Definition
The primary purpose of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is to coordinate the response to disasters in the United States that overwhelm local and state authorities while also providing personnel and resources to protect and safeguard life and property, prior to and following disasters.
Introduction
FEMA was founded on April 1, 1979 when President Carter signed Executive Order 12127to address the growing need for an agency that primarily focused on helping Americans to deal with disasters. Specifically, FEMA's role is in “preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror” in the United States (see History on FEMA). Since its official inception, FEMA has provided countless resources and conducted disaster relief efforts across the United States, both to prepare for and respond to disasters. FEMA is also the primary agency that oversees the...
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References
Department of Homeland Security. (2018). Federal Emergency Management Agency Budget Overview Fiscal Year 2018 Congressional Justification. https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/FEMA%20FY18%20Budget.pdf. Accessed 6 July 2019.
Edwards, C. (2014). The Federal Emergency Management Agency: Floods, failures, and federalism. https://www.downsizinggovernment.org/dhs/fem3a. Accessed 6 July 2019.
Executive Order 12127, 44 FR 19367, CFR, 1979 Comp., p. 376.
Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2008). Prepared, responsive, committed. FEMA B-653. https://www.fema.gov/pdf/about/brochure.pdf. Accessed 6 July 2019.
Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2018). About the agency. https://www.fema.gov/about-agency. Accessed 6 July 2019.
Further Reading
Fossett, J. W. (2013, July). Let’s stop improvising disaster recovery. Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. https://rockinst.org/blog/lets-stop-improvising-disaster-recovery/. Accessed 6 July 2019.
Government Accountability Office (GAO). (2012, Sept.). Federal disaster assistance: Improved criteria needed to assess a jurisdiction’s capability to respond and recover on its own. GAO-12-838. https://www.gao.gov/assets/650/648162.pdf. Accessed 6 July 2019.
Hogue, H. B., & Bea, K. (2006, June 1). Federal Emergency Management and Homeland Security Organization: Historical Developments and Legislative Options. Congressional Research Service report for Congress. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/RL33369.pdf. Accessed 6 July 2019.
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Stamper, A., Shapiro, L.R. (2019). Federal Emergency Management Agency. In: Shapiro, L., Maras, MH. (eds) Encyclopedia of Security and Emergency Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_68-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_68-1
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