FEMA Public Assistance Program
Name.
POL 201
Debra Oliver, J.D.
July 6, 2015
FEMA Public Assistance Program
Disasters seem to occur when they are least expected. It is the responsibility of each state to implement an emergency management agency, and to prepare for, respond to, and recover from an emergency. When the state and local governments require assistance in response to a disaster, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may step in and provide relief with their Public Assistance program. In recent years, the amount of emergencies declared to FEMA has skyrocketed across the country. Although FEMA has been successful in the past, is it effective at the federal level, or does it overstep its boundaries?
When disasters occur the communities of the affected areas are responsible to protect their citizens and respond to the disaster, however if the affected communities and states require assistance when responding and recovering, they may request help under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. In order to receive assistance through the Public Assistance program, the governor of the state must conduct a joint Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) to determine the amount of funds needed. Afterwards, the governor must the send a formal request to the President of the United States. Once a declaration is made, FEMA will list the area eligible for assistance. The Public Assistance Program awards state and local governments and Private Nonprofit (PNP) groups with grants to respond and recover from disasters. The FEMA Public Assistance program was put into place to provide critical assistance, in the forms of grants, to enable communities to quickly respond to and recover from major, presidentially declared emergencies and disasters.
FEMA came into existence 35 years ago, on April 1, 1979, when President Jimmy Carter signed the executive order. This merged multiple agencies...