Trump-appointed council proposes major redesign of FEMA response role

A council appointed by President Trump to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency proposed a major overhaul to the agency that stops short of the administration's vows to dismantle it, but could reduce the number of disasters the federal government supports and the amount of money it distributes. The FEMA Review Council's report says it is "time to close the chapter on FEMA," arguing the FEMA brand is damaged and should be replaced by a "transformed agency" with a leaner, less Washington-centered structure. The council, appointed by Mr. Trump, suggests ways the administration would be able to put far more responsibility on states, tribes and territories for disaster preparedness, response and recovery. It proposes upending how the federal government determines which disasters to support, how FEMA pays states and other governments for disaster recovery costs and what kind of FEMA assistance survivors receive, among other reforms. After Hurricane Katrina , Congress strengthened FEMA's federal coordination role. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy , reforms were made in an effort to speed up the recovery process and make assistance more flexible. During the coronavirus pandemic , FEMA's mission expanded even further to include vaccination . This review argues that the accumulation of missions has pulled FEMA away from its core role and created bureaucracy, backlog and too much dependency on the federal government. …