Dr. Cherie Meador
Mother nature in a bid to maintain ecological balance waits for no one to prepare when it comes to disasters and their management. Damage resulting from natural disasters can be detrimental or minimal, depending on the severity of the event. In the United States, the problem of natural disasters is not a new phenomenon. Disasters such as the great Galveston storm, San Francisco earthquake of 1906, Hurricane Maria, and Hurricane Catrina, among others are some of the significant calamities instigated by mother nature. The extent of destruction from these disasters involve both property and human lives (Lindsay, 2017). Some of the catastrophes are predictable, while others happen without warning. Despite substantial investment in technology to detect and predict natural disasters, unpredictability exists. So, when a natural disaster occurs, who shoulders the damage? The county, the state, or the city? Or all of them? In the U.S., the president approves financial aid for disaster through disaster declaration provision (Heersink Peterson, & Jenkins, 2017). The local government also intervenes in rescue and reconstruction efforts. However, the absence of legal definitions and processes in the declaration of disaster process opens doors for political motivations. Before 1950, states handled disaster by themselves before the introduction of special legislation providing for a disaster declaration.
Conceptual Framework
The study aim is to review and examine political influences into presidential disaster declarations. The best way to investigate is to engage in an extensive literature review, examining disaster policies with interest in disaster declarations by the president. The analysis of literature will examine policy history, including pre-presidential announcements, and how the U.S. government dealt with disasters occurring before the 1950 Act. The review of literature also explores the disaster relief Act of 1950 and how it influenced the management of disaster and sanitized the delivery of disaster aid. Subsequent Acts such as the 1974 and 1988 contribution to the declaration of disaster are also essential to consider.
According to the disaster policies, the presidential disaster declaration refers to an announcement by the president declaring the occurrence of a disaster. The history of disasters and how the president invoked a disaster declaration also features in the study to provide a comprehensive understanding of the utilization of the policies.
The unit analysis of the research at hand is disasters. As classified in the SHELDUS database, an event qualifies to be a disaster if it causes $500,00 worth in damage. The study will apply exploratory research design and use the information to answer the study’s questions. The researcher will examine data available in U.S. government database as well as other educational databases. Other resources utilized in gathering data include the American Presidency Project, SHELDUS, FEMA disaster database, and U.S. election atlas.
The presidential disaster declaration is the only study’s dependent variable. The research has three independent variables, namely, presidential re-election year, a swing state, and political alignments. The researcher then performs analysis on the effect of political influences on presidential disaster declarations. The researcher will be interested in disasters that occurred in the last 20 years from 20 states. The hazards will comprise of those that received presidential statements and those that did not. The researcher will use code 0 and 1 to denote declaration status. The code will also go into use when indicating what each independent variable examined.
Research problem
The purpose of the study is to investigate and examine the political influences on presidential disaster declaration. In 1988, ratifications to the presidential disaster declaration provision saw centralization of authority to declare a disaster. Known as the Robert Stafford Act of 1988, the powers vested to the president poses the question of whether a declaration of disasters may face the influence of political incentives (Lindsay & McCarthy, 2015). What motivates the president to declare an event a natural disaster? Reporting disaster due to actual need or when damage in less than a reasonable threshold is a critical consideration to understand the underlying motivations. More important is the question “why some states receive more financial aid than others regardless of the occurrence of disasters?”
Purpose/Significance of the Study
As mentioned in the research problem, the purpose of the study is to investigate if the presidential disaster declaration faces political influences. How are disaster declarations in the U.S., or are there bias in declarations? The study poses the question whether there are political motivations and influences disaster declarations in the U.S. The issue arises from the hypothesis that politically motivated disaster declarations are problematic because they fail to capture national interests and partisan-focused (Kriner & Reeves, 2015). Political motivations to disaster declaration and management compromise the essence of disaster funds and hinder the realization of genuine disaster efforts. The study is essential because presidential disaster declarations give way to release of federal monies.
Research questions
1. What are the motivations behind presidential disaster declarations?
2. What are the considerations made in assigning value to disaster declaration?
3. Is there bias in presidential disaster declarations?
4. Is the allocation of resources and financial aid across states politically motivated?
5. What are the challenges to enforcing fair and equitable distribution of disaster declaration across states?
References
Heersink B., Peterson, B.D., & Jenkins, J.A. (2017) Disasters and Elections: Estimating the Net Effect of Damage and Relief in Historical Perspective. Political Analysis, 25(02). 260- 268.
Kriner, D. L., & Reeves, A. (2015). Presidential Particularism in Disaster Declarations and Military Base Closures. Presidential Studies Quarterly,45(4), 679-702.
Lindsay, B. R., & McCarthy, F. X. (2015). Stafford Act declarations, 1953-2014: Trends and analyses, and implications for Congress. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service.
Lindsay, B.R. (2017) Major Disaster Definition. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Research Service. 16-21.