In the continuing (over)reaction to the failures of Hurricane Katrina five years ago, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) once again “leaned forward” in anticipation of a hurricane. For all of its activities in response to Hurricane Dean in 2009, FEMA spent north of $50 million for what amounted to …
President Barack Obama finished-up his 10-day vacation on Martha’s Vineyard yesterday by flying down to New Orleans where he gave a speech at Xavier University marking the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The President specifically linked the 2005 disaster with the region’s most recent troubles telling the audience: “Even as …
President Obama wishes everyone would stop talking about the oil spill. His federal government’s response has been incompetent at best, malevolent at worst. Yet, lacking any evidence of a credible response, Obama still sent Carol Browner to the Gulf on a victory lap last week after oil stopped appearing on …
The fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and all its attendant devastation, is a good reminder that the federalization of natural disasters by the Federal Emergency Management Agency continues uninterrupted. From January 20, 2010 to today, FEMA has issued 78 declarations, including for Hurricane Alex—a storm that never actually hit Texas …
Over the last four weeks, The Heritage Foundation sent multiple teams of respected energy, environment, homeland security and response experts to the Gulf to study the federal response to the oil spill. These three delegations, with more to come, have traversed the areas hit hardest by the crisis, talking to response workers, …
President Obama promised a federal government that is dedicated to greater openness and transparency. But does the Obama administration believe in openness and transparent government when it comes to homeland security grants managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)? Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Heritage Foundation …
Despite the best efforts of America’s most expensive disaster in history, Hurricane Katrina didn’t bankrupt FEMA. Nonetheless, almost five years after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, FEMA teeters on bankruptcy due to its policy of federalizing virtually every natural disaster in America. As The Heritage Foundation has shown, the …
The Pentagon’s Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), which outlines future threats to the United States, recommends cutting the number of military forces prepared to respond to a weapons-of-mass-destruction attack against America. The recommendation to downsize U.S. Northern Command personnel will expand one of three Consequence Management Response Forces (CCMRFs) while moving …
