An Obama Appointee I Like

FEMA’s new administrator has a message for Americans: get in touch with your survival instinct.

Craig Fugate is the new director of FEMA. Unlike past directors, he actually has a strong background in emergency management and preparedness. He started his career as a volunteer firfighter in Florida and has worked his way up. He has spent the last 20 years in emergency management in Florida.

“We need to change behavior in this country,” he told about 400 emergency-management instructors at a conference in June, lambasting the “government-centric” approach to disasters. He learned a perverse lesson in Florida: the more the federal government does in routine emergencies, the greater the odds of catastrophic failure in a big disaster. “It’s like a Chinese finger trap,” he told me last spring, as a hailstorm fittingly raged outside his office. If the feds do more, the public, along with state and local officials, do less. They come to expect ice and water in 24 hours and full reimbursement for sodden carpets. But as part of a federal system, FEMA is designed to defer to state and local officials. If another Katrina hits, and the locals are overwhelmed, a full-strength federal response will inevitably take time. People who need help the most—the elderly, the disabled, and the poor—may not get it fast enough.

When the head of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, was looking for someone to fill the job, she was repeatedly pointed to Mr. Fugate. From reading the article, I can’t help but feel that he is the right man for the job.

Edit: I’ve added a link to Mr. Fugate’s personal website. I think it is well worth reading.