PPA 573 Emergency Management and Homeland Security

1
PPA 573 Emergency Management and Homeland
Security

• Lecture 3a Redesigning and Administering
  Federal Emergency Management

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Source

• R. T. Sylves. (1996). Redesigning and
  administering federal emergency management. In R.
  T. Sylves, W. L. Waugh, Jr., (Eds.), Disaster
  management in the U.S. and Canada, 2nd. Ed. (pp.
  5-25). Springfield, IL Charles C. Thomas.
• Updated from www.fema.gov and www.dhs.gov.

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Introduction

• In the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in 1992, the
  Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was
  highly criticized for a poor, mismanaged
  emergency response.

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Introduction

• Since Hurricane Andrew, significant changes have
  occurred
• 1992 presidential election.
• Start of the Clinton Administration.
• The appointment of a state emergency management
  director as FEMA director.
• The push of two National Performance Reviews
  aimed at reinventing federal administration, and
• A FEMA Director-led in-house assessment and
  reorganization.
• 2000 presidential election.
• 9/11 events.

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Introduction

• This lecture focuses on the managerial
  environment inside FEMA during the period from
  1993 to 2001, prior to the events of September
  11, 2001.
• It also updates managerial material to reflect
  the Homeland Security Act of 2002.

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FEMA History

• President Jimmy Carter created FEMA on April 1,
  1979 to consolidate a confusing array of federal
  emergency agencies.
• The reorganization came during a much-criticized
  federal emergency response to the Three Mile
  Island Nuclear Power Plant accident.

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FEMA History

• FEMA was to provide a single point of contact for
  state and local governments and was to optimize
  the use of emergency preparedness and response
  resources at all levels of government by taking
  advantage of the similarities and response
  activities for both peacetime and attack
  emergencies.
• The agency was supposed to replace a patchwork of
  disparate agencies, councils, laws, and executive
  orders with a central, consolidated, and
  integrated emergency management agency.

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FEMA History

• Prior to 1979, there as no organized regulated
  framework by which the federal government could
  provide coordinated emergency management and
  federal disaster response.
• For many years Congress dispensed disaster aid to
  the states on a disaster-by-disaster basis.
• From 1803 to 1950, over 128 separate disaster
  laws were enacted.

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FEMA History

• 1986 study of disaster policy revealed that laws
  passed between disasters (in normal times) were
  usually better conceived than those hurriedly
  approved soon after disasters.
• Congress was slow to understand disaster in
  generic, rather than type-specific terms.
• Congress tended to pass laws for specific types
  of disaster rather than use an all-hazard
  approach.
• Result Patchwork of overlapping, duplicative
  programs.

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FEMA History

• Federal Disaster Act of 1950 (P.L. 81-875) broke
  the single incident cycle.
• Created the basic philosophy of disaster relief
  and laid the foundation for federal-state cost
  sharing.
• Originally only for public assistance (the
  replacement of public facilities). Private
  assistance relied on private and nonprofit
  charities (e.g., Red Cross, Salvation Army,
  Mennonite Disaster Service).

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FEMA History

• Disaster Relief Act of 1970.
• Temporary housing program and other individual
  assistance programs.
• Disaster Relief Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-288).
• Individual and Family Grant Program.
• 75 federal and 25 state.

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FEMA History

• Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
  Assistance Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-707).
• The Act expanded assistance to all disasters
  regardless of cause.
• FEMA was an independent agency, but is now part
  of the Department of Homeland Security.

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FEMA History

• FEMA has about 2,600 permanent employees.
• The Mitigation Directorate,
• The Federal Insurance Administration (FIA)
• The United States Fire Administration (USFA)
• The Preparedness, Training and Exercises
  Directorate,
• The Response and Recovery Directorate,
• The Operations Support Directorate, and
• The Information Technology Services Directorate
  (ITS).

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Managerial World of FEMA
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Managerial World of FEMA

• Political appointees.
• In 1993 GAO alleged that FEMA had too many
  political appointees (30) for its size.
• All 10 regional directors and the heads of
  several subsidiary organizations.
• Eight FEMA appointees require Senate
  confirmation.
• Five separate Senate committees must vote to
  confirm most of these employees.
• Partially addressed by the hiring of professional
  emergency management personnel for political
  positions by James Lee Witt.
• Problem must be solved by Congress.

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Managerial World of FEMA

• A new mission statement.
• Traditional strategy
• Enhance the capability of state and local
  governments to respond to disaster.
• Coordinate with 26 federal agencies assigned to
  provide resources to respond to disasters.
• Give federal assistance directly to citizens
  recovering from disasters.
• Grant financial assistance to state and local
  governments.
• Provide leadership, through grants, flood plain
  management, and other activities of hazard
  mitigation.

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Managerial World of FEMA

• A new mission statement (Witt).
• The mission of the Federal Emergency Management
  Agency is to provide the leadership and support
  to reduce the loss of life and property and
  protect our institutions from all types of
  hazards through a comprehensive, risk-based,
  all-hazards emergency management program of
  mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.

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Managerial World of FEMA

• A new mission statement (2003-2008 DHS Strategic
  Plan).
• Vision
• A Nation Prepared
• Mission
• Lead America to prepare for, prevent, respond to,
  and recover from disasters.

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Managerial World of FEMA

• A new mission statement (under DHS).
• Core Values
• Integrity
• Customer Focus
• Innovation
• Public Stewardship
• Accountability
• Partnership
• Respect
• Diversity
• Trust
• Compassion

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Managerial World of FEMA

• A new mission statement (under DHS).
• Goals
• 1. Reduce loss of life and property.
• 2. Minimize suffering and disruption caused by
  disasters.
• 3. Prepare the Nation to address the consequences
  of terrorism.
• 4. Serve as the Nations portal for emergency
  management information
• and expertise.
• 5. Create a motivating and challenging work
  environment for employees.
• 6. Make FEMA a world-class enterprise.

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Managerial World of FEMA

• National Performance Review
• Under Director Witts leadership, FEMA conducted
  two rounds of self-evaluation with inputs for all
  significant stake-holders.
• The Government Performance and Results Act of
  1993 has also required the submission of a
  five-year strategic plan and annual performance
  plans.
• FEMA has issued performance plans for 1999-2002
  and has a strategic plan for 2003-2008.

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Managerial World of FEMA

• Hazard mitigation.
• Under Witt, FEMA began to emphasize the
  importance of mitigation.
• Actions and strategies to reduce the impact of
  disaster or prevent it altogether.
• 15 of disaster assistance funds went to
  mitigation with up to 75 FEMA funding of state
  and local projects.
• Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program and Section
  409 assistance (after disaster).

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Managerial World of FEMA

• Hazard mitigation (contd.).
• Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-390).
• Amend Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.)
• Establish a national program for pre-disaster
  mitigation
• Streamline administration of disaster relief
• Control Federal costs of disaster assistance

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Managerial World of FEMA

• Hazard mitigation (contd.).
• Aimed at reducing loss of life and property,
  human suffering, economic disruption, and
  disaster costs
• High priority should be given to mitigation of
  hazards at the local level
• Increased emphasis placed on
• Assessing risks
• Implementing loss reduction measures
• Ensuring critical services/facilities survive a
  disaster

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Managerial World of FEMA

• Hazard mitigation (contd.).
• With unified effort of economic incentives,
  awareness and education, and Federal
  support--State and local Governments (including
  Indian tribes) will be able to
• Form effective community-based partnerships
• Implement effective hazard mitigation measures
• Leverage additional non-Federal resources
• Commit to long-term hazard mitigation efforts

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Managerial World of FEMA

• Reorganization.
• Before 1993, National Preparedness Directorate
  and State and Local Programs and Support
  Directorate.
• Most money spent on national preparedness.
• From 1993-2001, Response and Recovery,
  Mitigation, Preparedness-Training Exercises,
  Operations Support, Information Technology.
• Most money spent on disaster assistance.
• Since 2001, same directorates, plus expanded
  Office of National Security Coordination.
• Increased focus on continuity of operations.

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Managerial World of FEMA

• Headquarters/ field relations.
• Another damaging claim concerned the
  compartmentalized nature of many FEMA offices.
• Director Witt increased headquarters and regional
  office interaction.
• Job of FEMA to make sure that the regions have
  appropriate personnel and competencies.
• Regions IV (Southeast), VI (South Central), and
  IX (Southwest) have the greatest number of
  disaster declarations from 1953 to 1994 (205,
  191, 168). No other region has more than 95.

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Managerial World of FEMA

• Training and education.
• NAPA and GAO studies in 1992 concluded that FEMA
  needed to better integrate academic and
  professional scholarship into the training and
  education programs it provide sits employees and
  the employees of state and local government.
• It is not clear that the agency has yet done
  this.
• The critical task will be the ability of FEMA to
  learn from past disasters and integrate the
  lessons into its training programs.
• Elements of a new evaluation program are in place.

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Managerial World of FEMA

• FEMA and civil defense against nuclear attack.
• Continuity of government programs a primary
  function prior to 1993.
• From 1993-2001, a shift toward disaster relief,
  but continuity functions still operative.
• Since 2001, a partial shift back to continuity of
  government.
• Loathe to lose national security money, FEMA has
  worked to give national security functions dual
  use capabilities.

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Managerial World of FEMA

• Human resources and clerical activity.
• Director Witt (1993-2001) began the process of
  examining agency staffing, adoption of new
  technologies, and reduction of routine expenses.
  But, the process was not completed.
• Homeland Security Act of 2002 gave DHS (and FEMA)
  new personnel flexibilities.

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Managerial World of FEMA

• DHS issued new draft human resource regulations
  on Feb. 25, 2004.
• The proposed regulations developed by the DHS and
  the U.S. Office of Personnel Management would
  cover pay, classification, performance
  management, labor relations, adverse action and
  employee appeals.
• The new regulations grant significant
  flexibilities to line managers.

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FEMA and Other Federal Agencies

• Federal Response Plan.
• The poor coordination of Hurricane Hugo in 1989
  led to the creation of new Federal Response Plan.
• This plan is the current model for federal
  interaction in an emergency.
• The plan relies on twelve Emergency Support
  Functions, each administered by a different
  federal agency.

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FEMA and Other Federal Agencies

• Federal Response Plan
• Emergency Support Functions.
• Resources provided by the federal government are
  grouped into 12 Emergency Support Functions
  (ESFs)
• ESF 1 Transportation. Providing civilian and
  military transportation.Lead agency Department
  of Transportation
• ESF 2 Communications. Providing
  telecommunications support.Lead agency National
  Communications System
• ESF 3 Public Works and Engineering. Restoring
  essential public services and facilities.Lead
  agency U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department
  of Defense
• ESF 4 Fire Fighting. Detecting and suppressing
  wildland, rural and urban fires.Lead agency
  U.S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture

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FEMA and Other Federal Agencies

• Federal Response Plan
• Emergency Support Functions.
• Resources provided by the federal government are
  grouped into 12 Emergency Support Functions
  (ESFs)
• ESF 5 Information and Planning. Collecting,
  analyzing and disseminating critical information
  to facilitate the overal federal response and
  recovery operations.Lead agency Federal
  Emergency Management Agency
• ESF 6 Mass Care. Managing and coordinating food,
  shelter and first aid for victims providing bulk
  distribution of relief supplies operating a
  system to assist family reunification.Lead
  agency American Red Cross
• ESF 7 Resource Support. Providing equipment,
  materials, supplies and personnel to federal
  entities during response operations.Lead agency
  General Services Administration
• ESF 8 Health and Medical Services. Providing
  assistance for public health and medical care
  needs.Lead agency U.S. Public Health Service,
  Department of Health and Human Services

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FEMA and Other Federal Agencies

• Federal Response Plan
• Emergency Support Functions.
• Resources provided by the federal government are
  grouped into 12 Emergency Support Functions
  (ESFs)
• ESF 9 Urban Search and Rescue. Locating,
  extricating and providing initial medical
  treatment to victims trapped in collapsed
  structures.Lead agency Federal Emergency
  Management Agency
• ESF 10 Hazardous Materials. Supporting federal
  response to actual or potential releases of oil
  and hazardous materials.Lead agency
  Environmental Protection Agency
• ESF 11 Food. Identifying food needs ensuring
  that food gets to areas affected by
  disaster.Lead agency Food and Nutrition
  Service, Department of Agriculture
• ESF 12 Energy. Restoring power systems and fuel
  supplies.Lead agency Department of Energy

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FEMA and Other Federal Agencies

• FEMA and the military.
• The FEMA response to Hurricane Andrew led many
  commentators to suggest that FEMA be disbanded
  and its functions disbursed to other agencies
  including the military, who did an excellent job
  of mass care.
• In recent years, the military has begun
  redefining its functions especially in light of
  its humanitarian operations.
• However, the Department of Defense faces
  significant political and constitutional
  obstacles relating to civilian supremacy over the
  military and Defense interference in domestic
  affairs.
• FEMAs leverage over the military is questionable.

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Conclusion

• FEMA serves the lead agency for the coordination
  of disaster response, but faces significant
  obstacles related to lack of regulatory
  authority, very limited mandating ability,
  relative small budget and grant issuance power,
  weak research capacity, bureaucratic inertia,
  politically weak clientele, and other factors.
• These influences are complicated by the
  heightened national security functions imposed by
  9/11.