Homeland Security was created to secure our borders against future terrorism and terrorist acts. Homeland Security was not created to provide assistance in times of natural disasters. The mission of FEMA is “to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from and mitigate all hazards.”[1] FEMA intends “to lead America to prepare for, prevent, respond to and recover from disasters with a vision of ‘A Nation Prepared.’”[2] FEMA does have a role in helping after an act of terrorism within the United States. Yet, their mission is more than just helping to recover after terrorism. They also respond to manmade and natural disasters within the United States, such as the Valdez oil spill, hurricane recovery, and other disasters. Such …show more content…
recovery would fall outside the scope of the mission of Homeland Security. FEMA should help with the recovery efforts after acts of terrorism on American soil.
Their role is to ensure that those who help in the recovery are trained to respond to any such disaster. Homeland Security’s mission is “to secure the nation from the many threats we face. With honor and integrity, we will safeguard the American people, our homeland, and our values.”[3] Pros to FEMA being a part of Homeland Security are their ability to react after disasters. They work closely with other agencies within Homeland Security, and those not bound to Homeland Security. Homeland Security is moving beyond the boundaries of just terrorism and is incorporating natural disasters. Some cons to having FEMA incorporated with Homeland Security is the focus has been more on terrorism and less on natural disasters. Natural disasters occur more frequently on American soil than acts of terrorism. The focus of Homeland Security has been on terrorism, although it is shifting beyond to natural disasters. As an independent agency, FEMA would be able to focus on all disasters, rather than focus mostly on
terrorism. Where FEMA was created in the early to mid-1900 due to the ever growing threat of natural and manmade disasters, Homeland Security was created to help safeguard our country against the ever growing threat of terrorism. It was created to make the United States more secure against future acts of terrorism, to search out possible terrorists within the United States, and to ensure that was occurred on September 11, 2001, would never happen again. FEMA, as a part of Homeland Security, would be required to focus more on terrorism, since that is the focus of the Homeland Security. It would thus be required to focus less on what it was created to focus on, natural disaster recovery and manmade disaster recovery.
Royer, Jordan. “Hurricane Sandy and the importance of being FEMA”, Crosscut.com, Crosscut.com, Web. 1 Nov 2012, 3 May 2014.
The Department of Homeland Security was created in an effort to communicate more efficiently and to twart potential threats of terrorism. The failure to enact the Ammonium Nitrate Security Act is a failure to create a simple process which could provided another level of safety against a terrorist attack. The Sandy Recovery Act was a step in the right direction to aid Native American tribes residing on reservations but is only one step in a bigger process to achieve the effectiveness need for the race.
In 2003, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was rolled into the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. FEMA’s responsibilities are to prepare, protect, respond, and recover from diminish all hazards. There was a mass coverage about the failure for FEMA to act immediately to Katrina, but once they were able to get things organized such as giving food and water, and setting up the tent and shelters communities can be strong and move on.
After the fear of terrorism grew in the United States do to the Al Qaeda 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the US Government found a need for a centralized department that umbrellas all other agencies when it comes to homeland security. The U.S. Government found this umbrella agency with the passage of the Homeland Security Act by Congress in November 2002, the Department of Homeland Security formally came into being as a stand-alone, Cabinet-level department to further coordinate and unify national homeland security efforts. (Homeland Security) With the creation of the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the government had a pinpoint location for the collection and gathering of intelligence, control of policies that effect national security, and a no fail mission. The Department of Homeland Security started to engulf other agencies and created many more, a total of 22 agencies now fall under the DHS. The DHS is control of all areas that deal with national security which included but are not limited to coastal and boarder protection, domestic terrorism, international terrorism, protection of the American people, protection of key infrastructure, protection of key resources and respond to natural disasters.
The Coast Guard, for instance, rescued some 34,000 people in New Orleans alone, and many ordinary citizens commandeered boats, offered food and shelter, and did whatever else they could to help their neighbors. Yet the government–particularly the federal government–seemed unprepared for the disaster. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) took days to establish operations in New Orleans, and even then did not seem to have a sound plan of action. Officials, even including President George W. Bush, seemed unaware of just how bad things were in New Orleans and elsewhere: how many people were stranded or missing; how many homes and businesses had been damaged; how much food, water and aid was needed. Katrina had left in her wake what one reporter called a “total disaster zone” where people were “getting absolutely
Homeland security is an American measure to ensure the security of the country. It is the national effort to ensure safety, security, and strength against terrorism and other issues, The goals of homeland security is to which will minimise the vulnerability of the U.S. to terrorism, and reduce the number of damages to the country.
The 109th Congress questioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after Hurricane Katrina. Congress called for mandatory reports from the white house, Inspectors Generals, the Government Accountability Office, and others. A common denominator in all of these findings were that some of the losses brought by Katrina were caused, at least in part, by deficiencies within FEMA; such as: questionable leadership decisions, organizational failures, and inadequate legal authorities. As a result of these findings, Congress further utilized their control strategies to reorganize FEMA, and restructure the way responsibilities were handled following emergencies. Congress passed the “Post-Katrina Emergency Reform Act of 2006” in order to accomplish these revisions. This newly enacted bill reorganized FEMA, expanded its authority, established new leadership positions and position requirements within FEMA, and imposed new conditions and requirements on the operations of the agency. Congress also utilized the appropriations process to influence this portion of bureaucracy by enacting supplemental appropriations, one-time waivers of requirements and temporary
Federal intervention in the aftermath of natural disasters began after the San Francisco earthquake in 1906. This 8.3 magnitude earthquake killed 478, and left over 250,000 homeless. While the disaster itself was obviously unavoidable, the subsequent fires that burned throughout the city were a result of poor planning. (1, 17) In an effort to consolidate existing programs, and to improve the nation’s level of preparedness, President Carter created FEMA in 1979. Initially, FEMA was praised for improving communication between various levels of government, and multiple agencies during a crisis. (1,19)
After the storm had passed the public was biting FEMA for not doing their jobs but nobody stopped to think that they could only do what the govt. ordered for them to get done. FEMA
Homeland security is the way Americans put forth the effort to ensure the homeland is safe, secure, and stands firm against terrorist acts and other hazard that could put the health and welfare of the American people. The mission of the Homeland Security is to prevent terrorism, secure and protect our open borders, uphold all immigration laws, safeguard and secure cyberspace, and be content and resilient when it pertains to disasters.
The lack of response dates back to the merger of FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was formed in 2002 “in response to the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001”(Adamski, p4). The function of DHS is to provide a “unified defense structure against the threat of terrorism and other potential hazards” (Adamski, p4(Homeland Security Act of 2002)). In 2003 the Bush administration reformed FEMA and it was moved under the umbrella of the DHS. With that, the merger changed the mission of FEMA, from its primary focus of disaster response to counter terrorism. Removing FEMA from an independent agency which handled disaster response, and merge with DHS which responded to counter terrorism, according to Adamski, the merge sparked concerns that the coverage of natural disasters would...
When looked into, there was a document found that had the specific areas they needed help and assistance with. The video also explained some of FEMA’s history. In other emergency situations, they weren’t prepared or helpful. At first, I was feeling like people should not have been too upset with FEMA because they were still trying to help. My feelings changed when someone from FEMA stated that if he had to do it all over again he would do things exactly the same.
If there is severe damage or loss of life another government funded organization comes in and help once the governor of the said state declares a state of emergency. The Federal Emergency Management Agency also known as (FEMA) primary purpose is to coordinate the response to a disaster that has occurred in the United States...
Next, Bellavita talks about how homeland security is about all hazards. In this section Bellavita speaks about how “attention to terrorism since September 11, 2001 undermined the U.S. emergency preparedness system” (Bellavita, 2015). Being that the main intention of homeland security is to defend against terrorism, it may be more beneficial to separate this agency into smaller factions, so that each agency knows what to focus on and can become more efficient and effective at their role. Recently, I believe this same narrative rings true, with all attention on
...ts of terrorism against the United States. Homeland security has not only proven to be effective, it has shown that it is providing safety for the U.S. and its citizens against terrorist attacks.