By Dr. Amanda Savitt & Dr. Samantha Montano
In times of crisis, as the saying goes, the buck stops with the president.
The president is responsible for declaring disasters when requested which allows for federal funding to support communities in need. The president is responsible for appointing the administrator of FEMA, who in turn establishes the vision for the agency. The president may issue executive orders that influence our risk and how we respond to that risk across the country. And the president is responsible for providing leadership during times of crisis, and ultimately for the safety and well-being of Americans.
Particularly during this election, which is taking place in the midst of a pandemic in which the failed response has contributed to the deaths of 200,000 Americans, it is particularly important to question where these candidates stand on emergency management issues. Further, it is critical to understand what their future vision for emergency management is as we begin to feel the effects of the climate crisis across the country. The recent wildfires in the western United States as well as record-breaking hurricanes that have impacted the Gulf coast this year underscore the importance of emergency management policy.
Historically emergency management has not been a policy area that has garnered much attention from journalists or candidates during presidential elections. However, given our current situation, it seems more important than ever to ask the candidates explicit questions about their understanding of disaster-related science, their philosophies of risk management, and their proposed strategies for managing current and future disasters.
These are just some of the questions about emergency management that journalists need to ask the candidates.
Questions about recent and current disasters:
Over 3,000 Puerto Ricans were killed during and after Hurricane Maria and reports have found the federal government was unprepared to manage the crisis.
Trump: What changes has your administration made to prevent a catastrophe of this nature from happening again?
Biden: If you had been president during Hurricane Maria how would your response have differed from that seen by the Trump administration? What will you do to prevent a catastrophe of this nature from happening in the future?
The recovery from Hurricane Maria necessitated extensive federal funding given the scope of destruction in Puerto Rico. Yet, the recovery process has unfolded slowly over the past three years.
Trump: You have claimed repeatedly that your administration has provided $91 billion in recovery funds for Puerto Rico, but records show that the total amount is lower. An additional $13 billion from FEMA was just approved, three years after the storm. Why is more funding not making its way to Puerto Rico and why has this process been so slow?
Biden: What will be your administration’s plan for addressing the recovery needs in Puerto Rico, especially given the recently added stress of the earthquakes and pandemic?
The west coast is increasingly at risk of wildfires as we have seen over the past few weeks.
Trump: Throughout your first term you have repeatedly threatened in the midst of record-breaking fires to withhold federal recovery funds. Can you assure residents in California that the federal government will continue to support fire-related activities, including those that work to prevent wildfires?
Biden: Outside of taking action on climate change, what would your administration do to help states to manage this already increasing wildfire risk?
Questions about COVID:
The response to the COVID pandemic has required a “Whole Community” approach. Within this response, FEMA has played an important role in providing federal resources to state and local governments. One role of FEMA is to provide relief to Americans during times of disaster.
Trump: While some FEMA funds have been used for this purpose there are a number of existing disaster relief programs (i.e., individual assistance) that have gone unused. Why have you not approved these existing programs, like funeral assistance, through the power granted to you in the Stafford Act?
Biden: How do you plan to leverage the expertise and resources of FEMA to meet the needs of individuals across the country who are suffering from the effects of the pandemic?
Preparedness efforts require sustained investment and attention from one administration to the next. Previous administrations have worked to establish preparedness measures to ready the country for a pandemic. In the years before the COVID pandemic the Trump administration failed to maintain those efforts, and in some cases actively undermined those efforts.
Trump: Your administration disbanded the Global Health Security and Biodefense Unit within the National Security Council, do you regret this decision, and do you have plans to re-establish such an office?
Biden: How do you envision changing, if at all, the infrastructure of pandemic response in the future?
Questions about climate change and emergency management reform:
Climate change represents not only a future threat but a current reality, as the wildfires in the West and recent hurricanes along the Gulf coast have demonstrated. Managing climate change will require not only reductions in greenhouse gases but adaptation strategies to help us live with its consequences. A key factor in adaptation must be emergency management reform, which will help us protect lives and communities from the disasters climate change is bringing.
Biden and Trump: As we see climate-related disasters unfold across the country how do you plan to use federal resources to mitigate the effects of climate change and future damage?
Biden and Trump: What do you specifically see as being FEMA’s role related to climate change?
Biden and Trump: Following the 2017 hurricane season a GAO report found that FEMA was understaffed and had people working in positions for which they were not trained. What do you plan to change about how FEMA operates so that the agency is able to meet the increasing needs across the country?
Biden and Trump: Will you create a national climate adaptation strategy?
Biden and Trump: The Department of Homeland Security was created in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, and combined many unrelated agencies and government departments. As a result, FEMA and these other agencies and departments have had their authority reduced, and the bureaucratic requirements they are subject to has increased. Would you remove FEMA from DHS, and restore it to a cabinet-level agency?