Are You There, FEMA?

When some people bitch about how terribly government manages things, high on their list of examples is probably FEMA. The strange irony is that before the bumbling Administration of George W. Bush FEMA was reputed as an example of how well government can deal with disaster. By the time Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast in 2005 FEMA had been absorbed into the new Department of Homeland Security. Michael Brown who had been appointed director at the time of FEMA's merge into DHS warned that his agency would be a shell of its former self without the independence with which it had originally been given.

Katrina introduced many Americans to FEMA when Brown's insensitive and cynical communications from New Orleans hit the press. It read as if another incompetent Bush appointee was heading up another inefficient government program that could not deliver on its mission. It was not far from the truth. Brown had no experience in emergency preparedness, but what explains the attitude problem that eventually got him fired was his belief that there was nothing he could do in any event. Brown had already made plans to leave FEMA as he could not deal with DHS chief Michael Chertoff whom Brown blamed for defanging his organization. As Brown sulked around the periphery of the disaster left by the hurricane Chertoff conducted phone interviews with reporters from his desk in Washington.

Now FEMA is the go-to target of what people think of when they think of government failure and less consequentially, the butt of loony conspiracy theories of re-education camps. In light of the recent events in Japan this seems like a great opportunity for FEMA to promote its ability to deliver on its mission. As of yet I have not heard of anyone from FEMA or the Department of Homeland Security for that matter describe what procedures are in place for dealing with any number of issues in which Japan finds itself mired. No time like the present - if not yesterday.

I will say that FEMA has done the least it could do. This is the link to their Internet guide on preparedness:
http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/index.shtm

It is somewhat extensive, but there are no links to local information. If I wanted to know where to go during tsunami I would be out of luck. If there is any work being done at FEMA to boost their reputation it is not that apparent. If there was a nuclear catastrophe tomorrow would FEMA be ready? Is it their job anymore? It would be good to know about now. As a proponent of government I would like to see FEMA up to the snuff it was in the days of James Lee Witt, the FEMA head that Bill Clinton elevated to cabinet level. When the president showed up at a disaster and said "you're doin' a heck of a job, Witty" you could believe it.