Local Disasters, Government Actors, and National Policy

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Timothy W. Kneeland
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
National Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Local Leadership ◽  
Disaster Policy ◽  
National Trends ◽  
Disaster Aid

This introductory chapter provides an overview of Hurricane Agnes, which swept through New York and Pennsylvania in late June of 1972. National trends influenced the federal and local response to the disaster. Hurricane Agnes struck the United States less than five months before the 1972 presidential election, and Richard Nixon's response to Hurricane Agnes was one variable in that election, which charted the course of American politics for the next three decades. In order to win reelection in 1972, President Nixon enacted the most substantial disaster aid package in history to that time, termed the Agnes Recovery Act, which he was convinced was the key to winning New York and Pennsylvania. The chapter then explains that local leaders played a crucial role in responding to the crisis in their communities and in flood recovery operations and rebuilding. Often neglected in studies of natural disaster policy is the way in which local leadership from government and the private sector interacted with representatives of the federal government to restore order and implement change. The chapter also introduces the Federal Office of Emergency Management (FEMA).

Playing Politics with Natural Disaster

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy W. Kneeland
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
The United States ◽  
Local State ◽  
Disaster Victims ◽  
Disaster Policy ◽  
Disaster Preparation ◽  
The Impact

Hurricane Agnes struck the United States in June of 1972, just months before a pivotal election and at the dawn of the deindustrialization period across the Northeast. The response by local, state, and national officials had long-term consequences for all Americans. President Richard Nixon used the tragedy for political gain by delivering a generous relief package to the key states of New York and Pennsylvania in a bid to win over voters. After his landslide reelection in 1972, Nixon cut benefits for disaster victims and then passed legislation to push responsibility for disaster preparation and mitigation onto states and localities. The impact led to the rise of emergency management and inspired the development of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). With a particular focus on events in New York and Pennsylvania, this book narrates how local, state, and federal authorities responded to the immediate crisis of Hurricane Agnes and managed the long-term recovery. The impact of Agnes was horrific, as the storm left 122 people dead, forced tens of thousands into homelessness, and caused billions of dollars in damage from Florida to New York. In its aftermath, local officials and leaders directed disaster relief funds to rebuild their shattered cities and reshaped future disaster policies. The book explains how the political decisions by local, state, and federal officials shaped state and national disaster policy and continues to influence emergency preparedness and response to this day.

Francis Lieber — His Life and His Work: Part II

1911 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 355-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernest Nys
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
International Law ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Law ◽  
Historical Dramas ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Government ◽  
Civic Duties ◽  
The City

During the fourteen years that he occupied the chair of history and political economy at Columbia College, in the city of New York, Francis Lieber displayed praiseworthy activity. This period of his life covered some restless years; the theatre of operations was of a size whose equal can be shown by few historical dramas. Terrorstricken, the civilized world witnessed a tremendous struggle, whence, fortunately, the cause of civilization was to issue triumphant. The learned professor did not content himself with zealously performing his university obligations; neither was he satisfied with fulfilling his civic duties; he threw himself resolutely into the conflict; he fought with his tongue and his pen; he made himself the organizer and representative of a ceaseless propaganda for the Union cause against the secessionists; by his advice and by his legal works he gave the Federal Government the most valuable assistance. For a long time he had been occupied with public law; he now enlarged the field of his researches and his studies, and he studied ardently the laws of war and important problems of international law. The serious events taking place before his eyes led him, too, to write his opinions and to draft The instructions for the government of armies of the United States in the field, which will ever be an honor to him.

Towards a Theory of Taxation

1984 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-173
Author(s):  
J. R. Lucas
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
District Of Columbia ◽  
The United States ◽  
The State ◽  
State Governments ◽  
The Cost ◽  
George Iii

“Towards a Theory of Taxation” is a proper theme for an Englishman to take when giving a paper in America. After all it was from the absence of such a theory that the United States derived its existence. The Colonists felt strongly that there should be no taxation without representation, and George III was unable to explain to them convincingly why they should contribute to the cost of their defense. Since that time, understanding has not advanced much. In Britain we still maintain the fiction that taxes are a voluntary gift to the Crown, and taxing statutes are given the Royal Assent with the special formula, “La Reine remercie ses bons sujets, accepte leur benevolence, et ainsi le veult” instead of the simple “La Reine le veult,” and in the United States taxes have regularly been levied on residents of the District of Columbia who until recently had no representation in Congress, and by the State of New York on those who worked but did not reside in the State, and so did not have a vote. Taxes are regularly levied, in America as elsewhere, on those who have no say on whether they should be levied or how they should be spent. I am taxed by the Federal Government on my American earnings and by state governments on my American spending, but I should be hard put to it to make out that it was unjust. Florida is wondering whether to follow California in taxing multinational corporations on their world-wide earnings.

scholarly journals Confusion, Chaos, and Bridging the Gap: A Prospective Study Gauging Disaster Triage Methodologies and Usage Across First Responder Professions

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (s1) ◽  
pp. s111-s111
Author(s):  
Brenna Adelman
Keyword(s):  
National Policy ◽  
First Responders ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mass Casualty Incident ◽  
Mass Casualty ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Field Triage ◽  
Mass Casualty Event ◽  
A Prospective Study ◽  
National Trends

Introduction:Disasters are unique in that they impact all socioeconomic, class, and social divides. They are complex, hard to conceptualize and operationally define, and occur sporadically without warning. However, regardless of each disasters innate unpredictability, there is one common need that directly impacts patient morbidity and mortality: effective triage.Aim:Currently the United States has no uniform triage mandate. The purpose of this study is to gather descriptive data on the type of mass-casualty triage currently being utilized by first responders (Emergency Medical Services/Fire/Nurses) and improve our understanding regarding the prevalence of mass casualty triage.Methods:A descriptive mixed methods survey is being distributed to first responders/nurses in the Appalachian region. This survey collects respondents demographics, profession, and MCI triage data. Data will be analyzed and descriptive statistics will be generated. GIS will be utilized to graph findings and visualize local and national trends.Results:Results of this study are pending.Discussion:Organizations have addressed the need for a standard triage protocol, even going so far as to create uniform criteria which each triage system should meet. However, the literature does not describe how individual professions train their members in disaster triage, or what triage is currently being utilized in each profession. Nurses and first-responders serve as linchpins in many communities. They remain in a community, both before, during, and after a mass casualty event, but they do not perform in a vacuum. During an MCI (mass-casualty incident) their scope of practice may vary, but they have common foci: the affected community. A better understanding of the type of MCI triage that each profession is using is vital in understanding how triage is being applied, and vital in identifying gaps in application that may impact the effectiveness of field triage, and affect local and national policy, practice, and future research.

American Disaster Policy through 1972

2020 ◽  
pp. 12-24
Author(s):  
Timothy W. Kneeland
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Disaster Relief ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Disaster Policy ◽  
Disaster Assistance ◽  
Private Citizens ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Executive Agencies ◽  
Disaster Aid

This chapter traces the history and expansion of federal disaster aid, beginning with the Disaster Relief Act of 1950. Under the Disaster Relief Act of 1950, the federal government assumed a permanent role and new responsibility for assisting local communities and state governments after a disaster. Between the 1950 legislation and the election of Richard Nixon in 1968, U.S. Congress allocated an ever-increasing amount of money toward disaster relief and added new benefits for disaster victims. As a consequence, the number of executive agencies and civil servants involved in dealing with disaster recovery multiplied. Disaster assistance, which was once aimed exclusively at state and local governments, now included direct payments to private citizens affected by natural disaster. This pattern of adding new benefits to disaster legislation culminated in the Disaster Relief Act of 1970, which made permanent all the benefits and programs found in previous acts, making these programs tantamount to a new entitlement. President Nixon was not pleased with the existing entitlement programs and tried to reduce the role of the federal government by empowering the states to prepare for, and deal with, a disaster on their own.

Introduction

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
William W. Franko ◽  
Christopher Witko
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
American History ◽  
American Politics ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Problem ◽  
Us History

Chapter 1 is the introductory chapter. In this chapter the authors briefly lay out the scope of income inequality in the United States, in comparison to past periods of US history and to other wealthy democracies. They also describe the growing salience of inequality in American politics, and explain how policy decisions made by the federal government have been critical to the growth of inequality, and how the federal government has failed to take action to reduce inequality. They conclude by explaining that, in keeping with American history, the states are beginning to tackle this growing economic problem and present a brief overview of each of the chapters.

Are we better off? Emergency management policy implementation since September 11

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 439-453
Author(s):  
Sean Hildebrand, PhD
Keyword(s):  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Federal Government ◽  
Federal Policy ◽  
Local Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
September 11 ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Incident Management

As public policy continues its evolution, so do theories about policy implementation. One policy field that changed during the twenty-first century is emergency management and homeland security in the United States. Since the September 11 attacks, the federal government attempted to centralize the way government agencies at the federal, state, and local level prepare for and respond to natural, accidental, and terror-related disasters. However, research in the field is split about the effectiveness of this effort during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. While some feel federal actions taken to prepare for and respond to incidents of natural, accidental, or purposeful intent have been fruitful in preparing the nation for catastrophic events, others say it detracts from the core mission of emergency management. This study considers if the policy changes that occurred during those administrations created a disparity between the policy expectations of the federal government and the actions of local officials in emergency management. The findings show that local emergency management professionals generally reported the implementation of federal policy expectations, and that the odds of doing so increase where respondents report greater “clarity” in the federal policy language. However, differences exist in terms of how local managers view the requirements of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) versus other federal policy demands. This signals that experienced actors may nominally comply with federal policy demands by downplaying those requirements seen as useless in favor of functions that meet jurisdictional needs.

scholarly journals Library Publishing and the University Press in the United States and Germany: Lessons from Two Academic Contexts for Sustaining the Scholarly Book

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Margo Bargheer ◽  
Kizer Walker
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Scholarly Book ◽  
Cornell University ◽  
University Library ◽  
Scholarly Communications ◽  
National Trends ◽  
The University

AbstractMany academic libraries have embraced an active publishing role in recent years, an important component in libraries’ efforts to address mounting pressures throughout the scholarly communications cycle. Libraries in the United States and Germany have been especially assertive in this arena. This article focuses on one particular aspect of libraries’ publishing efforts in Germany and the U. S.: interventions to make the production and dissemination of the scholarly book (in print and electronic formats) more economically sustainable and its content more open. This article discusses the role of the scholarly book for early-career researchers in the humanities and social sciences and reflects on intercontinental differences. The article considers the library efforts in the context of broader, university-based publishing activities in both national contexts, particularly the relationship of library publishing and university presses. The authors discuss how differences and commonalities between the academic and economic contexts in the U. S. and Germany have led to institutional responses that diverge and converge in significant ways and they suggest that such a comparison can usefully inform scholarly communications strategies in both countries. The article considers broad national trends and also draws on examples from the authors’ home institutions: the State and University Library at Göttingen and Cornell University Library in Ithaca, New York.

scholarly journals Modeling Megacity Medical System Response to a CBRNE Event

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-148
Author(s):  
Kenneth McDonald ◽  
Tyler McLees ◽  
Shane Connolly ◽  
James McNulty ◽  
Leah Wasserman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
The United States ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Maximum Efficiency ◽  
System Response ◽  
United States Department ◽  
Medical Department ◽  
The Public ◽  
Medical Response

The collaborative effectiveness of the public health system (PHS) and the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) is limited in the case of a 10-kiloton (kt) nuclear event on a megacity due to an overall lack of knowledge and understanding among agencies. This study details an exhaustive analysis of the current medical response system using New York City as a case study. Through the problem definition phase of the Systems Decision Process (SDP), this report identifies operational gaps existing at different levels within the system. Identified operational gaps existed at the local, state, and federal levels in the areas of resources, communication, and planning within the following agencies: Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital, the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Health and Human Services (HHS), and the United States Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). Evaluation of the operational gaps illustrated the areas which were most vulnerable. The current analysis suggests that the system in place requires adjustments of the identified gaps so that maximum efficiency can be achieved.

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