Tag: Federal Emergency Management Agency

FEMA associate administrator Jeff Byard weighs in on how residents impacted by Tropical Storm Barry can stay safe. FOX News operates the FOX News Channel (FNC), FOX Business Network (FBN), FOX News Radio, FOX News Headlines 24/7, FOXNews.com and the…

Buzz60 WASHINGTON – Hours after a deadly tornado ripped through Alabama over the weekend, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to promise the state would receive "A Plus treatment" from the federal government as local officials began their recovery. "Hurricanes don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican. Tornadoes don't care if you live in a red or a blue state." And Trump previously tweeted words of support to Puerto Rico and California similar to those he used for Alabama. "Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money," Trump wrote in January. Trump has used the "A Plus" line before, recalling the grade former FEMA administrators gave him for the response to the hurricanes in 2017 that affected Puerto Rico, Texas, Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Talk versus action Trump made 118 major disaster declarations during the first two years of his presidency, and even his critics acknowledge there is no evidence that politics has played a role in that process. The president claimed last fall, without evidence, that Puerto Rico was planning to use federal disaster money to pay off its debt. But Erica González, acting director of Power 4 Puerto Rico, a coalition that advocates for the island, said the island deserved better from its government. "Where was that A-plus urgency ... when it came to helping the people of Puerto Rico?"

Some federal employees, including Transportation Security Administration agents, continue to work despite the government shutdown. “I don’t know if I’m going to be able to make rent.” She added: “I’m basically living on credit now.” Charles Aitken, who works in inventory management for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is continuing to report to work in Virginia. Trash at the Ellipse, near the White House, piled up during the shutdown. “It’s a real challenge for us,” said Cari Thomas, a retired rear admiral and the chief executive officer of a nonprofit that is the official relief society of the Coast Guard. “It’s about $150 million each pay period to pay the active duty and civilian employees of the Coast Guard, and our nonprofit does not have $150 million, as you can imagine.” She said she had been on the phone on Friday morning with a senior member of the Coast Guard, who is not eligible for the aid and was in tears, worrying about whether he would be able to pay his rent on Jan. 5. Anxieties are highest for the 800,000 federal workers furloughed or forced to work without pay. But the fear is spreading far beyond the federal work force, hitting government contractors, local governments forced to cover for furloughed sanitation and maintenance workers and organizations that feed the poor, who are dealing with a possible interruption to sources of funding and provisions. The Department of Agriculture’s emergency food assistance program, which sends surplus agricultural products to food banks, and the commodity supplemental food program, which provides food to low-income seniors, are both at risk, according to Catherine Drennan, the director of communications and public affairs at the Greater Boston Food Bank. The shutdown is already causing major problems at national parks despite efforts by states and private groups to offset the loss of federal funding. A pileup of trash and dirty toilets during the shutdown has drawn intense concern at Joshua Tree National Park in California.

Good Tuesday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today. Read the story. • On Monday, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein traveled with Mr. Trump on Air Force One, with his fate at the Justice Department hanging in the balance. But their politics are sharply different. • A day after the United Nations’ urgent call for action on climate change, Mr. Trump headed to Florida, a state directly in the path of yet another natural disaster — and said nothing about it. Read the story. • Climate change is already a costly reality for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Read the story. • When Will Haskell began his campaign for State Senate in Connecticut, he was 22 — the same number of years his Republican opponent has been in office.

The head of FEMA on Wednesday accused a Democratic senator of "playing politics" for claiming that the Trump administration had diverted $10 million from the agency to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to support immigration enforcement. Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, defended the transfer in an interview on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports," saying that it had nothing to do with response efforts and that the agency spends billions of dollars to manage disasters. FEMA's annual budget is estimated to be $15 billion. The story broke Tuesday night on MSBNC's "The Rachel Maddow Show," when Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., alleged that money earmarked for disaster relief and emergency response efforts had been taken out of FEMA's accounts and shifted to ICE. However, the movement of the funds is raising questions about FEMA's preparedness as Hurricane Florence charges toward the Carolinas and Virginia. "I think it came as a shock to everyone that in the first month in the hurricane season, knowing what happened a year ago, that FEMA agreed to have $10 million taken out of its accounts, including significant amounts out of its response and recovery account and another significant amount out of its preparedness and protection account," he said. "So those are very relevant for responding to disasters, such as the approaching challenges from Hurricane Florence that's approaching the shore." "I think what the American people would like to hear is what can we learn from Puerto Rico, from the Virgin Islands and from Texas, so we can do it better," he said. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said: "It has been no secret that President Trump's obsession with his wall, mass deportation, and the indiscriminate detention of children comes at a hefty price — a price that robs our country of its values and its resources. This case is no different, and now our Eastern Coast is left even more vulnerable in the path of Hurricane Florence."

Last year, hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria inflicted record-breaking devastation on America, taking more than 200 lives and causing more than $200 billion in damages. Before federal emergency relief could respond, the religious community was there. Only after the water had receded and most were able to return safely to their homes did these religious organizations begin to look to their own needs. What they found was overwhelming. The White House ultimately brought an end to FEMA’s discriminatory policy, allowing religious entities to receive aid on the same terms as their non-religious neighbors. The BBA ends the religious discrimination of the past, and makes clear that houses of worship will be able to participate with FEMA’s vital disaster assistance, the key to ensuring that religious nonprofits will be able to rebuild and serve their communities for years to come. FEMA comes in behind natural disasters. States are able to credit the cash value of volunteer labor towards the required percentage of funding a state must match with federal disaster aid. The hundreds of thousands of tireless volunteer hours performed by houses of worship and religious nonprofits in the wake of every natural disaster saves damaged states millions of dollars that can freed to benefit citizens in other ways. Thanks to the Trump administration, and the swift action of Congress, thousands of houses of worship are again eligible for FEMA relief just like everyone else.

"Politics between Republicans and Democrats is bad enough -- but in Puerto Rico, politics is even worse," Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said at a briefing with reporters Monday in Washington. "When you can’t get elected officials at the local level to come to a joint field office because they disagree with the politics of the governor that’s there, it makes things difficult." Almost three weeks after Maria struck Puerto Rico, just 15 percent of the island’s electricity customers have power, according to numbers posted on a website run by the government of Puerto Rico. "I fully believe we did everything we could," he said. While Long didn’t mention any particular officials by name, he has previously criticized the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz, as insufficiently involved in the effort. Cruz and President Donald Trump have been at odds since a week after the hurricane, with the mayor accusing Trump of not doing enough to save lives. But in an interview Oct. 4, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello, who aligns with Democrats, said that he saw no point in fanning controversy in a crisis. "It is my job that I stay focused, that I keep my team focused and that I eliminate any other narrative that might be distracting to that. The FEMA chief also said it wasn’t his agency’s role or responsibility to move supplies to individual homes. "It’s got to be more than FEMA improving," Long said.

"If mayors decided not to be apart of that [relief effort] then the response is fragmented," Long told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday" in response to criticism from the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz. And you should go there, you should go see that operation, where we're having daily conversations with all of the mayors, we're working with the government and his leadership to create unified objectives," Long said. "We can choose to look at what the mayor spouts off or what other people spout off or we can also choose to see what's actually being done," he continued. Long's comments come after President Trump in a slew of tweets on Saturday accused Cruz of poor leadership. Cruz had issued an emotional plea for help on Friday, when she called the federal government's response to the crisis inefficient. Basic necessities such as food, water, medicine and electricity have been slow to reach Puerto Rico's residents after Hurricane Maria left the island without power earlier this month.

FEMA auctioned off disaster-response trailers days before Harvey's landfall. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) auctioned off more than 100 disaster-response trailers at discounted prices just days before Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, The Associated Press reported on Saturday. The 2017 model trailers were reportedly being sold either without problems, or with only minor damage, such as missing furniture or flat tires. More than 300 of the trailers have been auctioned off since the beginning of the year. “The ones you will hear about being auctioned are the used models that we’ve determined it’s not cost-effective to refurbish. We’re very rigid and strict about what we’ll refurbish and it’s got to be something that quite frankly any one of us would be comfortable living in and willing to put our families into,” said Michael Byrne, the agency's federal disaster recovery coordinator for Harvey, according to AP. FEMA is running dangerously low on the trailers, which provide housing to disaster victims, AP reported. The agency has a standing fleet of just 1,700 units, and has put out bids for 4,500 more. Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University, called the auctions an "unfortunate decision" in a statement to the AP. “There’s a vast chasm between what they can supply and what is actually needed,” Redlener said.

FEMA grants Texas request for disaster loans after Harvey. Federal officials have granted Texas' request for loans aimed at helping local municipalities maintain normal operations and budgets as communities continue to recover from Hurricane Harvey. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced approval for the loans from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) late Monday, describing the federal funding as "critical" for cities in Texas still grappling with intense flooding and damage. "These loans are critical to providing cities with the resources and flexibility to recover while still providing important services to the Texans in their communities," Abbott said in a statement. Abbott had sent a letter to FEMA earlier Monday requesting that the loan program be activated for eligible communities in his state. The Texas governor on Monday also added seven counties including Austin to a federal disaster declaration granted by FEMA. In total, 43 counties in the state are receiving federal assistance. Meanwhile, the House is expected to vote Wednesday on a larger disaster relief package for those impacted by the storm.