Tragic Texas floods can prompt reforms for FEMA
By The Herald Editorial Board
Up until July 4’s tragic and devastating flash floods in the Texas Hill Country, which have left more than 120 dead with more than 170 unaccounted for, the consensus in the Trump administration had been that it was time — if not to completely shutter the Federal Emergency Management Agency — then to significantly scale it back with major reforms that seemed to seek a reduced federal role in disaster preparedness and response.
As late as Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called for the elimination of the agency — which provides billions of dollars each year to communities hit by disaster — arguing that “emergency management should be state and locally led.” For months, President Trump agreed, saying in January that “the FEMA thing has not been a very successful experiment” with plans to phase out the agency after this year’s hurricane season.
Following last week’s disaster, however, there appears less appetite to do away with FEMA, with administration officials saying that abolishing the agency is not on the agenda.
“Without any official action,” a White House official told The Washington Post, “you’re already seeing the theory” of the administration’s new approach “taking place in Texas.”
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/editorial-tragic-texas-floods-can-prompt-reforms-for-fema/
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