I strongly suggest that someone reprint Mr. Cumming’s comments and pass out to FEMA employees as well as to every WH member including Barry Obama and all should read this w/every Congressional member required to reply in public comment and suggestion as well as the emerging candidate for President whomever that may be who will most assuredly be replacing this WH in the next election no matter the war chest coffers for We – young and fellow Elder Americans, legal and dedicated in commitment and Love for our once great Republic, are at great peril not only from within and those who seek our demise (pointing to the Germans (Assyrians) once again in history my friends) and from Mother Nature and our solar system as we spin around in space very much off axis as a result of mankind’s many dysfunctions and elitist greed….

PS – Breaking News: While I hear Iran may be suggesting a strike of some sort here, may I again remind the “Brutes of Tehran” that the American people, most charitable…and the Iranian people, both quite educated, have high regard for one another and while I am a Hellene, all should know the wonderful history of Persians and their contributions so that this regime of thugs who must be removed do not further disgrace the Persian history….by such threats against the Hebrew especially who has special covenant with the Lord and who will survive, however it is my bet as a gambling man that Tehran will become even far more pressured not by an American administration, but by the German-led EU and its close pal, the Vatican and these bullies should be setting their guard for soon, Germany will wield its hand and fist towards Tehran and it will be quite surprised by the power of a newly emerging and resurrgence of Germany who will downsize to only ten (10) nations and deal a fatal blow to Tehran, not the US and not the Israeli….

The time has passed and FEMA needs its overhaul now!

Whatever you can do Mr. Cumming to continue to make such suggestions, please do as those in future need will benefit from a more capable and expedient approach in emergency management and execution of policies.

Christopher Tingus
“Main Street USA”
chris.tingus@gmail.com

“Of course common sense is not too common” attributed to Mark Twain.

Perhaps some context for my comments might help to promote understanding of them.

First, FEMA is an administrative agency and has no Commerce Clause regulatory authority nor a formal charge through statute or Executive Order to promote or protect public health and safety. Perhaps that should be accomplished. It largely provides money ad information to other federal agencies and the states and their local governments.
Its technical competence is largely in some areas of communications, land use restrictions, insurance mechanisms, and grant law [although this last subject is apparently often not understood by many of the grants administrators in FEMA].
But it operates largely through the STATES and their local governments unlike many other federal agencies. To be effective it must understand the federal system and its operations and implications.
The history of EM in American life is partially documented in the PERI volume “Emergency Management-the American Experience” now under active revision.
Some may wonder what EM is since it is part of FEMA’s name. IMO it is a profession, with its own doctrines, that developed as American society became more complex after WWII, and few in the FIRE SERVICE wanted to abandon their hoses, and in the POLICE Forces abandon their guns and badges and learn how to recover from the almost inevitable natural or technological disaster, whatever its cause.

That profession numbers far less than 20,000 trained practitioners in the entire USA is far outnumbered by the 2.3 million Fire Service personnel or the 1M police at various levels of government.

Those wanting my definition of EM can go to my website at http://www.vacationlanegrp.com N.B. there are many versions elsewhere. Mine focuses on governmental and societal response to disasters, and the organization and implications of that response.

But my comments should not lead some to think that handing out money and information is an easy job for a bureaucrat. It definitely is not. And FEMA is faced with some types of repetitive events but often not. And some of course are the fast breaking, no notice event, that occurs out of the blue.

A relatively simple effort to fix much of the above could be done relatively fast. Break down all programs, functions, and activities by budget and assigned staff and determine where misallocations occur.

The day I left FEMA [October 1st, 1999] less than one dozen people in FEMA actually were competent in the budget process. Less than one dozen program officials were competent in the procurement process. Few understood how to police waste, fraud,and abuse in their programs, functions, and activities. When I offered to have my litigation staff help the FEMA OIG develop an anti-fraud handbook for each program, function, and activity that was rejected.

Even today policy manuals, compliance with government wide mandates like OMB Grant Guidance documents now codified in the CFR are often ignored largely because the staff has no one bringing these documents to their attention.

And the biggest failure of internal ops in FEMA and probably with respect to the rest of DHS, and OFAs [other federal agencies] is the total lack of understanding of what could be brought to the table by FEMA and others in the form of collaboration and cooperation. This liaison is not simple. Much of FEMA ops are dedicated to internal laundry not helping clean up Joe and Suzie Citizen and assisting them through program operations.

Here is an example of what might be done:

1. Brown bag lunches where various FEMA officials explain their programs to others not in that program within FEMA.
2. Brown bag lunches where DHS officials could explain how they help FEMA during its operations and how FEMA helps them.
3. Brown bag lunches wherein OFAs explain to FEMA their roles in disaster relief, e.g., and Homeland Security.

FEMA no longer publishes in the CFR its organization and functions statement, unlike all other federal departments and agencies, nor is its internal directive system well managed and current.

If a Congressional office was to ask FEMA for all the MOU’s and IAA’s funded and unfunded to which FEMA was signatory a panic could occur. Most in FEMA have no idea that any such agreement with budget implications or other fiscal or policy implications must be cleared throughout the agency. Few in HQ have any idea what agreements have been signed by the FEMA regions with OFA or the States and their local governments.

My conclusion is that FEMA fails in the baby steps that represent real competence in an agency. And the entire agency should be redesigned so that 24/7/365 ops could be conducted and should be conducted if necessary.

Perhaps FEMA should have all those in FEMA that deal with DoD be gathered together in one place and probably the size of that gathering would shock some. Or perhaps HHS and CDC. Or DoE or EPA!

And one might ask why in the entirety of its existence FEMA has submitted to OMB and the President and the Congress so few statutory recommendations that might improve ops or result in more effective programs, functions, or activities.

But hey anything that promotes thinking is a good idea. And sometimes it is useful in bureacracies if someone asks if the action to be taken makes common sense. No federal appointee or official lacks the authority to use common sense and if some think so they need reeducation.

Good luck FEMA in the next $10B disaster!