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Noem calls for the elimination of FEMA 'as currently constituted' as it aids flood victims in Texas

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi NOEM called for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's elimination in its current format on Wednesday, while the agency was sending specialists and supplies to Texas as part of the response to the devastating floods.

Noem's remarks were a restatement on her thoughts about FEMA's Future but noteworthy given FEMA’s critical role currently in central Texas.

Flash floods on 4th July

At least 119 people have been killed, and scores more are still missing.

Noem, who spoke at a meeting with a government review panel looking for ways to reform FEMA noted that the agency provided resources including personnel to assist state and local officials leading the response in Texas.

Noem also used the occasion to criticize FEMA's past failures. She claimed that the agency is too slow and bureaucratic, and it ties state and local officials up.

She said that federal emergency management should be led by the states and local governments, not as it has been for decades.

It has been slow at the federal level to respond. Even the delivery of resources to Americans who are in crisis has been delayed. This is why it's time to restructure this agency and make it more responsive.

FEMA's defenders claim that President Donald Trump, and his aides, have tried to politicize an agency vital for helping states prepare for disasters such as hurricanes and flooding and clean up afterward.

Michael Coen, FEMA chief-of-staff for former presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, called Noem’s remarks “disappointing” and pointed out that people affected by the floods in Texas are "still searching for their loved ones, with the help of the federal government."

FEMA's fate is not clear

The Texas floods were the first major disaster to kill many people since Trump assumed office in January, vowing to abolish or gut FEMA. They served as a stark reminder to how much states rely on FEMA during disasters. Trump and Noem are yet to specify how FEMA would be remade, and how its operation would differ from the way it currently operates.

Local officials in Kerr County have been questioned about their role, especially since the majority of victims were from that county.

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Residents should be warned as floodwaters rise.

FEMA's daily operation briefing states that the agency has sent search and rescue teams to Kerr County from five different states, as well as experts and supplies, to help the state's emergency headquarters located in Austin. The Army Corps of Engineers was also activated.

Trump announced last month that he will "phase out" FEMA following the current hurricane season which runs through November. He said that states would receive less federal assistance for disasters with the White House controlling funding distribution.

FEMA continues to play a role in the funding of state emergency capabilities. FEMA provided Texas with nearly $20 million in the fiscal year prior to pay for emergency management operations that are now the frontline of flood response.

Trump has often said that he believes the states should be responsible for disaster response, but he was more reserved in his remarks following the Texas flooding.

Trump said that he would "talk about it later" when asked by a reporter if he planned to phase out FEMA.

Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary, was equally guarded on Monday. She told reporters that the federal government's disaster response is a "policy conversation that will continue."

Coen stated that he found Trump and Leavitt encouraging.

He said that both seemed to be aware of the significance of the moment, and hoped that the Texas disaster could serve as an "opportunity to look at things in a different way." Reporting by Nathan Layne, Maria Tsvetkova and Ted Hesson in New York and Courtney Rozen and Ross Colvin in Washington. Editing by David Gregorio and Ross Colvin.

(source: Reuters)