FEMA Official Admits That Citizens Need to Become Self-Sufficient

I’m going to give you a quote that came from a real person recently. Then I’d like you to guess who said it.

Here it is: “We have to make sure that we implement a true culture of preparedness within our citizenry. We don’t have it.”

I don’t know about you, but I would have guessed that Frank Bates said it. He has certainly made many similar statements through the years.

I can’t tell you how many times Frank has declared that individuals need to become self-sufficient by preparing for emergencies.

That’s What We’ve Been Saying for Years

But this particular quote did not come from Frank Bates. Of all people, it came from the administrator of FEMA.

He said it while addressing the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security.

Can you believe it? Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency – better known as FEMA – admitted that it’s up to U.S. citizens to become self-reliant.

Wow! I never thought I’d see the day.

Broke and Broken

I guess I’ve just become so used to the government trying to make U.S. citizens dependent upon it for everything. Food, water, shelter, utilities and all sorts of services.

That’s why Long’s statement surprised me so much. But maybe it shouldn’t have. Maybe I should have seen it coming.

As CNN recently reported, FEMA is broke and broken. Long admitted that it’s true.

“I run a program that is structurally broken,” he said. “It goes into debt ever time we have a major event. Katrina forced it into debt. Sandy forced it into debt. Harvey, Irma forced it into debt.”

FEMA Throws in the Towel

We knew that Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy wiped out FEMA’s resources. But at least they came seven years apart. That gave FEMA a chance to recover.

But we wondered, what would happen if the U.S. got hit with three different disasters in a short period of time? Well, we found out in 2017, didn’t we?

Hurricanes Harvey and Irma provided a one-two punch that floored FEMA. And the Western wildfires made sure the agency could not get off the canvas.

There was nothing left for FEMA to do but throw in the towel. But they couldn’t just admit to defeat. They had to offer up another plan.

Individuals Need to Take Responsibility

And by placing the responsibility for preparedness on citizens, states and local governments, that’s just what they did.

“Every state and local government should have their own capabilities to push out life-sustaining commodity distribution like water and meals,” Long said.

“It cannot be solely on the shoulders of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Our support should be designed to backfield a community, not supplant it fully.”

If Mr. Long had merely shifted disaster responsibilities from the federal level to the state level, it would just be a matter of time before states went bankrupt as well.

Fortunately, he brought individual citizens into the mix.

People Need Skills, Not Handouts

“Citizens are the true first responder in an active shooter situation and when a tornado hits or when a flood occurs,” he said.

“We need to give tangible skills, from CPR to how to shut off water valves to how to be properly insured. Not only as a homeowner, but as a business owner.”

Finally! Someone in government actually seems to understand that people need to be self-reliant.

It makes all the sense in the world. It’s what we’ve been preaching for years.

FEMA Called on the Carpet

Now, even if FEMA had all the money and manpower it wanted, I still wouldn’t want that agency looking after me in an emergency.

Just take a look at what happened in Puerto Rico recently. As you know, that U.S. territory was devastated by Hurricane Maria, shortly after Hurricane Irma came calling.

On October 3, 2017, FEMA signed an agreement with an Atlanta-based company to provide 30 million meals to hungry Puerto Rican citizens. The contract was for $156 million.

Take a guess how many of those meals were actually delivered. If you guessed 50,000, you’re right. That’s far less than 1 percent of the meals that were promised.

Poor Choice Leaves Folk Hungry

Can FEMA be held responsible for a private company messing up? U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings and U.S. Virgin Islands congressional delegate Stacey Plaskett certainly think so.

A letter they wrote was given to House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy. It stated that the Atlanta company consists of only one person. And that it had a track record of struggling with much smaller contracts.

The owner of the company said it was unable to fulfill its obligation because FEMA did not provide the financial support it was supposed to.

Who knows what the truth is? At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that people devastated by a hurricane were supposed to get food. And they didn’t.

It’s Up to You

And with FEMA broke, who knows if any of us will get food and water from the government when we need it most.

The next time a disaster strikes – and you never know when that might happen – you need to be ready for it. And you need to make sure you prepare BEFORE it happens.

Everyone needs to have non-perishable, good-for-25-years survival food on hand in case of emergency.

And that’s why we’re offering you our 72-hour survival food kit for free. All we ask is that you cover the shipping.

We’re trying to ensure that no one who wants this free food misses out, but you have to hurry because we have a limited supply of the 72-hour kits we can give away.

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