From Goerning.com: FEMA:The Federal Agency We Don’t Like Until We Need It
It’s appealing to say that disaster relief should be left to states and localities. The less appealing reality is that they aren’t up to the job.

“If there’s any one enduring truth about federalism, however, it’s that it refuses to be neat. Nowhere has that been truer than in preparing and responding to disasters.”

From E&ENews: White House considers closing FEMA regional offices, senators say. New England’s 12 senators warned the Trump administration against consolidating the 10 offices.

White House considers closing FEMA regional offices, senators say

From The Hill: Get rid of FEMA? That would be a disaster

“The trends that brought about the expanded federal disaster role in the 1960s and 1970s have only been exacerbated in the intervening years. Development in risky areas, such as the Florida coastlines, has continued more or less unabated. Katrina, as is now clear, heralded the beginning of two decades of increasingly catastrophic natural disasters.

All of this has put increasing pressure on a federal disaster system that is chronically understaffed and relies on year-to-year funding from Congress that has become partisan on these issues in a way that was simply not the case in the 1970s.”

From Industrial Cyber: House Democrats urge DHS secretary to halt reported plan to dismantle FEMA

“In a letter to Noem, Bennie G. Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi and ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security; Rick Larsen, a Democrat from Washington and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member; Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat from Connecticut and Appropriations Ranking Committee Member; Maxine Waters, a Democrat from California and Financial Services Ranking Committee Member; and Zoe Lofgren, another Democrat from California and Science, Space and Technology Committee member wrote that “FEMA is the only Federal agency with the sole responsibility for helping communities across the country before, during, and after disasters.”

“The members mentioned their alarm about the mounting reports of FEMA being dismantled and the ongoing steps the agency is taking to fire employees and take funding from disaster recovery and preparedness grants that improve communities across the nation.”

From HSToday: Emergency Management Expert Pens Children’s Book to Help Kids Navigate Disaster Recovery

From the WashPost: States caught unprepared for Trump’s threats to FEMA

FEMA is canceling plans to award states grants to help prepare against future disasters. Federal funds given to states after disasters strike could also be in jeopardy.

From Grist: FEMA moves to end one of its biggest disaster adaptation programs. In an internal FEMA memorandum obtained by Grist, the Trump administration announced its plans to dismantle the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program.

From Politico: FEMA chief given lie detector test after leak of private meeting. The Department of Homeland Security tested acting Administrator Cameron Hamilton shortly after he met with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. One excerpt:

“Although Hamilton is in charge of the nation’s leading disaster agency, he appears to have little control over decisions affecting FEMA, including whether to shrink or abolish the agency. Hamilton has expressed frustration to FEMA colleagues, said multiple people, granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.”

Trump’s Mantra From Schools to FEMA: ‘Move It Back to the States’

President Trump justifies his plan to shutter the Education Department by saying that states should control schools. He’s using the idea to explain other policies now, too.

From Bloomberg.com: FEMA’s Demise Could Mean for Flood Insurance

The announcement last week from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that she plans to “eliminate” the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has cast a pall over the US government’s disaster response unit.

While most of the focus has been on what it would mean for disaster recovery if the agency is wound down, there’s another big issue at stake: FEMA’s foundational role in managing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Any changes to the program or how it’s run can potentially disrupt the lives of millions of homeowners living in flood-prone areas.

Thanks to Chris Jones for the citation.