Budget of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

The federal government allocates funds to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to implement disaster preparedness measures. The absence of any type of revenue-generating activity suggests that the organization is an executive department tasked with improving public safety. Furthermore, the government allocation allows FEMA to carry out critical activities such as capacity building, disaster reduction, and providing various interventions during disasters. As a result, the kind of services is directly proportional to the quantity of monetary allocation (Office of Office of Management & Budget, 2015). The failure of the state to provide adequate funds will obstruct the efficiency of the agency. This aspect justifies that FEMA is an executive agency.

Appropriation subcommittees that have jurisdiction over each agency’s budget request

The America has twelve appropriation subcommittees that have jurisdictions about the budget requirements of every agency. The ‘United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security’ oversees and approves budget requests by FEMA. Other mandates include supervising national security programs, disaster preparedness including early warning systems and responses. The subcommittee works in collaboration with the ‘United States House Committee on Appropriations’. Others include ‘subcommittee on Defense’ that approve the military spending, the ‘subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies’ among others (Office of Office of Management, & Budget 2015). Overall, the subcommittees add up to twelve and address the critical agency requirements of the United States.

Where FEMA fall in the functional classification of the federal budget

The budgetary allocation aims to enable FEMA to provide basic and advanced services to protect the society from environmental or manmade hazards. The roles qualify or indicate that the services of FEMA are classified under function 550 that addresses health. Broadly, the functional classification is aimed at promoting capacity building to respond to the catastrophes. The allocation is also meant for buying equipment and help in research to determine and communicate early warning systems to avert severe consequences hazards like terrorism, cybercrime among others. As indicated in the budget, the primary objective of FEMA conforms to ensure the safety of the citizens as stipulated in function 550 (Boddie, Watson & Sell, 2016).

Budget authority and outlays proposed for FEMA

FEMA has the mandate of securing the public and ensuring implementation of robust strategies to enhance homeland security. The budget authority for the is the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that requests the government funding to implement policies and programs to secure American borders, avert terrorism, administer immigration laws and improve the preparedness of the country to address hazards. The department also oversees the implementation of these programs by FEMA and ensures accountability (Boddie, Watson & Sell, 2016). The outlays proposed for FEMA provide adequate funds for departmental management and continued collaboration with the customs enforcement department, border protection unit and transport security administration. The outlays emphasize the importance of availing adequate funds to promote holistic management of security issues including payment of staff and purchase of appropriate equipment.

Actual outlays and budget authority of FEMA

The budget authority is the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that seeks the approval of the Senate and House Appropriation committees and subcommittees to implement the various programs of the government. The major outlays comprise expenditures aimed at addressing the obligations, for instance, disaster funding. Nonetheless, the main outlay for FEMA includes expenses on the disaster relief aid, counter-terrorism programs, and cybercrime prevention. Other expenses include payment of salaries to the professionals in this sector and provision of other protective equipment to enhance their output.



























References

Boddie, C., Watson, M., & Sell, T. K. (2016). Federal Funding for Health Security in FY2017. Health security, 14(5), 284-304.

Office of Office of Management, & Budget (US) (Eds.). (2015). Budget of the United States Government: Fiscal Year 2016. Government Printing Office.