Politics killing FEMA

The New York Times has a brief sidebar showing the Federal Emergency Management Agency is still wracked by political troubles. The sidebar's the particularly interesting reading; it features quotes by seven would-be FEMA leaders, all but one (Fugate) of whom directly cite either a lack of political commitment to providing needed resources, a vision of what FEMA should do in an emergency, or both.

Sadly, FEMA used to be one of the nation's most professional agencies, well-regarded for its efficiency, if you believe at least some of the 20/20 vision here. A Los Angeles Times editorial read in part:

How far things have fallen at FEMA, which is led by the types of unqualified political appointees who usually settle for an ambassadorship in one of the Benelux countries. It's been so since the agency's inception in 1979, to be sure, but at least President Clinton's crony at FEMA, James Lee Witt, had disaster-relief experience in Arkansas and proved exceptionally capable.

Bush political operative Joe Allbaugh inherited a tightly run and well-focused agency from Witt. There was no question about its ability to act independently during the terror attack.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, though, one Congresscritter offered a curious statement, insisting that FEMA did not have political problems:

Democratic Chief Deputy Whip Diana DeGette (CO-01) released the following statement regarding the removal of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Michael Brown from management of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort:

“Michael Brown’s removal was a good first step toward restoring a level of professionalism to FEMA. However, the problems raised by the agency’s slow initial response to the hurricane will not be solved by the removal of one person – even the director. What we have seen over the past two weeks is an agency charged with protecting Americans’ lives that is clearly not up to the challenge. This is not a political problem, but a potential national security crisis. Congress and this Administration need to improve federal disaster response, and establish better oversight of emergency relief funding, and do it immediately.”

No political problems. Just fix it, she says. Yeah. How?

A Salon article from September brings together a number of sources, pointing out that FEMA suffered from at least five high-level political appointees. It concludes:

Considering the Bush administration's woefully inept response to the devastation wrought by Katrina, it's clear that Bush administration patronage has hobbled FEMA -- with fatal consequences for the people affected by the hurricane.

But of course you wouldn't know that from listening to Vice President Dick Cheney. He defended Bush's FEMA appointees yesterday, saying, "You've got to have people at the top who respond to and are selected by presidents, and you pick the best people you can to do the jobs that need to be done ... We've also got some great career professionals, an absolute and vital part of the operation — couldn't do it without them."

Of course we couldn't have done it without them. That's the problem.

Kudos to The New York Times for trying to keep some light on an issue of critical importance. The many, many problems at FEMA cannot be fixed if everyone ignores the agency again until the next failed response to a crisis.

MeTheSheeple also has to point out that not much will change unless there's an attitudinal shift. Faced with the obvious failure of cronyism in FEMA in the wake of Hurricane Katrina -- when the director was more interested in eating meals uninterrupted than in coordinating aid -- our elected president took a fresh approach on cronyism: He nominated his own lawyer to be a Supreme Court justice. This seems like a wonderful time for members of the public to keep pressure on the politicos to increase bipartisan support for FEMA while opposing rank political interference. If nothing else, the next hurricane may be yours. Witness:

"Right now, about 96 million people live in the 330 counties or equivalent geographic units that border on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Lakes. According to census data, the overall population of coastline counties jumped more than 13.3 percent between 1990 and 2002, and the number of housing units there increased more than 12.3 percent during the period. On average, those counties host more than 400 residents per square kilometer, more than triple the population density in noncoastal counties."

Hold on to your hats, lads. We may yet be in for a helluva storm.