Despite one of the quietest hurricane seasons in years, the number of FEMA declarations this year is on pace to hit 139 declarations, which would be the fifth highest since 1953 and 9 declarations higher than the 8-year average of George W. Bush’s FEMA. The problem is that we have created a system that promotes the nationalization of natural disasters. His system stretches FEMA thin as it has to deal with a new declaration every 2.4 days and encourages states and localities to divert resources away from emergency management to …
“Show me the money!” is one of the most memorable lines from a movie—Jerry Maguire—in the last twenty years. Coincidentally, that movie came out in 1996, which was a reelection year for President Bill Clinton. Not coincidentally, President Clinton in fact showed them the money in 1996 when the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued more disaster declarations—157—than any year before or after. In “States: Stop Subsidizing FEMA Waste and Manage Your Own Local Disasters,” we detail the tendency over the last sixteen years to define disaster down so that …
Having returned from its summer recess, Congress will soon construct its legislative agenda for the rest of the year. Given that today marks the eighth anniversary of 9/11, Congress should honor the memory of that tragedy by solidifying its homeland security agenda. That means taking the right steps to keep the nation safe, free, and prosperous. Heritage analysts Jena Baker McNeill, James Carafano, and Matt Mayer outline some dos and donts for Congress’ Protect America Agenda. Congress Should: Amend the Stafford Act. The 1988 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and …
