Summer officially started this weekend. The kids are finished with school, neighbors are planning barbecues, and families are beginning to head to the beach. But with the start of summer also comes the beginning of something else—hurricane season.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted that the U.S. will experience several hurricanes this year. One of those storms might possibly rise to the level of a “major hurricane,” threatening American businesses, cities, and communities.
When disaster strikes, our first responders must be ready to provide immediate relief. Unfortunately, the federal government has been mismanaging disaster aid for years now, and our emergency programs are in need of critical reform.
Throughout most of U.S. history, states and local governments were responsible for handling nearly all natural disasters. Under Ronald Reagan, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued about 28 federal disaster declarations each year.
Following the passage of the Stafford Act in 1988, however, this number increased dramatically. Under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, the U.S. has averaged around 130 federal declarations a year. As a result, FEMA now responds to a “national” disaster every 2.8 days.
By any metric, FEMA first responders are overwhelmed by the massive caseload they are expected to handle. The federal government was never supposed to manage so many local operations; it is time for a paradigm shift in how we approach disaster relief.
To make FEMA more efficient and more accountable, current federal rules need to be rewritten. In particular, Congress should:
- Amend the Stafford Act to cap the federal cost-share of all FEMA declarations at 25 percent. This way at least three-fourths of the costs of a disaster are borne by the taxpayers living in the state where the disaster took place. A relief provision could provide a higher federal cost-share if the total damages exceed a certain threshold.
- Establish clear requirements that limit the situations in which FEMA can issue declarations. This can be accomplished by aligning declarations with scientific measurements (like the Richter Scale and the Fujita Scale) or raising the minimum dollar threshold for requesting declarations.
Together, these common-sense changes would encourage states to set aside more emergency funds for immediate disaster response. States currently request federal help whenever they can. This creates a vicious cycle as states respond to the increased federalization of disasters by preparing less and saving less.
These reforms would also ensure that FEMA has the resources and the capabilities to respond to true nationwide disasters such as Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Katrina. FEMA workers would spend less time reacting to small-scale tornadoes and snowstorms and more time preparing for catastrophic natural disasters.
The federal government has a critical role to play in disaster relief. In recent years, however, mismanagement and inefficiencies have hindered programs from delivering maximum aid to disaster victims.
We all have a stake in FEMA reform—especially those of us heading to the beach this summer.
Ryan Spaude is currently a member of the Young Leaders Program at The Heritage Foundation. For more information on interning at Heritage, please click here.
