OPINION:
As the saying goes, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” Consider this comment from Virginia’s governor as recently reported by the Richmond Times Dispatch.
“Gov. Ralph Northam is calling on the federal government to provide a “national solution” to address the critical shortage of masks, gloves and other protective equipment.” It’s a complaint heard increasingly by governors — notably New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — who unhesitatingly blame President Trump and his administration for their unpreparedness to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. They should find a mirror.
To be sure, states and localities do need help from the federal government and President Trump is responding to their needs. However, the reasons states are unprepared to address the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic are closer to home than some are willing — at this point — to acknowledge. It’s easier to blame others than do some honest soul-searching for the future. Indeed, there are lessons learned that must be heeded before the next crisis.
If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it’s this: America must have a supply chain that meets our urgent needs and is not dependent on a Communist dictatorship for our survival. This is particularly true of the production and supply pipeline for drugs and other critical medical and national security-related goods and services. Drug companies now rely on China for active ingredients used to manufacture antibiotics and other vital medicines.
Allowing China to control the flow of life-saving drugs to America is akin to arming a person who threatens you. Indeed, the same can be said of a gormless policy that depends on China’s supply of subsystems and parts used in manufacturing American defense systems. Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican, has been prescient here. We should listen to him.
A second lesson should also be clear. Emergency preparedness must be a priority for state and local government. If states and localities depend on Washington for emergency preparedness funding — as Mr. Northam and others apparently do — they need to consider why, followed quickly by resolving never to be in that position again.
Emergency response requires initiative, commitment, agility and funding by the governments closest to where people live. State and local governments simply don’t have the luxury of depending on the federal government to do that which is essentially a state and local function: Protect citizens.
The 2005 Hurricane Katrina experience exposed a distinct lack of preparedness from top to bottom and drove the federal government and states to better preparedness for events of that nature. But in doing so, expectations of federal support have lulled states into believing that they can depend on a federal response without having to make the tough long-term budget decisions to spend money on preparedness stockpiles.
We see that now. For example, the COVID-19 response bill passed by Congress contained $150 billion in aid for states and $45 billion in disaster relief for preparedness items and services. This represents “bills” left unpaid by states and localities for decades. Pandemics are not new and there is no serious reason why states shouldn’t have been better prepared for COVID-19, no matter how suddenly it appeared.
Finally, there’s this lesson from past emergencies that is also applicable to our current situation. States and localities must understand that emergency preparedness means they must be able to respond quickly to more than one crisis at a time. Think about it. We are about to enter the spring storm period that no doubt will usher in tornados, floods and other weather-related emergencies.
This will be followed by the summer hurricane season. Alternatively, summer brings the threat of drought that can fuel wildfires. The point should be clear. In emergency management, states and localities must be able to respond simultaneously and sequentially to events that occur either together or in rapid succession, even while they are picking up from the last crisis. If they can’t, they wind up complaining — as our governors are now — about the lack of gloves, masks and other things.
Simply put, emergency management is not simple. It requires detailed preparedness and states have not done this to the fullest extent they should. While it’s true that states must fund education, transportation and near-term public safety matters like dollars for first responders, emergency preparedness cannot be an afterthought. Preparedness is a primary function of state and local government. Therefore, funding must also be devoted to stockpiling critical items in preparation for pandemics and natural disasters.
There is much work to be done here, from getting our supply chain realigned to establishing proper inventories of critical supplies and equipment needed to respond to emergencies, including sudden ones, without depending to the federal government “hammer” to drive state and local “nails.”
Here’s another saying: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
• L. Scott Lingamfelter, a retired U.S. Army colonel and combat veteran, served in the Virginia House of Delegates, where he chaired the committee responsible for public safety.
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