Presidential Transition Binder Shines a Light on FEMA
The structure and functions of the normally somewhat opaque Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are illuminated in a 238-page briefing book (pdf) that was prepared for the presidential transition.
“The FEMA 2009 Presidential Transition Binder… is intended to serve as a reference for FEMA leadership and employees to help orient them to its organizational structure, programs, resources, stakeholders, and operations,” the document states.
The Binder, which has not otherwise been made readily available to the public, was obtained by Jonah Czerwinski, who writes the Homeland Security Watch blog.
This rule gives agencies significantly more authority over certain career policy roles. Whether that authority improves accountability or creates new risks depends almost entirely on how agencies interrupt and apply it.
Our environmental system was built for 1970s-era pollution control, but today it needs stable, integrated, multi-level governance that can make tradeoffs, share and use evidence, and deliver infrastructure while demonstrating that improved trust and participation are essential to future progress.
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