The blowback has arrived for FEMA after scandals and an awful response to a hurricane.
Big changes are on the way for the embattled agency.
And James Comer gave some bad news to the FEMA administrator that she is going to hate.
FEMA overhaul proposed by House Republican
The bad news has piled up for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with no end sight after the agency botched the response to Hurricane Helene in September.
One House Republican wants to get disaster relief to the victims of Helene faster.
Representative Gary Palmer (R-AL) introduced a bill that would move upsent money FEMA has from the pandemic and earlier natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina into the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund.
The poorly managed agency has unspent money lying around from nearly two decades ago that could be put to use helping current storm victims.
An unbelievable $4.5 billion from Super Storm Sandy that hit the northeast in 2012 is still unspent by FEMA and sitting frozen.
Palmer’s bill is already gaining support in the House with Representatives Byron Donalds (R-FL) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) backing it.
“When disaster strikes, FEMA’s purpose is to help the American people,” Palmer said. “To ensure Americans get the help they need, we must allow these funds to be put to immediate use in the Disaster Relief Fund.”
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas previously warned that FEMA would run out of money after Hurricane Helene.
The Biden-Harris administration has hijacked FEMA to help with the fallout from the border crisis they created.
FEMA has spent more than $500 million this year transporting and housing illegal aliens.
President Joe Biden has asked Congress to approve nearly $100 million in additional funds for disaster relief after Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said that the agency “will need additional funding of approximately $40 billion beyond its 2025 budget request to support the ongoing recovery efforts to these storms and meet our overall mission requirements through the end of the fiscal year.”
FEMA head grilled by James Comer in a committee hearing
Criswell testified before the House Oversight Committee in one of what will be many hearings about the dismal state of FEMA.
House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) put Criswell on notice about the latest scandal surrounding FEMA denying disaster relief to homes with signs or flags showing support for President-elect Donald Trump in Florida.
“Millions of Americans were impacted by devastating hurricanes, and many are still seeking assistance and aid from FEMA to this day,” Comer began. “Reports have now surfaced that a FEMA official recently instructed relief workers to avoid homes displaying support for President Donald Trump.”
“Not only are these actions by a FEMA employee completely unacceptable, but the committee remains deeply concerned that this is not an isolated incident at the agency,” Comer added.
Criswell claimed during the hearing that there was no widespread discrimination against Trump supporters.
But Comer revealed on social media he had been contacted by a whistleblower who said FEMA officials consider Trump supporters to be “domestic terrorists.”
The investigations into scandal-plagued FEMA are just getting started and hopefully will lead to an accounting for the American people.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
