FEMA DHS Research Proposal

PAGES
2
WORDS
731
Cite

FEMA-DHS Should FEMA remain a part of the DHS

The issue that will be addressed in this thesis is whether the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) should remain a part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Buried among the legislation passed in the aftermath of the September 1 lth terrorist attacks was a provision of H.R. 5005, the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which mandated that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) be absorbed by the newly created Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It is important to determine whether this adjustment to public policy, made in conjunction with an overall merger of 22 federal agencies under the auspices of the DHS, has had an impact on the way the government responds to natural disasters, terrorist assaults, and other emergency situations.

Rationale/Significance to the field of Public Policy:

FEMA existed as an independent agency from 1979 until the passage of H.R. 5005. In 1996 President Bill Clinton elevated FEMA to cabinet-level status. The change in public policy that resulted in FEMA's transfer to the DHS changed the dynamics of the agency,...

...

Politicians and the public have called at various times for FEMA to be overhauled and returned to the status of an independent, cabinet-level agency. The whole of public policy would be affected by changing FEMA back to an independent status and allowing it to operate without the oversight that the DHS has provided in the past. Other agencies that are not performing well could be affected by policy changes that are made in relation to FEMA, thus indicating that the potential for change to FEMA's operations has a strong effect on public policy in general.
Research Questions to be Examined:

Should FEMA be removed from the DHS and granted autonomy? Would public policy have to be altered to remove FEMA from the DHS? What could FEMA do differently if it was independent? How does being under the umbrella of DHS affect FEMA? What are the policy questions to be addressed when removing FEMA from the DHS? Who should be considered in this process? Do independent think tanks' opinions matter? Do the opinions of public policy analysts matter?…

Sources Used in Documents:

Bibliography To Date:

1. Baker-McNeil, J. (2008). Cabinet-level FEMA not needed. The heritage foundation web-memo #2153. Retrieved from http://www.heritage.org/Research/HomelandSecurity/wm2153.cfm

2. Cilluffo, F.J., Kaniewski, D.J., Lane, J.P., Lord, G.C., & Keith, L.P. (2009, January). Serving America's disaster victims: FEMA, where does it fit? George Washington university homeland security institute. Retrieved from http://www.gwumc.edu/hspi/policy/IssueBrief_FEMA.pdf

3. FEMA: In or Out? (2009, February). Department of Homeland Security. Office of Inspector General. OIG-09-25. Retrieved from http://www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/mgmt/OIG_09-25_Feb09.pdf

4. Naylor, B. (2009, February 2). Should FEMA remain part of homeland security?. National Public
Radio. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100012612
5. Should FEMA be part of DHS or not? (2007, August 28). State, The (Columbia, SC). Security Info Watch. Retrieved from http://www.securityinfowatch.com/news/10549080/should-fema-be-part-of-dhs-or-not
website: http://www.hlswatch.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/ig-fema-memo.pdf


Cite this Document:

"FEMA DHS" (2012, November 20) Retrieved April 26, 2024, from
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/fema-dhs-76552

"FEMA DHS" 20 November 2012. Web.26 April. 2024. <
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/fema-dhs-76552>

"FEMA DHS", 20 November 2012, Accessed.26 April. 2024,
https://www.paperdue.com/essay/fema-dhs-76552

Related Documents

Loss of local control in emergency management is a legitimate concern. Yet access to state and federal resources is critical for effective emergency response. The most effective emergency response involves carefully coordinated roles between local, state, and federal agencies. Local agencies are always first responders, and therefore have a great deal of authority and responsibility in emergency management. States may have significant resources and distinct responsibilities to work with local

DHS App
PAGES 2 WORDS 493

DHS: FEMA 2010 Compared to 2011 The objective of this study is to compare what happened within FEMA in 2010 and 2011. Toward this end, this study will conduct a review of literature in this area of inquiry. The United States Congress appropriate more than $34 billion in grant funding for homeland security preparedness from fiscal year 2002 through fiscal year 2012. It is additionally reported that between 2002 and 2012 that

("Lynchburg Virginia Emergency Operations Plan," 2012) Elements of Disaster Response, Recovery, and Incident Command In the event of a disaster, the City Manager is appointed as the local spokesperson for all issues, events and the coordination of resources. They work directly with the Mayor and the City Council (who sit as an advisory board to the City Manager). In the event that there are any political issues, the Mayor will interact

However, information sharing is not indicative of any overall advancement in counterterrorism activity but is certainly a sign of an expanding bureaucracy. According to David Rittgers, DHS fusion centers do little more than label anyone who is critical of the federal government as a potential terrorist. Rittgers reports that DHS analysts are "labeling broad swaths of the public as a threat to national security." With the passing of the National

Beginning in October of 2005, organizational arrangements for emergency management functions on a federal level were put into place, in the reorganization begun by Secretary Chertoff. Pros and Cons about the Homeland Security Program There are good things about the Homeland Security Program in the U.S. A list of positives would include the fact that some safeguards must be implemented in order to keep the country safe. Local and national law

They were mostly former soldiers from Iraq, called in to help with the relief ops. Those supporting the use of the National Guard in these types of actions point out that "the National Guard already has a significant emergency response capability and the Constitution of the United States establishes the authority to employ the National Guard in significant and leading domestic roles against terrorism." (Oates, 2002) on the other