January
28, 2014 - The Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) is charged with preparing for and responding to
natural disasters anywhere in our country. They have a staff of approximately 7,500 employees, and a
budget of around $10 billion.
Because the number of disasters costing a minimum of a billion dollars
has increased every year since 1980 by 5 percent, while the agency’s budget has
– astonishingly – remained nearly the same over the same period of time, FEMA
is struggling as never before.
For
instance, in 2011 the United States suffered 14 natural disasters of the
billion-dollar (or more) variety.
FEMA was forced to find the funds to deal with them by short-changing
long-term rebuilding projects.
This was how the immediate fallout from Hurricane Irene was handled, so
that FEMA could provide victims with food, water, and shelter. When easterners begin to realize that
their infrastructure will never be the same, if they rely on the Feds to fix
it, then the full impact of growing numbers of natural disasters will finally
have hit home.
The
same thing happened in 2012, when Superstorm Sandy had New York City and New
Jersey in its bull’s-eye. Add to
the already overwhelming burden created by just this one storm, ten more
billion-dollar storms, as was the case in 2012, and the picture of FEMA
staggering to its knees isn’t hard to envision. The need to preclude this eventuality is the reason Congress
has approved additional funds for FEMA’s critically important work nearly every
year for the past decade. Anytime
essential work must be stopped in order for those administering the work to beg
for a handout, the quality of the work suffers. It would be better and more cost-efficient to assign the
funds at the beginning of the fiscal year.
One
way, in my opinion, to partially address the growing shortfall would be to
eliminate the National Flood Insurance Program. From my perspective, this is a handout for the wealthy, for
it is only they who can afford property along the coast. Why on earth should the rest of us pay to
insure their property? The program
is $18 billion in debt from Hurricanes Katrina and Irene, Superstorm Sandy, and
other disasters. The coast should
be protected and accessible to all Americans, not just the fortunate few. As of today, only 5.5 million Americans
– fewer than 2 percent of the population – benefit from this program.
Even
if such a solution were attempted, FEMA would still need Congress to consign
additional funds to its coffers, because growing numbers of disasters will
necessitate FEMA’s active involvement.
It is denialist Republican Congressional leaders who stand in the way of
allowing this vital agency to function as it was intended. As FEMA continues to cut corners
because it must, prepare for your country to begin to look a little ragged
around the edges.
With thanks to www.insideclimatenews.org .
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