Nearly 200 FEMA employees signed a letter to Congress on August 25 warning that administration actions are eroding FEMA's capabilities and risking another Katrina-sized disaster. More than 30 employees provided their names while the majority signed anonymously out of fear of retribution. The letter, named the Katrina Declaration, characterizes the administration's actions as predatory and says they threaten post-Katrina reforms. Signatories say they felt compelled by their oath to protect the public and that failing to raise the alarm would lead to more deaths. The Department of Homeland Security is cutting funding to vital FEMA services.
Nearly 200 employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) signed an extraordinary letter sent to Congress on August 25, denouncing the current administration's erosion of their work and warning that it risks the occurrence of another Hurricane Katrina-sized disaster. More than 30 provided their names; the rest signed anonymously. Named the Katrina Declaration, the letter was one of the most powerful written so far by beleaguered federal employees attempting to salvage their agencies from a predatory administration seemingly intent on bulldozing basic government functions.
Like most of those who spoke to me, she requested anonymity, fearing retribution from the Trump administration. "I knew that if I didn't sign this letter I would feel as though I was failing in my duty to protect the public I swore an oath to serve; that I would feel complicit in the false narratives this administration has been working so hard to drive about their intentions with FEMA when I've seen only evidence to the contrary,"
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