HUFFINGTON POST: FEMA’s basic job is to help out when disaster strikes. If a state faces a problem that overwhelms its resources, its governor can request FEMA aid, after which the agency moves in, provides support to the state, and organizes other groups that could potentially help, from local police to private construction contractors to the National Guard. Later, after the initial danger passes, FEMA helps residents and municipalities rebuild their lives by offering grants and loans for everything from rent to medical care to home repairs.
For whatever reason, FEMA is an attractive target for Republican budget cutters. Last year, U.S. Rep Ron Paul (R-Texas) proposed abolishing the agency, arguing that it “is a system of bureaucratic central economic planning, which is a policy that is deeply flawed.” He went on to highlight FEMA as “a great contributor to deficit financing.”…
Romney’s position has been a bit more measured, but he has also indicated a desire to cut FEMA funding. In a Republican primary debate last year, he argued for pushing more of FEMA’s responsibilities onto individual states, saying “Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that’s the right direction. And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that’s even better.” … (more)
EDITOR: It makes about as much sense to have 50 state agencies to prepare for a major disaster as it does to disband the national armed forces in favor of state militia.
