About this item
The history of presidential dealings with disasters shows that whatever their ideology, presidents need to be prepared to deal with unexpected crises. In recent years, the expectations have grown as the disasters seem to appear to be coming more frequently. Since 2001, numerous unpredictable crises, including terror attacks, massive storms, and an economic collapse, have shaken Americans to their core. It seems as if technology, for all of its beneficences, also provides mankind with increasingly powerful ways to wreak destruction, including nuclear explosions, bioterror attacks, and cyber-attacks. In addition, instantaneous and incessant communications technologies send us word of disasters taking place anywhere in the nation far more rapidly, giving disasters an immediacy that some may have lacked in the past.
About the Author
Tevi Troy is the CEO of the American Health Policy Institute, presidential historian and former senior government official. He is the author of the best-selling book, What Jefferson Read, Ike Watched, and Obama Tweeted: 200 Years of Popular Culture in the White House" and the new book "Shall We Wake the President? Two Centuries of Disaster Management from the Oval Office." He is a frequent television and radio analyst, and has appeared on Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, Fox Business, and The NewsHour, among other outlets. On August 3, 2007, Dr. Troy was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As Deputy Secretary, Dr. Troy was the chief operating officer of the largest civilian department in the federal government, with a budget of $716 billion and over 67,000 employees. In that position, he oversaw all operations, including Medicare, Medicaid, public health, medical research, food and drug safety, welfare, child and family services, disease prevention, and mental health services. He served as the regulatory policy officer for HHS, overseeing the development and approval of all HHS regulations and significant guidance. In addition, he led a number of initiatives at HHS, including implementing the President's Management Agenda, combating bio-terrorism, and public health emergency preparedness. He also sponsored a series of key conferences on improving HHS' role with respect to innovation in the pharmaceutical, biomedical, and medical device industries. Dr. Troy has led U.S. government delegations to Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North America, and Africa.Dr. Troy has extensive White House experience, having served in several high-level positions over a five-year period, culminating in his service as Deputy Assistant and then Acting Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy. In the latter position, he ran the Domestic Policy Council and was the White House's lead adviser on health care, labor, education, transportation, immigration, crime, veterans and welfare. At the White House, Dr. Troy also specialized in crisis management, creating intra-governmental consensus, and all aspects of policy development, including strategy, outreach and coalition building. He also served for a time as the White House Jewish liaison. Dr. Troy spearheaded the White House's American Competitiveness Initiative, featured in the 2007 State of the Union Address. He left the White House for a period to serve as deputy policy director for the 2004 Bush-Cheney reelection campaign, where he was responsible for debate preparation.Dr. Troy has held high-level positions on Capitol Hill as well. From 1998 to 2000, Dr. Troy served as the Policy Director for Senator John Ashcroft. From 1996 to 1998, Troy was Senior Domestic Policy Adviser and later Domestic Policy Director for the House Policy Committee, chaired by Christopher Cox. From 2009 to 2013, Dr
