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1/ Totally random thread about FEMA and the role they play during a national emergency...
2/ First, let's discuss the structure. FEMA is a department under Homeland Security. The current administrator of FEMA is Pete Gaynor. You can read more about him in the linked article, but he is now serving as Acting Homeland Security Secretary after Chad Wolf stepped down.
3/ Quick timeline:
January 16, 2020: Former Marine Pete Gaynor is appointed FEMA Administrator
January 11, 2021: Chad Wolf steps down as DHS Secretary and Gaynor replaces him.
The FEMA Administrator role is currently vacant.
https://www.fema.gov/about/organization/leadership-directory
January 16, 2020: Former Marine Pete Gaynor is appointed FEMA Administrator
January 11, 2021: Chad Wolf steps down as DHS Secretary and Gaynor replaces him.
The FEMA Administrator role is currently vacant.
https://www.fema.gov/about/organization/leadership-directory
5/ Nice infographic on the hierarchy and functions...
6/ On March 13, 2020, POTUS issued 2 emergency declarations under the Stafford Act and the National Emergencies Act.
On March 18, 2020, he invoked the Defense Authorization Act.
On March 19, 2020, POTUS named FEMA as the lead agency for the COVID-19 response, replacing DHHS.
On March 18, 2020, he invoked the Defense Authorization Act.
On March 19, 2020, POTUS named FEMA as the lead agency for the COVID-19 response, replacing DHHS.
7/ Sources: https://www.ncsl.org/ncsl-in-dc/publications-and-resources/president-trump-declares-state-of-emergency-for-covid-19.aspx https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/letter-president-donald-j-trump-emergency-determination-stafford-act/
8/ What is the Stafford Act and how does it work?
This act allows "the president power to declare a national emergency as a response to a national disaster."
This act allows "the president power to declare a national emergency as a response to a national disaster."
9/ "Before the president invokes the Stafford Act, the following must happen:
The governor of a given state must first exhaust the state's emergency plan,
The governor must decide that the state can't handle the disaster, and...
The governor of a given state must first exhaust the state's emergency plan,
The governor must decide that the state can't handle the disaster, and...
10/ If the governor believes the state can't handle the disaster with the resources the state has, they must ask for help from the president." https://www.findlaw.com/consumer/insurance/the-stafford-act-explained.html
11/ "The Stafford Act allows Congress to use federal troops for disaster relief operations, but only if a state governor requests such assistance."
https://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/rpt/2005-R-0755.htm
https://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/rpt/2005-R-0755.htm
12/ Recently, Mayor Bowser asked for the assistance of the National Guard due to threats of violence around January 6th. https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-politics-electoral-college-muriel-bowser-1634bf71a27de48efef3cd1e6ed4abe4
13/ And this summer, the National Guard was activated throughout the country to assist with widespread civil unrest. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/governors-activate-17-000-national-guardsmen-in-23-states-and-dc-amid-riots
14/ Now, let's talk about FEMA and it's interesting history...
"FEMA was the result of Jimmy Carter’s efforts to restore some primacy to civil defense planning, bringing it back into the spotlight after years of diminishing budgets. con't...
"FEMA was the result of Jimmy Carter’s efforts to restore some primacy to civil defense planning, bringing it back into the spotlight after years of diminishing budgets. con't...
15/ The administration threw its weight behind a congressional effort to reestablish what was then known as the Office of Emergency Preparedness under a new name, the Federal Emergency Management Agency,...
16/ uniting the nation’s disaster response with its planning for “continuity of government,” the secret programs that were supposed to snap into place in the event of nuclear war."
17/ "But few in the public understood that much of FEMA’s resources went instead to its primary mission—coordinating the nation’s post-apocalypse efforts—and that the majority of its funding and a third of its workforce was actually hidden in the nation’s classified black budget.
18/ The agency’s real focus and its real budget was known to only 20 members of Congress."
"Today, FEMA still spends tens of millions on its continuity programs—the unclassified portion of that budget is around $50 million a year." https://www.wired.com/story/the-secret-history-of-fema/
"Today, FEMA still spends tens of millions on its continuity programs—the unclassified portion of that budget is around $50 million a year." https://www.wired.com/story/the-secret-history-of-fema/
19/ On January 11, 2021, POTUS approved an emergency declaration for DC "due to the emergency conditions resulting from the 59th Presidential Inauguration from January 11 to January 24, 2021."
20/ Per the declaration:
22/ FEMA also manages the Emergency Alert System...
https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/integrated-public-alert-warning-system/public/emergency-alert-system
https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/practitioners/integrated-public-alert-warning-system/public/emergency-alert-system
23/ I strongly suggest checking out this article which outlines some of the other roles FEMA can play during a national emergency... https://amg-news.com/fema-the-secret-government-the-most-powerful-organization-in-the-united-states/
24/ In conclusion, we are currently under several national emergency declarations. The Stafford Act allows the military to assist local law enforcement and, in a worse case scenario, FEMA can step in to re-establish government.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_emergencies_in_the_United_States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_emergencies_in_the_United_States
