President Trump’s pick for FEMA Administrator is arguably his most important sub-cabinet appointment. FEMA does some things well, but the press and public only notice when the agency embarrasses itself in fundamental ways, which it often has under the Biden administration. The new administrator must be willing to take on several systemic problems.
First, take a hard look at how and why disasters are staffed. For example, at last count, the State of Florida has eight open disasters, dating back several years, with more than 2000 FEMA staff in the state. These staff are paid to travel there (and to travel home occasionally), and all are paid generous per diems. Many serve in lower-level positions, so the expense to have them deployed on-site often exceeds what they are paid. Almost none of them have any real reason to be on the ground in Florida because the work they do could easily be done at FEMA headquarters or regional offices.
Second, FEMA engages when a state is theoretically unable to financially manage a disaster with its own funds, but these thresholds are extraordinarily low and force FEMA to “spend billions to pay out millions.” Those…
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