FEMA staffers accuse Trump of weakening disaster programs

Current and former FEMA officials are warning Congress that the Trump administration's policies have undermined the nation's ability to respond to natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina.

The message, in a public letter addressed to Congress and the White House's FEMA review council, comes ahead of the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. The 181 signatories said that under President Donald Trump, FEMA has abandoned the reforms designed to correct the agency's mistakes in responding to the 2005 hurricane.

"We the undersigned — current and former FEMA workers — have come together to sound the alarm to our administrators, the US Congress, and the American people so that we can continue to lawfully uphold our individual oaths of office and serve our country as our mission dictates," they wrote in the letter.

The letter said FEMA lacks qualified leadership, jeopardizing the nation's ability to prepare for and respond to events. They also laid out several systemic concerns, some of which they said violated the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006.

The federal government's handling of that 2005 storm, the costliest in U.S. history, sparked a national conversation about FEMA's role. It also shined a light on the nation's preparedness for disasters that are becoming increasingly severe due to warming from climate change, which is fueling more destructive storms through hotter ocean temperatures, higher seas and heavier rainfall.

The Department of Homeland Security and FEMA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The letter said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's pattern of reviewing all contracts over $100,000 has slowed responsiveness, causing delays in deploying urban search and rescue teams in the wake of July 4 flooding that killed 138 people in central Texas. They said that process runs afoul of PKEMRA, which said the secretary cannot "substantially or significantly reduce the authorities, responsibilities, or functions of the Agency or the capability of the Agency to perform those missions, authorities, responsibilities."

Noem has fought those criticisms, claiming people are "playing politics" with her department and FEMA's performance.

More broadly, the current and former staffers called attention to downsizing at the agency, and that one-third of FEMA staffers have departed, eroding the agency's capacity to respond to events. They also pressed FEMA to restore access to climate science data and information that helps communities prepare and plan for disasters.

They also criticized FEMA's efforts to reduce spending programs intended to avert costly disaster damage, and they challenged the administration's moves to curb approvals of hazard mitigation grants that award spending to areas after federally declared disaster. They also objected to FEMA's decision to cancel new grants from the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, which provided funding to fortify infrastructure against extreme weather. Several states have sued FEMA to restore those funds.

"If allowed to continue our State, Local, Tribal & Territorial (SLTT) partners will have future increased response and recovery costs, and increased loss of life," the letter said. "These actions undermine FEMA’s legal authority and responsibility."

The letter urged Congress to make FEMA a Cabinet-level agency, protect FEMA from DHS "interference" and to encourage budget and spending transparency.

The move follows on a similar dissent letter sent by EPA staffers who said the agency's leadership "undermines EPA's mission." EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin responded by putting 144 signatories to that missive on leave.