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Summary MOS 6801 UNIT VI ESSAY.docx MOS6801 Unit VI: Formation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Columbia Southern University MOS6801 The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created under President Jimmy Carter in 1979 as way to strea $7.49   Add to cart

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Summary MOS 6801 UNIT VI ESSAY.docx MOS6801 Unit VI: Formation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Columbia Southern University MOS6801 The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created under President Jimmy Carter in 1979 as way to strea

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MOS 6801 UNIT VI ESSAY.docx MOS6801 Unit VI: Formation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Columbia Southern University MOS6801 The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created under President Jimmy Carter in 1979 as way to streamline the processes of emergency preparednes...

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MOS6801


Unit VI: Formation of the Federal Emergency Management Agency

Columbia Southern University
MOS6801

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was created under President

Jimmy Carter in 1979 as way to streamline the processes of emergency preparedness, mitigation,

recovery, and response under the operation of a single agency. The primary role of FEMA in

emergency management is that of onsite support and logistics for disaster response and

recovery. It is important that this support comes in the form of working with state and local

agencies and providing experts in various relevant emergency fields to present a unified front for

overcoming the situation and not devolving in to inter agency conflicts that can hinder efforts.

FEMA also plays a role in providing training and funding for local first responders and civilian

emergency programs like CERT to assist in disaster mitigation and response. Prior to the events

of Hurricane Katrina, there was a general consensus of concern that the federal government, and

FEMA in particular was limited in its ability to provide assistance to stricken citizens When the

Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2016 was passed,

FEMA’s role change from one of support to a more proactive function by placing it under the

Department of Homeland Security and giving it a wider range of autonomy. The reform act

brought the core competencies of preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation back into

FEMA’s area of responsibility (Rubin, 2012).


The incorporation of FEMA with the DHS was an ideally logical one. When the DHS

was founded in under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, FEMA was brought in with the idea

that with all of the facets of homeland security under one umbrella, the processes would be

, streamlined and operate more efficiently. In some aspects, the move worked, but due to the

events of 9/11, terrorism was the primary driving force of DHS. FEMA’s budgetary autonomy

was compromised as resources were moved in and out of the agency as the fight against

terrorism took precedence over concerns about natural disasters (Roberts, 2006).


The events of Hurricane Katrina, however, caused a shift in the priorities back to that of

natural disasters. The events of Katrina were wholly devastating to the national psyche, and it

was only natural our reaction was that of preventing a repeat event. FEMA’s response to Katrina

was slow and inadequate. Katrina has made it clear that FEMA was not prepared for such an

event due to lack of resources, leadership, and status within the DHS. They failed to organize

the needed manpower and supplies, and could not meet the needs of so many in such a short

period of time. It was imperative that these short comings were addressed and rectified,

publicly, to restore faith in both the agency and the administration.


Several lessons and improvements to emergency response were born out of the need to

address the shortcoming of FEMA that were put on display during Katrina. The Post-Katrina

Emergency Management Reform Act of 2016 (PKEMRA) instituted a multitude of

organizational, functional and administrative changes for FEMA, DHS, and affiliated emergency

management organizations at all levels (Rubin, 2012). The most important lesson learned from

Katrina was the importance of strong and competent leadership. When Katrina hit, the head of

FEMA was Michael Brown, a job he got through a political connection after previously working

as a horse show judge supervisor. It also became clear that it had become too difficult for FEMA

to function as a proactive/reactive force due to levels of bureaucracy within the DHS that had to

be addressed. There was a push to create a sense of community approach to disaster relief that

included private corporations, citizens, and community groups being a part of the solution. The

PKRA also called for the establishment of several advisory councils at national and regional

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