Ex-FEMA chief Witt helps start task force

Former Federal Emergency Management Agency Director James Lee Witt is helping to launch the COVID-19 Legal & Government Affairs Task Force.

The organization has promised to provide free “legal and government affairs advice” to pandemic-ravaged small businesses, nonprofits and local governments.

Without help, many entrepreneurs will likely never recover, Witt said in a telephone interview.

“I responded to 340 natural disasters when I was director of FEMA,” said Witt, the task force’s co-chairman. “After an event, like a [Hurricane] Katrina or a Hurricane Sandy or a tornado in Oklahoma, 40% of small business never reopens.”

The covid-19 toll threatens to be even higher, he warned.

“Basically we’re going to be offering critical advice and counseling to help [small businesses] to help themselves. I think it’s absolutely critical that we get this done.”

Witt, 76, grew up in Dardanelle in Yell County. The former county judge led the state Office of Emergency Services before taking over at FEMA. After he left the federal government, Witt opened an emergency Witt

management consulting business.

The task force was the brainchild of Jon Harsch, a former business partner and the CEO of 202works; Harsch’s company is helping to connect legal and public policy experts with those needing help.

Thus far, more than two dozen firms have agreed to participate, organizers say.

They aim to help 1,000 entities navigate the “complex legal, regulatory and public policy waters” arising from coronavirus-related health and economic challenges, their news release states.

Harsch’s website, 202works. com, is providing the platform for connecting experts and those needing assistance.

It lists examples of the type of assistance that is available. For example, it contains information about federal lending programs, tax law changes, tariff waivers on medical supplies, and temporary charitable deductions for universities.

Witt helped the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences secure personal protective equipment.

He also tracked down laser thermometers for a day care in New York City that watches the children of first responders and health care professionals, he said.

He’s assisting California universities and medical schools in processing work orders and FEMA reimbursement documentation; he’s helped Tyson locate hundreds of laser thermometers.

Officials in Tulsa and in Pittsburgh have also reached out for help, he added.

Asked how the covid-19 pandemic compares to the 340 disasters he dealt with as FEMA director, Witt said: “It’s totally different.”

“This is a very out-of-thebox event. You know, we’ve never had our nation shut totally down from a disaster like this,” Witt said. “There’s just a lot of need out there and we … want to try to help fulfill that need as quick as possible, so we’re going to make ourselves available and accessible to help them.”

The federal response, thus far, hasn’t always been smooth, he said.

“Early on, I wish they had set up a very robust supply chain … instead of every state competing against each other and the federal government competing against the states. That is not a good way to do it,” he said.

Nor is it wise to waste food when so many are struggling to get by, he said.

“You know, farmers are letting crops rot in the field,” he said.

Witt fears, with states starting to reopen, that there may be a second wave of infection, he said.