States can manage disaster relief
President Jimmy Carter created FEMA by executive order in 1979 but the federal response to natural disasters really accelerated after the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, when public outcry caused Calvin Coolidge to commission then Commerce Secretary and future President Herbert Hoover to oversee the relief.
The Trump administration is essentially proposing a black grant when it comes to the disaster response and cutting out more of the Washington based bureaucracy that slows the recovery down but it’s important that block grants come with minimal strings and demands. President Trump is also proposing a commission to study the future of FEMA, which has had a troubled history since its disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Here are Trump’s remarks in Western North Carolina, where he calls FEMA “not good.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB2V5ialqdg
I recently published a piece in National Review calling for states to be given more authority and ownership over disaster relief funds.
— The Federalism Beat