FEMA stands for the "Federal Emergency Management Agency." It isn't an elected body, it has a quasi-secret budget in the billions of dollars, and it has more power than the president of the United States -- it is the most powerful organization in the United States and most people don't even know it exists. It was originally created to insure the survival of the U.S. government in the event of a nuclear attack. It was also provided the task of being a federal coordinating body during times of domestic disasters, such as earthquakes and hurricanes. But it wasn't created under Constitutional law or an act of Congress, it was created by EXECUTIVE ORDER. There was an Act, called the "Emergency Management Act" that was passed in 1935. This act says that the President can issue Executive Orders in times of National Emergency. Since that time, we have *always* had a declared state of "National Emergency" in the United States, even though you didn't know it. You can find these "declarations of National Emergency" in the Combined Federal Register and the records of Congress. We are in one right now. Many Executive Orders have been issued since then. The order inacting FEMA is one of them. Since only Congress has the authority to appropriate funds, the Executive Order creating this agency is unconstitutional or, at best, it should have remained unfunded.] An Executive Order, whether Constitutional or not, becomes effective upon publication in the Federal Register. Congress is by-passed. General Richard Secord and Lt. Col. Oliver North who orchestrated the Iran-Contra operation that smuggled in weapons and cocaine to this country, using our CIA and US Air Force to do it, was in charge of FEMA for several years, during which it grew into the monster it is today. Some of the black helicopter traffic reported throughout the United States are flown by FEMA personnel. FEMA has been given responsibility for many new disasters, in addition to floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes, including: urban forest fires, home heating emergencies, refugee situations, urban riots, and emergency planning for nuclear and toxic incidences. In the West, FEMA works "in conjunction with" the 6th Army. FEMA has only spent about 6% of its budget on National Emergencies. The bulk of their funding has been used for the construction of secret underground facilities to "assure continuity of government in case of a major emergency, foreign or domestic" and to build prisons and "holding facilties" under the designation of "refugee facilities" (which have never been used for holding refugees). ------------------------------------------------ (This file was found elsewhere on the Internet and uploaded to the Patriot FTP site by S.P.I.R.A.L., the Society for the Protection of Individual Rights and Liberties. E-mail alex@spiral.org)