Stephanie A.: Hurricane season is under way and there is finally a new leader of FEMA, Brock Long.
Jim C.: He was confirmed him last month and he joins us live from Washington this morning. Congratulations and nice to have you with us. What is on your priority list?
F1: It’s great to be here. It's an honor to serve the nation in this capacity. Over the past month, we have been making sure that everyone in the federal government who supports the national response plan fully understands the roles and responsibilities, and we are working with state/local partners to understand gaps that may exist within their ability to respond and recover so we can bridge those gaps and make sure we protect Americans.
Stephanie A.: So, what experience from your past jobs will be most helpful in this role?
F1: I’ve served as a state director of Alabama Emergency Management Agency. So, I've received support from the federal government. But I have also led vital programs to make sure citizens understand who makes evacuations decisions, what their hazards are, and how to get out of storm surge vulnerable areas and into facilities that can withstand the winds. So, I have well-rounded experience having worked in the private and public sector in emergency management.
Jim C.: Well, you are following quite the legend in Craig Fugate. That's for sure. But you are of his mold from what I've read, which is great. What kind of challenges do you see with the agency at this point?
F1: Obviously, it's understanding the workforce and making sure that we are properly supporting the state and local partners. Each state is tremendously different. One-size-fits-all solution to disaster preparedness, response, and recovery doesn’t work. We have to utilize our workforce correctly to help our states and locals achieve their goals--not FEMA’s goals. More importantly… how we efficiently and effectively coordinate the fire power from of the federal government to the states and locals when they call upon us.
Stephanie A.: Let's talk about the budget. FEMA has significant proposed cuts: 11% under the proposed budget from President Trump. How do you plan to defend FEMA’s budget?
F1: It is my job to defend the agency and I’ve taken a hard look at the budget, obviously. It's my role to make sure we can operate. One thing that is very important is that the pre-disaster grants we provide, and we provide almost 98% of the grants put forward by DHS… they have been trending downward since 2011 and/or continue to do so as we find ways to do business and preparedness a little more effectively and efficiently. Regarding the disaster relief fund, it was proposed based on a 10-year average of what we’ve seen over the last decade.
Jim C.: The PDM grant programs were cut by more than 60%. What will you do to give states and communities better options?
F1: If I could sign a piece of paper to move this post-disaster mitigation funding to the front side, I would have done it in a heartbeat. A lot of people don't give the agency credit for what we do in the post-disaster round. But, we hand out more than $1 billion on average and post disaster mitigation. The problem is you have to get hit to access this mitigation funding. I’d like to work with Congress and others to move more of that funding upfront.
Stephanie A.: What about flooding? It is starting to get privatized and the budget actually zeros out the flood hazard mapping and risk analysis. Are you concerned?
F1: So, risk map is not going away. It is one of the foundational programs that helps us understand how to set up actuarial rates for NFIP. It is a change in the business process to relieve the burden of the taxpayer.
Jim C.: Brock Long, we’re looking forward to working with you, sir.
Stephanie A.: No offense--I hope we don't talk to you anytime soon, if you know what I mean.
F1: Come see us at FEMA.
Jim C.: It’s a great organization and they've done a lot of great work, a lot of that with Craig Fugate.
(End of interview)