FEMA Workers Send “Katrina Declaration” To Congress
Over 180 workers have signed a document warning of impending disaster due to Trump administration cuts.
On Monday, 182 Federal Emergency Management Agency workers delivered a “declaration” to several congressional and senate committees sounding the alarm over their agency’s ability to help Americans through emergencies due to cuts and changes under the Trump administration.
“The Katrina Declaration” is named for the disastrous 2005 hurricane that rocked the Gulf Coast. Beyond the initial destruction wrought by the storm, mismanagement from the Bush administration compounded the crisis—millions without homes, over 1,800 dead and over $160 billion in damage. The document is a warning that a similar failure could happen again today because of decisions made by the current administration under the leadership of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
“Hurricane Katrina was not just a natural disaster, but a man-made one: the inexperience of senior leaders and the profound failure by the federal government to deliver timely, unified, and effective aid to those in need left survivors to fend for themselves for days, and highlighted how Black, Indigenous, and low-income communities are disproportionally affected by disasters,” the draft obtained by Important Context opens. “These failures prompted Congress to pass the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006…which introduced safeguards to ensure such shortcomings of disaster preparation and response would not be repeated. However, two decades later, FEMA is enacting processes and leadership structures that echo the conditions PKEMRA was designed to prevent.”
The Katrina Declaration is the latest such effort by federal workers in vital agencies to alert lawmakers and the public to devastating changes happening to their agency under the Trump presidency. In June, hundreds of workers from the National Institutes of Health delivered “The Bethesda Declaration,” demanding changes of Director Jay Bhattacharya, who they accused of politicizing the agency and failing to defend science. Workers at the Environmental Protection Agency sent a similar “Declaration of Dissent” to Administrator Lee Zeldin and were retaliated against. A third document from the union representing employees at the National Science Foundation was planned and subsequently pulled. Then, in July, NASA workers issued “The Voyager Declaration” decrying budget cuts and grant terminations.
These efforts were all coordinated with help from the nonprofit Stand Up for Science, which aims to stop the cuts to vital agencies under Donald Trump. The group prepared letters of support with each declaration, including the latest, for people to sign. (The Accountability Journalism Institute, which runs Important Context, is the fiscal sponsor of Stand Up for Science’s planned 501(c)(3) arm and receives administrative fees related to that function.)
The FEMA workers’ declaration states that their agency “has been under the leadership of individuals lacking legal qualifications, Senate approval, and the demonstrated background required of a FEMA Administrator.”
”Decisions made by FEMA’s Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Administrator…David Richardson, Former SOPDA Cameron Hamilton, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem erode the capacity of FEMA and our State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial…partners, hinder the swift execution of our mission, and dismiss experienced staff whose institutional knowledge and relationships are vital to ensure effective emergency management,” it reads.
In seven pages, the declaration lays out a list of grievances. Atop the list is Noem’s move to require her personal review and approval of all contracts, grants and mission assignments over $100,000. This, the document warns, “reduces FEMA’s authorities and capabilities to swiftly deliver our mission.” Next, it targets the lack of a qualified administrator, noting that “hurricane season has begun.” The workers also call out cuts to risk mitigation initiatives, noting that “On average, mitigation grants save $6 for every $1 invested and are among the most effective tools to limit future destruction and bolster our national resilience.”
Other frustrations include interference with state, local, tribal, and territorial partners and the “censorship” of climate science and environmental protection.
“This administration’s decision to ignore and disregard the facts pertaining to climate science in disasters shows a blatant disregard for the safety and security of our Nation's people and all American communities regardless of their geographic, economic or ethnic diversity,” it reads.
The declaration highlights the administration’s decision to remove the Future Risk Index from the agency’s website in February, warning that the move impeded “the nation's ability to properly prepare for and mitigate against the risks of tomorrow and support underserved communities.” It notes explains that “This action represents increased risk for communities and an incalculable waste of time, information, and taxpayer dollars.”
The final dissent in the declaration is against the reduction in FEMA’s disaster workforce, explaining “One-third of FEMA’s full-time staff have departed the agency this year, leading to the loss of irreplaceable institutional knowledge and long-built relationships.”
The document closes with a call for action by congress. It asks that FEMA be established as a cabinet-level independent agency in the executive branch and that it be ‘defended’ against “further interference from [the Department of Homeland Security].” It petitions for FEMA employees to be ‘protected’ from “politically motivated firings” with “merit-based personnel systems,” and demands transparency from the White House Office of Management and Budget, the so-called Department Of Government Efficiency, and FEMA leadership “regarding internal employment policies and future agency reductions.”