Pros And Cons Of The Federal Response Plan

The Unites States is by far in a better position since the passage of the Homeland Security Bill of 2003. This bill has strengthened and fortified our borders to ensure we are never attacked again like were on September 11, 2001. “There have been a number of planned attacks that have been prevented on U.S. soil and abroad within the past several years” because of the Homeland Security Bill that was put into place (Keefer, 2017). This act vetted a lot of agencies and brought them together in order to make our country much safer than it ever has been. The combing of 22 federal agencies into one new cabinet level department as well as creating four new divisions was the biggest federal reorganization since the creation of the Department of

Two main political issues today are the economy and the environment, a recent topic that involves these issues is the decision or lack thereof to go through with the Keystone pipeline XL. The pipeline stretches from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, via Texas and can provide immediate jobs and oil economic stimulation as well as economic stimulation for future generations. The problem is that while this project can mean a brighter future economically, it can also mean a darker future environmentally. Despite the possible environmental risks, the keystone pipeline XL project needs to be approved as it can provide energy security and a major economical stimulation for this generation and the next.

Hurricane Katrina shift the position of the Department of Homeland Security from making natural disasters an equally as important as terrorism. This even showed that disaster planning requires a great deal of collaboration. The Department of Homeland Security who swallowed up FEMA where not quick to react to Hurricane Katrina because all their focus was spend on planning for a prevent terrorist attacks. The failure of the disaster response system resulted in over 1,200 lives lost in Louisiana and Mississippi. FEMA failed to work closely with its State and local counterparts and communications between these partners and the public were strained at best.

Since the early 19th century case of Gibbons v. Ogden, Congress’ ability to regulate commerce under the Commerce Clause has rapidly expanded. What began as the power to control trade between two states soon extended to transportation, production of goods shipped between states, and eventually to activity with a substantial influence on commerce. In the latter half of the 20th century, the Supreme Court finally began to restrict the extent of the Commerce Clause with the cases of U.S. v. Lopez, U.S. v. Morrison, and later NFIB v. Sebelius. After the trend of lessening the power of the Commerce Clause, Congress does not have a Constitutional basis to enact the Beat the Flu Act. While some may equate the case to Wickard v. Fillburn in an argument

Reduce the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and key resources, essential leadership, and major events to terrorist attacks and other hazards. Provide grants, plans and training to our homeland security and law enforcement partners. We have taken significant steps to create a unified and integrated Department that will enhance our performance by focusing on accountability, efficiency, transparency and leadership development. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was the final weak link in the then-existing confusing chain of command. FEMA 's head, Wallace E. Stickney, had no apparent experience in emergency management or disaster response (Franklin, D. 1995).

When a disaster occurs the federal, state, and local governments contact the military for help and support due to the their advantages attached to military operations and response which could benefit in them in manpower with specific qualifications, skills and expertise, strategic and rapid mobilization, updated technology and a variety of equipment (helicopters, aircraft, earth-moving machinery, respirators, medical supplies, power and lighting equipment, under-water capability, etc.) that most emergency organizations are unable to acquire on a moment notice (Kapucu, 2011). Besides, the military’s bureaucratic structure with hierarchical rules in place are effective in command, coordination, and control of manpower, authority, and regulations, is beneficial in providing effective response actions during the time of emergency (Anderson 1970; Schrader 1993; Sylves 2008; US House of Representatives 2006) (Kapucu, 2011). This advantage cut time in half because the structure is already set up without questioning who is doing what or who is in charge. Additionally, the military supports in sheltering the homeless, the construction of temporary housing and restoration of minimal critical infrastructure (water, electric, sanitation, communication infrastructure, etc.), (Miskel 2006; Schrader 1993), (Kapucu, 2011).

In accordance with the 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, the terrorist threat is one of the prevailing challenges that pose a significant risk level to the United States as well as to American citizens abroad and many U.S. allies (Department of Homeland Security, 2014). In the United States, the Federal Government assumes the responsibility for leading the efforts that seek to manage the risk level of the terrorist threat. That is why the Federal Government has created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), whose main mission is to prevent terrorist threats by managing their risk levels (DHS, 2014). Since the terrorist threat is a very complex threat to manage for one entity or agency alone, the DHS is able to accomplish its main mission by working in partnerships with many federal agencies; State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (SLLTT) Governments; private and public organizations; international partners; and communities all across the United States (DHS, 2014). In all of those partnerships, the Federal Government through the DHS plays a leadership role

The 504 plan helps those with learning disabilities participate in a general education curriculum, and outlines various accommodations, modifications, and other services that the student needs. Those under the 504 plan will usually spend the school day in the general education classroom. This plan applies to ages k-12 students with disabilities that impair them physically and mentally. This plan also covers learning disabilities such as ADHD. The 504 plan is the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Furthermore, the utilization of response to address life safety, incident stabilization, property preservation and social-economic impacts continue to play a role in emergency response lessons learned taught today. Response Comparison: Hurricane Katrina

The United States is another large and powerful nation with an extremely strong military supported by its dominant number and quality of aircraft, advanced technology and weaponry, combat hardened troops, unmatched number of aircraft carriers and larger military budget. The spends an extremely large amount of its money on defense. In fact, the United States, “spends more money- $601 billion- on defense than the next nine top spending countries combined. ”(Bender). The US treats defense as an extreme importance by sustaining its large budget and this contributes to its superior military.

In Katrina’s Wake: National Guidance Throughout the history of the United States Military, historians recorded the heroic actions of Soldiers, Airman, Sailors, and Marines that won countless battles in various conflicts around the world. In modern times, the role of the military changed drastically, especially in regards to the military’s role within natural disasters. Therefore, a National Guidance of Preparedness was developed, which reinforces response readiness and provides guidelines for the sharing of responsibility between all levels of government. After a review of the actions in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2006, federal, state, and local governments aided in the development of the guidelines, which shape and support preparedness

Government Facilities Sector is one of the largest and most complex sectors of the 17 critical infrastructures that’s included in the National Infrastructure Protection Plan. The Department of Homeland Security, General Services Administration and the Federal Protective Service (FPS) were given the responsibilities as co-leads and Federal interface for this sector by PPD-21. The government facilities sector will arrange for the protection, safety, and security of all government assets, employees, and visitors to the facilities under its sector, as well as balanced management of physical and cyber risk, so that essential government functions and services are preserved without disruption. The execution of this will require GFS to reduce the nations

In the texts, "In Response to Executive Order 9066" by Dwight Okita and "Mericans" by Sandra Cisneros, a topic of American identity and perception of identity is shared. Both texts take a brief look at the lives, characteristics, and feelings of young girls living a bicultural life. In Cisnero's story, the girl seems caught between her two different cultures, and she struggles to connect with her Mexican heritage. In Okita's poem, the girl has a clear sense of her identity and place as an American. Culture is experienced and interpreted differently by each individual and each group of people.

According to Farber (1981), "Despite the difficulties in cutting back, the need for substantial federal budget cuts are two reasons: first, cuts are essential in returning our nation back to a continuation of economic growth; and second, the administration has proposed a substantial increase in flexibility that would allow state and local governments to mitigate the harmful impact of the cuts. " Officials in many other government agencies including those at the federal, state, and local levels have also faced increased budgetary constraints. Although budgets have constricted, the workload of the court has continued to increase. I was given carte blanche to do what needs to be done to get our budget down 12% in expenditures. After cutting all

FEMA’s mission and priorities were changed so that, “terrorism prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery became central to the emergency management mission” (Haddow 325). As a result of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 the country’s focus shifted completely from natural disasters to an outright major assault on all things terrorism with no second glance at the potential emergency’s natural disasters presented. There might be a possibility that because of the nation’s extreme obsession with terrorists and terrorism that Hurricane Katrina was not given full priority nor given as much thought as it should have been because the whole focus of the government was on terrorism. When an agency and governmental structure, such as the defense agencies, undergoes an extreme shift within the course of a few years brought on so suddenly, there are bound to be weaknesses. Hurricane Katrina was the most challenging threat that tested the DHS as well as FEMA’s preparation and mitigation of natural disasters since the shift of focus.