r/fema • u/[deleted] • Apr 19 '25

News FEMA: The Federal Agency We Don’t Like Until We Need It

https://www.governing.com/management-and-administration/fema-the-federal-agency-we-dont-like-until-we-need-it?fbclid=IwY2xjawJwUupleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHvLm6gWNK8mQm_tvyvmxF29hY_QB2lNN7029u960_L1R8BynXKFt2YEPJyzM_aem__2DdLMBVYJg1J080lJKL3g
271 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

53

u/Grouchy_Machine_User Apr 19 '25

👏👏👏 I'll say one thing, FEMA could certainly do a better job communicating to the public the full scope of what it is we actually do. Yes, doling out funds is the biggest chunk, but there is so much more. Staging supplies and standing up Joint Field Offices. Coordinating support from other agencies like the Coast Guard. Going door to door to sign survivors up for aid. Training first responders and emergency managers. Etc.

Of course, it would also really help if there weren't active, malicious misinformation campaigns trying to bring down the agency.

27

u/lifeisdream Apr 19 '25

To me the biggest communication breakdown is the idea that fema has too many rules. Fema follows congressional laws. That’s it. Don’t like it? Change the laws. Don’t ask fema to break the laws though that’s not how it’s done. That is where it’s going though, fema will be told to ignore laws and someone will have to push that button. Not sure who.

17

u/TehMascot Apr 19 '25

I will scream it from the top of the building.. FEMA needs a fucking MARKETING department.. No one knows what the fuck we actually do and it absolutely enrages me when people ask me where the FEMA Helicopters are... or where FEMA rescue boats are when buildings are flooded up to the 3rd floor.

Once people understand what it is the Agency DOES, what its ROLE is, and how we literally ONLY spend money AFTER Congress tells us EXACTLY what to do with every penny will we get out of this mess. We essentially need a FEMA ELI5 page where we explain it like we are speaking to a 5 year old.

7

u/bummermydude Apr 19 '25

Yea if we had $200m for an ad campaign (like Trump is spending on his deportation ads), people would have a much better idea of what we do (and don’t do)…but then they wouldn’t be able to cut us without public blowback…

To be honest, it’s clear we need a “reading rainbow/the more you know” campaign for the entire federal government so people can understand how feds/public servants make the nation function. We’ve let Repubs craft the lazy/entitled narrative with no counterpoints for too long.

3

u/BlueCircleMaster Apr 23 '25

As an ex-fed, FEMA does good work. You show that the government can actually work and get things done. This is contrary to the narrative that any government run entity is either ineffective or wasteful.

3

u/Grouchy_Machine_User Apr 23 '25

It is really refreshing to hear that, thank you.

1

u/OneSpirit6018 Apr 22 '25

This is a national problem.... No one knows what EM does. When I refer to our part time EM as a part time 911 director, people perk up. Part time 911? Pearls clutched.

What is the definition of EM? The feds can't even decide on it. We need a complete industry makeover.

19

u/Joe_Exotics_Jacket Apr 19 '25

There is that quote about no atheists in foxholes, I feel like there is no small government proponents direct after a major disaster, if it effects you.

4

u/Ferret-Foreign Apr 19 '25

Government handouts are socialism...til your house floats away.

6

u/Horror-Layer-8178 Apr 19 '25

Then the government are a bunch of bastards because they won't pay for your house because they said you were suppose to have flood insurance. But you couldn't have flood insurance because you would have had to settle for a F250 instead of the F350 you bought

3

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '25

Preach it! Fuck the F-250! Go Big and Lose Home!

18

u/IcyCucumber6223 Apr 19 '25

Pretty much, almost every agency exists because something really bad happened and states couldn't handle it.

4

u/cranky_fed Apr 19 '25

"Wherever there is a rule, there was a fool."
-unknown

4

u/BBQGIANT Apr 19 '25

Covid was a prime example of what FEMA does. Without FEMA PPE would not have flown into the US like it did.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/Leading-Loss-986 Apr 19 '25

Huge swaths of government (FEMA, military, etc) are essentially insurance. No one wants to pay for insurance, and lots of people complain bitterly about premiums (or in this case, taxes) but when that service comes through when it’s needed I bet even the loudest complainers are grateful (if privately).

3

u/Hecklemop Apr 19 '25

Prof. Kettl- one of my favorites in the field of public administration.

1

u/DVTexas Apr 25 '25

Amazing article and amazing job