By the time Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) took to the floor Monday to berate Republicans for supposedly blocking emergency disaster aid, the Federal Emergency Management Agency had already announced it did not need the money Reid claimed was being blocked. FEMA’s disaster relief fund became a key issue in the continuing resolution the Senate passed Monday night, funding the federal government through Nov. 18. A record number of emergency declarations this year by President Obama stretched FEMA’s fund to the brink. Republicans offered an additional $1 billion in disaster aid, but coupled …
The Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Security Preparedness Group (NSPG) was an outgrowth of the 9/11 Commission tasked with monitoring the implementation of the broad policy recommendations issued by the 9/11 Commission. Among the commission’s original findings were: Emergency response agencies nationwide should adopt the Incident Command System (ICS). When multiple agencies or multiple jurisdictions are involved, they should adopt a unified command. Both are proven frameworks for emergency response. Regular joint training at all levels is…essential to ensuring close coordination during an actual incident. The NSPG now finds that this …
Without question, Hurricane Irene struck a major blow to the United States’ East Coast over the weekend. At least 24 people have died, hundreds of thousands remain without power across the mid-Atlantic, and the estimates of direct costs of damage are in the range of billions of dollars. Our thoughts are with those who have suffered at the hands of the storm and who are beginning the process of rebuilding. As the effects of the storm continue with “epic” flooding being reported in Vermont, pundits and politicians alike are already calculating …
Liberals are busy trying to drum up controversy over Representative Eric Cantor’s (R–VA) calls for spending cuts in exchange for more aid to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Cantor is spot on, and we are thrilled to see someone finally trying to curb FEMA’s growth. Hurricane Irene provides Cantor with the ideal case for his positions. Despite the mass media’s hysterical fear-mongering over Hurricane Irene, the hurricane weakened as it got closer and closer to land. By the time it hit North Carolina, the eye had largely disintegrated and …
We’ve discussed earthquakes and Hurricane Irene bearing down on the East Coast, but it doesn’t stop there. One disaster that frequently accompanies the storm surge created by hurricanes and the accompanying heavy rains is floods. A flood occurs when water inundates or overflows land that is normally dry. This definition does not include tsunamis and storm surges. Floods can result from many causes, including torrential rains and dam and levee breaks. They can occur suddenly or due to conditions built up over days, meaning advance warning is sometimes possible. Floods …
In President Barack Obama’s first two years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) averaged 108 disaster declarations per year. In less than six months, FEMA already has issued 100 declarations in 2011. The record year remains 1996, when President Bill Clinton issued 157 declarations. If FEMA maintains this pace for the rest of the year, it will exceed 200 declarations and push President Obama’s yearly average to 139 per year. This figure would continue the trend started by President George H. W. Bush of presidential Administrations exceeding the previous Administration’s …
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is attempting to do what couldn’t be done at the international climate change conference in Copenhagen last December: Transfer large sums of wealth from developed countries to developing ones in the name of climate change. From BusinessWeek: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, said the organization is helping to set up a “green fund” that would raise $100 billion a year by 2020 to mitigate the effects of climate change in developing countries. Strauss-Kahn indicated the fund may use its quotas, which reflect …
Looks like Mother Nature didn’t get the message about the budget crises in most of the states. So, she twice dumped a bunch of snow on the Midwest and East that required states, cities, and counties to plow – in between frantic calls to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for reinforcements. The calls prompted FEMA to fire-up its fleet of snowplows and dispatch its army of snow shovel crews. Not really. FEMA doesn’t have snowplows or snow shovel crews, so why the frantic calls to Washington? Answer: FEMA has …
Twenty-five percent of America’s oil production and a significant amount of onshore refining capacity and pipeline infrastructure is located in the hurricane-prone central and western Gulf of Mexico — and much of it was in the path of Hurricane Gustav. Fortunately, unlike Katrina and Rita in 2005 and other past hurricanes, Gustav has not done significant damage to the energy infrastructure there. Prices and markets will be relatively unaffected. Nonetheless, the hurricane does underscore the benefits of geographic diversification in domestic oil production. The Atlantic, Pacific, and eastern Gulf of …
The United States is ready for the next Hurricane Katrina according to Admiral Thad Allen, the former director of the FEMA response effort in New Orleans. In an article put out by Bloomberg, Allen was quoted saying “there is nothing right now that inhibits an effective response.” However others seem to disagree. Craig Fugate, director of Florida’s Division of Emergency Management, and Heritage’s Dr. James Carafano see that more still needs to be done. Policies and procedures still need to be reassessed and improved, plus Congressional meddling and their practices …
