Reply #51: A little explanation...

[Osito]

...may be in order. It's not your fault, but you have the wrong impression of FEMA's mission. The news, schools - heck, just about everybody - believes FEMA is supposed to be a response agency. Not true. I have been working with (not for) FEMA since a point in time, where FEMA had not yet published regulations. The key to understanding FEMA's function is the word "Management" in the title. FEMA was created to coordinate the existing response and relief resources (federal, state, local and private), to create the infrastructure for communication between agencies, and to set up and enforce a standardized methodology for preparing for disasters through planning. That is, FEMA facilitates and coordinates the activities of the response and relief agencies. FEMA is not a responder itself. Consider the fact that FEMA has a total staff numbering about 2500 for activities in all 50 states and the territories. That includes supervisors, lawyers, secretaries, plan reviewers and a number of bureaucrats whose function is to do the actual communication and coordination. That doesn't leave any staff for driving trucks, handing out water, rescuing people, etc.

Perhaps the disappointment should be directed at the actual lack of a governmental agency whose primary responsibility is to provide relief. Federal government capabilities for providing relief are pretty much limited to the military. Due to the current tangle of laws designed to sort out disputes regarding who has the power and/or responsibility to do what, FEMA's mission is greatly restricted. Perhaps we should scrap some of the current laws and regulations, so we might be able to create an effective entity for response.