I've gotten a lot of questions this weekend about what I mean by “comprehensive emergency management reform” and also what Biden could immediately do for emergency management.

So, let me do a thread where I vaguely answer.

First, I use the term “comprehensive emergency management reform” to indicate that we need massive changes to how we approach mitigating, preparing, responding, & recovering from all types of disaster (climate-related or not). This means different things to different people.

My guiding light is that we need EM to be effective, efficient, & just. So any change that would move us towards that goal is something I would include here. I emphasize comprehensive bc we have a tendency to do piecemeal adjustments that don’t fully solve our problems.

Further, this type of reform needs to occur at all levels of government. Yes, there are obvious changes that need to be made at the federal level, but state and local emergency management need just as much (if not more!) reform.

I can't possibly write out my full vision for this kind of reform on Twitter. I start to address some of this in my book (coming out next summer). Really though, the changes needed in EM would fill their own book and we really need a funded team of EM experts to develop it.

(Relatedly, if you work at a policy think tank of some sort or are a millionaire and want to fund this kind of massive policy reform please email me. We’ve been looking for funding to do this for a while and no one will do it for reasons that escape me.)

Second, in terms of Biden. From an emergency management perspective, the pandemic needs to take priority. Biden has put out “plans” to turn the response around. Most of what I’ve seen there is related to public health for obvious reasons.

I have not seen too much that relates directly to EM outside of potentially the DPA and the distribution of various resources. I have not seen plans that specifically detail how EM (and here we really mean FEMA) is going to be involved in that but I expect that they will be.

A 2nd priority for Biden is going to be the FEMA nomination. There’s a pretty obvious list of names that I can come up with here but I’ve not seen anything from the Biden transition team. I think they’ll play it safe with someone who probably led a state EM agency. That’s fine.

They’re going to be walking into a difficult situation. My understanding is that FEMA hasn’t been as gutted as some other federal agencies, but things are still rough.

Assessing the damage within FEMA, regaining some semblance of trust with the public, in the midst of a pandemic, while helping with overwhelming recent recoveries, all as climate change looms is… a lot.

There are not only serious operational needs but also a desperate need for vision creation within FEMA, and EM more broadly. It’s a very specific kind of person who can manage both. This all becomes even more complicated once you factor in the need for Senate confirmation.

A final thought: It’d be nice to have a FEMA Administrator who is a woman.

Without knowing the outcome of the Senate there’s certainly going to be a high reliance on executive orders. I really have absolutely no sense what Biden’s team is thinking here, to the extent that they are, as it relates to EM.

Of course, whatever Biden does will be exponentially better than what the current administration has done as it relates to emergency management so in that sense... the only way to go is up!