FEMA Administrator Defends Agency's Response to Texas Floods Despite Criticism

Strategic Insights -

The acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), David Richardson, testified before a House panel on Wednesday, denying criticisms of the agency's response to the central Texas floods that killed at least 136 people earlier this month. Richardson maintained that the relationship between state and federal agencies "is a model for how disasters should be handled," and that the response "brought the maximum amount of capability to bear in Texas at the right time and the right place."

Key Takeaways:

  • FEMA Administrator David Richardson denied reports that the agency's urban search-and-rescue teams were delayed over 72 hours due to a new rule imposed by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem that she must personally approve any contract of $100,000 or more.
  • Richardson stated that a Texas-based FEMA task force was on the ground on July 4, along with other Homeland Security assets, and that additional support came within "24 hours" of being requested.
  • Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., pushed back on FEMA's readiness, asking why more of the 28 FEMA urban search-and-rescue teams were not on standby ahead of receiving a request from the state of Texas.
  • Richardson defended his absence from the ground efforts in Texas, saying he worked from Washington, D.C. "to kick down the doors of bureaucracy" and denying suggestions that President Trump or Noem told him to stand down.
  • Richardson referred to a FEMA review council, co-chaired by Noem, which is in the process of crafting recommendations to the president on changes to the agency.
  • Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., and Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., announced plans to introduce the bipartisan Fixing Emergency Management for Americans Act, which would make FEMA an independent, Cabinet-level agency and incentivize states to prioritize resilience and improve aid for survivors.
  • The Texas Division of Emergency Management did not respond to a request for comment on whether search-and-rescue efforts were impacted by delayed deployment of the FEMA teams.
  • Twenty states are now suing the administration over the loss of funds from the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, which Trump canceled earlier this year.
  • In June, Trump said he wanted to begin "phasing out" FEMA after the hurricane season "to wean off of FEMA and bring it to the state level."
  • Trump has been criticized for delaying decisions on disaster declaration requests, causing some states to wait as long as two months for approval to receive assistance to repair public infrastructure or help survivors.

Statistics:

  • At least 136 people died in the central Texas floods earlier this month.
  • 28 FEMA urban search-and-rescue teams are located around the country.
  • 84% of calls to FEMA went unanswered on July 7, according to a report from The New York Times.
  • The contracts for outside call centers with FEMA were renewed on July 10.
  • Twenty states are now suing the administration over the loss of funds from the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program.

Sources:

  • "FEMA chief defends response to Texas floods" by The Associated Press
  • "FEMA review council co-chaired by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem" by CNN
  • "Twenty states sue administration over loss of funding for disaster mitigation program" by The Hill
  • "Trump wants to 'phase out' FEMA after hurricane season" by Politico