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FEMA's Disaster Declaration Process: A Primer (CRS Report to Congress)
Title: “FEMA's Disaster Declaration Process: A Primer (CRS Report to Congress).”
Date: August 27, 2007
Author: Francis X. McCarthy
Institution: Congressional Research Service
Bibliographic Entry: McCarthy, Francis X. “FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process: A Primer.” Congressional Research Service. August 27, 2007. http://www.opencrs.com/rpts/RL34146_20070827.pdf (Accessed Sept. 13, 2007).
Electronic Link: http://www.opencrs.com/rpts/RL34146_20070827.pdf
Key Words: FEMA, Congress, Presidential, Gubernatorial, Federal, Disaster, Declaration Processes
Summary of Key Points, Issues, Conclusions:
The declaration process for disaster relief has become heavily scrutinized as the context and demand for disaster relief has grown. Congress has felt political and financial pressure to clarify and assess the federal disaster declaration process, and directed the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to “review … how FEMA makes initial estimates, how FEMA refines those estimates, and how closely FEMA’s estimates predict actual costs” (p 4). This report lays out what local governments and states can expect from this process.
The declaration process accumulates information from an array of sources (the governor, the Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA), Public Assistance (PA), and Individual Assistance (IA)), moving the process at a slower deliberate speed. First, the actions by the governor are a driving constant. The President cannot issue either an emergency or a major disaster declaration without a gubernatorial request. Next the PDAs are crucial in shaping the President’s decision as well. Typically the governor’s first act is to send a PDA team to assess the scene. After this initial assessment, factors for PA – repairs or replacement of infrastructure, debris removal, emergency protective measures – are considered, which are organized into six areas: estimated cost of the assistance, localized impacts, insurance coverage, hazard mitigation, recent multiple disasters, programs of other federal assistance. Additionally, factors for IA such as concentration of damages, trauma, special populations, voluntary agency assistance, insurance, and average amount of IA by state are assessed.
The GAO recommends that Congress direct FEMA to form several permanent teams that would be assigned PDAs as their prime job task, rather than forming the teams ad hoc. Additionally the IA averages and potential disaster indicators should be reevaluated, updated, and revised.
Name of Researcher: Katie Stout
Institution: Integrative Center for Homeland Security, Texas A&M University
Date Posted: September 14, 2007