Newsmax– Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is canceling thousands of Federal Emergency Management Agency contracts after the Department of Government Efficiency found billions of dollars in waste, fraud, and unnecessary spending, according to a report on Friday.
Spending cited in the report included $10.7 million on public safety announcements, $3.3 million for employee marketing, $1.6 million for two workshops, and more than $1.2 million for a “conference center concierge,” reportedĀ The Daily Caller, which obtained a sample of the contracts flagged for termination. more here
Is someone willing to argue that FEMA isn’t a total waste anyway? It seems to me we could let it go. If somebody knows better, please explain. Thanks! š
THREE CATEGORIES OF FED GOV’T EMPLOYEES:
I. THOSE WHO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN
II. THOSE WHO WATCH THINGS HAPPEN
III. THOSE WHO HAVE NO CLUE WHAT HAPPENED
WE ONLY NEED CAT I
From what I can tell the problem isn’t the concept of Emergency Management in general, it’s that the federal agency is way out of control and not really helping where it’s supposed to. EM works better when the local/state agencies are prepared and empowered to do what’s needed just like with education. I mean, honestly, what exactly does FEMA really do or is supposed to do that, say, a state like Florida hasn’t already taken care of? I guess what I’m asking is what exactly is supposed to be the purpose/function of FEMA in the first place?
Assuming to major changes elsewhere, FEMA should be no more than a funding pipeline to local and state emergency assistance/prevention. Let the people closest to the risk assess their exposure, come up with best plan to mitigate, and if local/state money isn’t enough, ask for feddle help. It’d have to have a built-in DOGE watchdog.
I would prefer ‘major changes elsewhere’ but I think the above is the best we can do within current environment.
Oops. “Assuming NO major changes…”
Dnag figners.
First things first: USAID was a shell used to steal money from the U.S. taxpayers. It was never a legitimate government entity used to dole out money to legitimate gov’t contractors for legitimate gov’t goods and services. All of USAID should have been completely frozen until each and every one of its illegal “payees” was identified and brought to face justice.
Same thing for all those millions/billions being paid out on a regular basis from SSI and all those millions/billions being paid out “blank check” style (no known audit trail) from the U.S, Treasury. So far, all I’ve read about are the SSI payments being cut-off from all those listed who are 110+ years old.
Why is this so hard for this administration and congress to understand? Argghhh!
…and I haven’t heard a ding-dang thing about either attempting to recover the illegal payouts from SSI, nor prosecuting anyone who was obviously receiving the illegal payouts. Have you?
Double Argghhh!
I haven’t heard a ding-dang thing about a Seal Team or Delta Force going after grifters. Have you?
This is a little weird to me because my outfit has produced MREs for the military feeding programs, HDRs for humanitarian relief, and FEMA rations for some more recent disasters, and we were held to some pretty tight specs by contract, DLA easily being the most strict but the others not being without rules either. FEMA was a little weird and looser than the other programs, but it was still had to be produced under FDA regs in accordance with United States Code, and while they sometimes seemed more confused than most about when they actually wanted delivery, they ABSOLUTELY wouldnt pay us until it hit their warehouse. On occasion we would be left holding the literal bag as they would tell us to stop shipments abruptly which would force us to scramble for storage space for both ingredients and finished product, and really playing havoc with production schedules, and there sure as shit wasnt any opportunity for LEGIT profit in that, let alone ill-gotten gains…
Of course we arent anyones political darling, so perhaps thats not true for EVERYBODY, but it certainly was for US.
Which makes the stories even odder to me, especially the one woman company with the million meal contract. WE have to PROVE we can produce during the bidding process, and because we have FDA and USDA inspectors in-house theyre going to catch onto lies pretty quick. Those guys have to be scheduled like any other contractor around our runs, and if we rarely had them in or had nothing for them to do it would be red flags all ’round.
And again, no ship, no shekels. Dont know how they got around THAT one.
But Im thinking like a legitimate company that actually produces, you know, contractually required stuff. But where theres a will, theres a way, I suppose, and probably with a politician not very far behind…
I agree that FEMA should be mostly an information coordinator, an expansive who has how much of what where database connecting thosenorgs in need with thise that have.
Tje idea that FEMA will have the one size fits all food/water/shelter is way beyond the 1950-60’s Civil Defense provisions. A result is the FEMA emergency housing that mildewed in storage. And maybe they need to dial back the materiel support to just that C-D manner.