Ethics: The Foundation for Preparedness

In recent hearings by Congress, the Dept. of Homeland Security & FEMA were found to have several recent violations of established ethical standards. If corrupt activities erode public trust, preparedness efforts are generally weakened. Most Americans already lack trust in Congress because a majority of our elected representatives become "hooked" on "political payola" (large, sustained campaign contributions) ...from wealthy special interests. As a result of such bribery, Congress too often acts to protect special interests at the expense of public interests.

In addition to the above problems, Congressmen Mac Thornberry (R) TX & Adam Smith (D) WA, reportedly have proposed a propaganda amendment to the Foreign Relations Act of 1987. This amendment would make it legal for government to lie to Americans by means of organized government propaganda & misinformation campaigns. (Currently, the Dept. of Defense spends about $4 billion annually on overseas propaganda efforts.) I am hoping that the report of this amendment, as reported by BuzzFeed, is false since it will further erode trust in our government.

FEMA needs the trust of Americans to be successful in its emergency preparedness mission. For this reason, and many others, FEMA needs to enforce & sustain the highest possible standards of ethics.