FEMA Can’t Help Until It Handles Its Own Disaster

The government agency responsible for handling natural disasters is something of a disaster itself. The good news is that its prospects are marginally better today than they seemed just a few months ago. The bad news is that those prospects would still mean a federal response and preparedness body that struggles to respond to and prepare for catastrophes.

Last week, a task force convened by President Donald Trump issued a list of recommendations for reforming the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The punch list was equal parts sweeping and performative, as exemplified by the last page of its slide deck, which managed to sum up its proposals in seven squishy verbs, such as “Cultivate” and “Amplify,” that formed the acronym “AMERICA.”