If you think the new FEMA organizational charts make sense try and locate Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) as an example.
Congress has three times mandated an Earthquake Office in FEMA and perhaps that is why FEMA no long leads the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHERP) for which leadership transferred in 2004 to NIST! But hey NIST is in what Department? Hint! The Department about to be broken up President Obama's first reorganization project.
And looking like any DHS programs for which oversight is given by the Science Committees of Congress might well become part of a new Science based department that also deals with climate and natural resources.
The Obama Administration first cut will concern making sure that trade and sensitive technology transfers to other nation-states and their corporations is finally policed.
Remember I long advocated that FEMA be largely a science and engineering and research organization and let others do grants and funding of STATES and their local governments for recovery. This suggestion picking up steam as the recovery mission looking good to be out of FEMA this first term of the Obama Administration.
Footnote 19 of a 2005 CRS report stated specifically that FEMA had no recovery legal authority. I disagree but it is pretty thin gruel. When disaster ops transferred to HUD from OEP in 1973 by Richard M. Nixon in Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1973 the focus was on housing and community development. Looking now like that might happen but in a new form--economic aid to States and their local government taken out of FEMA and HUD and EDA at the Department of Commerce. In short DOC of which 2/3 of staff and funding is NOAA is in the cross-hairs of Presidential Reorganization.
