U.S. Government Takes Aim at Disaster Volunteers

Restricting access
In a plan intended to keep volunteers away from disaster areas, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), directed by Bush appointee R. David Paulison, developed an I.D. card identification system that would increase control and coordination of disaster areas. Proposed after the 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina disasters, in which FEMA received heavy criticism, the new and ambitious plan would cut off access to disaster areas to anyone who does not have an official I.D. card. According to Devlin Barrett, Associated Press Writer, "A prototype of the new first responder identification card is already being issued to fire and police personnel in the Washington, D.C., area."

The role of volunteers
The news comes as people are hailing the role of volunteers in still-ravaged New Orleans and Mississippi during the two-year anniversary of hurricane Katrina. During NBC's Nightly News segment "Gulf Marks Katrina Anniversary," family and faith-based volunteers get the credit for support and hard work, then and now, something many Gulf Coast residents feel the federal government failed to provide. According to Stephen Perry of the New Orleans Convention and Visitor's Bureau, "Young people taking spring breaks, church groups coming down, and other people coming down, to simply participate in volunteer work." The anniversary of Katrina was marked by the local paper, the Times Picayune, with their headline stating simply, "Thank You."

When the World Trade Center in New York City was hit by terrorists in commercial jet liners on September 11, 2001, volunteers were also key in providing assistance. Most notably, steel workers stepped in with their equipment and expertise to cut up the hundreds of steel beams that obstructed much of the site and prevented emergency crews from conducting rescue operations. In addition, volunteers worked hard providing rescue workers, emergency responders, fire fighters, and police with necessities such as water, food, and medical care.

Volunteers bring positives and negatives
Volunteering is a vital function to this nation as acknowledged by President George W. Bush in his State of the Union address, "...commit at least two years, four thousand hours over the rest of your lifetime, to the service of your neighbors and your nation." However, this sentiment may be limited to non-emergency functions as far as the government is concerned. Ironically, USA Freedom Corps, created by President Bush and is an office at the White House, was created to build on the countless acts of service, sacrifice, and generosity displayed by hundreds of volunteers following the September 11 attacks. USA Freedom Corps oversees the Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America volunteer programs and is designed to get Americans more involved in volunteering.

But the proponents of the plan also acknowledge the disruptions caused by well-meaning volunteers and the need for fast and accurate deployment of resources at disaster sites. According to Barrett's article, "The system will get professionals on scene quicker and keep untrained volunteers from making tough work more difficult." There is cause for concern. In a 2005 article to the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Hilarie H. Cranmer, a Red Cross Katrina volunteer, recalled the problems of directing hundreds of unprepared health care volunteers. "Lacking an assigned role within a properly planned framework, many found themselves sitting on their hands, doing nothing for which they had been trained."

Concern over FEMA
Those who oppose the new FEMA restrictions see the program as a way of limiting independent, unbiased assessment of governmental disaster response. A 2006 congressional report on the response to Katrina states, "Our investigation revealed that Katrina was a national failure, an abdication of the most solemn obligation to provide for the common welfare." There was worry about FEMA in 2004, as former director James Lee Whit, credited by Republicans and Democrats for his leadership of the agency during the Clinton's administration, stated to Congress, "I am extremely concerned that the ability of our nation to prepare for and respond to disasters has been sharply eroded. I hear from emergency managers, local and state leaders, and first responders nearly every day that the FEMA they knew and worked well with has now disappeared." Restricting access to disaster areas may be an effective way to prevent footage of suffering victims begging for help, such as was broadcast around the world from New Orleans, critics claim.

Government Control
There is also concern over an administration that continues to challenge precedence by increasing control on the nation and its people. From domestic spying without a warrant to the abolishment of Habeas Corpus for suspected terrorists, President Bush and Attorney General Gonzales have attempted to centralize power in the executive branch. According to author Elizabeth Drew in a 2006 article, "Bush has time and again said that he feels free to carry out a law as he sees fit, not as Congress wrote it." Bush critics see the new plan as a government intrusion into one of the most important functions a citizen can perform, that of helping those in extreme need. "No one should be able to stop people from helping a neighbor," one opponent of the plan stated. Proponents of the plan reject this view.

Public response
Regardless of the motivation for such programs as the new FEMA volunteer restrictions, the public must contribute to the dialog. Only with public acceptance should restrictive measures be imposed on the personal and often faith-based desire to help.