ShortPaper2_LAVALAIS_HLSS322

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Oct 30, 2023

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1 Short Paper 2 Marcus Lavalais American Public University System HLSS322: Homeland Security Legal and Ethical Issues Dr. Duane Benton October 20, 2023

2 Introduction The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was established April 1, 1979 when President Carter signed Executive Order 12127. In July 1979, FEMA was given the mission for Emergency Management and Civil Defense. It was not until the attacks on 9/11 and after the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2003, when FEMA was captivated by the DHS and 21 other administrations. FEMA has been a crucial organization of the U.S. and has provided aid to many parts of the United States who have been affected by Natural Disasters: Hurricane Katrina when billions of dollars were lost to displaced homes and damaged infrastructure. Hurricane Sandy left millions of people without power and affected most of the east coast. Lastly, the wildfires of 2017, burned thousands of acres of land and many personnel without homes ( History of FEMA , 2021). With many efforts to provide aid to catastrophic areas within the United States, comes challenges facing FEMA responding to crisis. In this legal brief will discuss several challenges that FEMA faces, along with possible strategies to eliminate such challenges. Challenges FEMA Faces Responding to Crisis For FEMA to be an effective organization within the DHS, they have to be able to prepare and respond to disasters/crisis without facing stemming challenges. These challenges have to be resolved or FEMA will be removed from the DHS and will become an independent agency within the U.S. Executive Branch. Some of these challenges that FEMA faces include: No Clear defined leadership with roles and responsibilities FEMA is controlled by the Secretary of Homeland Security, Deanne Criswell. After Hurricane Katrina, DHS noted that there needed to be improvements to the roles and

3 responsibilities to respond to such disasters effectively and rapidly. Leadership at all levels are not clearly defined which make the decision-making process ineffective. There are not clearly defined Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO) and Principal Federal Official (PFO). The FCO completes mission assignments to agencies to respond and recover. The PFO provides awareness to the Secretary of Homeland Security who then provides this information to the President. The lack of roles and responsibilities of these groups puts the communication between federal, state, and local authorities in jeopardy (Jenkins, 2007). Funding Funding is always an extremely important factor to keep organizations afloat. The Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) is one of three grant programs that supports FEMA’s operations. The three programs within the HSGP are State Homeland Security Program (SHSP), Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI), and Operation Stonegarden (OPSG). All 56 states and territories are eligible to apply for SHSP, UASI, and OPSG funding but funds are limited and are only distributed based on risk determined by FEMA. The Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) helps fund these grant programs and is one of the largest federal financial assistances. The DRF is allocated through Congress annually and has distributed nearly $381 Billion from the years of 1992 – 2021. Spending has varied depending on the type of disasters that are currently happening. For example, during hurricane season in 2005, nearly 18% of that funding went to disaster relief. When there are a limited amount of disasters for a year, the amount of funding is not utilized. COVID-19 marked the second-largest spending since the 2005 hurricanes, and we are starting to feel the effects ( FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund: Budgetary History and Projections , 2022). FEMA is now running low on funds and has currently paused all spending as it braces for the government shutdown. In August 2023, Deanne Criswell requested additional funding but it was

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4 denied due to the events in Ukraine. There were thoughts that funding could last until October, but FEMA is one disaster away from having no funding (Bittle, 2023). Limited Personnel for Response FEMA has a big mission and the need for personnel is essential to ensure that the recovery and preparation phases are accomplished. As previously mentioned, the COVID-19 pandemic was one of the largest responses from FEMA in over a decade. FEMAs response was vital during those years. There are currently 5,000 employees working with FEMA but there are 1,118 vacancies. Due to manning shortages, the current workers are overworked and their time off is denied. The hiring process for FEMA is slow due to the workers having to claim a security clearance. Possible Strategies for Such Challenges Strategies need to be implemented to ensure the successful mission of FEMA. To ensure that leadership is clearly defined The Secretary of Homeland Security should appoint FCO’s and PFO’s before disasters arise. This would ensure that information sharing between federal, state, and local sectors are being conducted and they are preparing for such disasters before they happen. The FCO’s will be able to assign roles and responsibilities to certain entities so that preparation for a disaster is implemented. Appointing a vetted PFO will ensure that all current information is being relayed to the Secretary of Homeland Security so that she can inform the President. A strategy that should be implemented is to grant FEMA additional funding when requested regardless of the situation. Disasters are not premeditated and can happen in a split second. A plan to accept FEMA’s request is vital to ensuring that personnel are not displaced

5 from their home, and they have all essentials to survive. There should be a funding system in place that allows FEMA to gain money bi-annually that will negate them from possibly running out of funds. Additional funding would allow for programs such as preparation training, advanced technology/AI, and essentials for families after a disaster. Lastly, FEMA should not put a cap on how many members it is hiring. FEMA is an important organization and one that is needed year around. Disasters can happen any time and the need for personnel is crucial. Hiring more personnel will solidify the current workers and the work morale would boost due to allowing for more time off. Like the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, FEMA should disperse their workers in higher catastrophic areas. This would improve response time and also give an abundance of FEMA workers to aid in the disaster. Conclusion In Conclusion, FEMA is important to the United States and should not have to face challenges while responding to a disaster. Though challenges will continue throughout its time, as long as leadership is clearly defined, enough funding is allocated, and there is no cap in the hiring process, it should lessen the challenges FEMA faces. Due to these challenges and potential solutions, I recommend that the DHS remove FEMA from the structure and make it an independent agency of the U.S. Executive Branch.

6 References Bittle, J. (October 2, 2023). Disaster Recovery Projects Stall Nationwide as FEMA Runs Out of Money. https://www.govexec.com/oversight/2023/10/disaster-recovery-projects-stall-nationwide- fema-runs-out-money/390820/ FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund: Budgetary History and Projections (November 2022). Congressional Budget Office. https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58840#:~:text=Although%20the %20DRF%20receives%20some,particularly%20large%20or%20widespread%20disasters . Jenkins, W.O. (May 15, 2007). Homeland Security: Observations on DHS and FEMA Efforts to Prepare for and Respond to Major and Catastrophic Disasters and Address Related Recommendations and Legislation. https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-07-835t.pdf History of FEMA . (January 4, 2021) U.S. Department of Homeland Security. https://www.fema.gov/about/history

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