Clinton also named (as a top aide to Witt) Lacy Suiter — who had thirty years in emergency management, twelve as Tennessee’s director of emergency management. James Lee Witt is seen as the best director FEMA ever had — and Bill Clinton gave FEMA cabinet status. To me, transforming FEMA may stand as one of Bill Clinton’s most enduring achievements.
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That Cabinet status did not continue into the George W. administration. And the first choice W made for FEMA was Joe Allbaugh — a political operative who had no experience in emergency management and said before Congress that FEMA was a “giant bureaucratic entitlement” — and that its work should be delegated to faith-based organizations. This demonstrates the change in the conservative movement between the two Bush administrations. In the time of H.W. Bush, indifference and traditional patronage were the watchwords.
In the new century: part of the change was in anti-government philosophy, where they are not afraid government won’t work … but that it will work, thus making it more palatable to the public. And in addition, moving beyond mere traditional patronage … and on to profiting off disaster, awarding contracts to cronies … and especially to religious cronies. Max Blumenthal of The Nation went on Democracy Now (just after Hurricane Katrina) to point out that FEMA was promoting the work of Operation Blessing — a “charity” of televangelist Pat Robertson.
And speaking of Katrina: Joe Allbaugh was able to have his old friend hired as a deputy and — when FEMA was consolidated into the Department of Homeland Security — left, leading to his old pal then being appointed agency head. And yes, it is like shooting-fish-in-a-barrel to lampoon Michael “Heckuva Job” Brown — but as a liberal weenie, I was hoping for some redemptive qualities in the guy. And some time after he was fired: there was the release of a video in which he told the Bush administration that the Gulf Coast in general (and New Orleans in particular) was at risk of dire consequences with the oncoming Hurricane Katrina. Hey, I thought, he was not a total doofus! But over time, his public statements on emergency management were …. well, pretty dumb. Among those dumb statements was about the agency head that President Obama named, Craig Fugate — whom ‘Brownie’ faulted for over-positioning resources for Hurricane Sandy in the Middle Atlantic states, even before the storm hit. (See what I get for trying to cut the guy some slack)?
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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/9/19/1885913/-Top-Comments-the-FEMA-see-saw-edition?utm_campaign=recent
