Oklahoma has been at the center of reform talks regarding the Federal Emergency Management Agency for months, as the Trump administration mulls over what its future should be. On Thursday, its governor said the state is eager to do away with the existing model.
At a FEMA Review Council meeting in Oklahoma City, Gov. Kevin Stitt argued that the federal government should give block grants with lots of flexibility to states for disaster response. Stitt was critical of the high administrative costs and bureaucratic red tape that he said were defining characteristics of FEMA today.
“We know our land, we know our people, and we know how to respond faster, leaner and smarter than Washington ever could. That’s the ‘Oklahoma standard,’ and that should be the American standard,” Stitt said.