FEMA & Natural Disasters | FEMA reform or dissolution?

[nycfan]

VP JD Vance on Face the Nation today:

“… VICE PRESIDENT VANCE: --Let's be honest, Margaret. You talk about the expertise from FEMA. FEMA in North Carolina, in California, in Florida with some of the hurricanes, has often been a disaster. And it's not because we don't have good people at FEMA. It's because bureaucratic red tape and garbage prevents the rapid deployment of resources to people who need it the most.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But the states are now going to have to do this themselves?

VICE PRESIDENT VANCE: The president is trying to encourage us to reform the way that we deliver emergency response in a way that gets resources to people who need it--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --So don't take him literally, is what you're saying?

VICE PRESIDENT VANCE: No- we should take the president at his word that FEMA needs desperate reform, because it does. Margaret, when I went to North Carolina as VP-elect, but before we were sworn in, people would talk about how FEMA would get resources, food, medicine, water, to a warehouse, but then would have no plan to get it from the warehouse to the people in the mountains who were literally starving and thirsting to death. We can do so much better, and under Donald Trump's leadership, we will.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But they work with the state and local officials.

[crosstalk]

… VICE PRESIDENT VANCE: --They- no- the FEMA management officials, don't work well enough with state and local officials to get resources to the people who need it. We should expect- and this is, I think, one of the fundamental premises of President Trump's leadership. The American people should expect more of their government. When there's a terrible disaster, they should expect food, medicine and water to get to the people who need it. When there's a terrible fire in California, the fire hydrants ought to actually turn on. I am sick of the American people having such low expectations for their government. They should demand more of us, because it's the greatest country in the world, and that's what Donald Trump's leadership promises to bring back

MARGARET BRENNAN: So still count on the federal government, but watch that space. …”

Transcript: Vice President JD Vance on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Jan. 26, 2025

The following is the full transcript of an interview with Vice President JD Vance on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that aired on Jan. 26, 2025.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[nycfan]

 

[nycfan]

“…Before arriving in Los Angeles, Trump said he would sign an executive order to overhaul or eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency as he embarked on his first trip since taking office to visit areas still reeling from hurricanes and wildfires.

The executive order would “begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe get rid of FEMA,” Trump told reporters during his visit to the Asheville area, which is recovering from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene in September.

He said that his administration was looking at ways to give governors more responsibility for responding to disasters and that he wanted to send more funding directly to states.

“I think, frankly, FEMA is not good,” he said. “FEMA has turned out to be a disaster…I think we’re going to recommend that FEMA go away.”

The agency, which has more than 20,000 employees and an annual budget in the tens of billions of dollars, is responsible for coordinating with state and local agencies to respond to natural disasters, such as flooding, wildfires and hurricanes. Eliminating a federal agency would likely require approval from Congress.

… Trump was among those who shared misleading or false information last fall as FEMA responded to the North Carolina hurricane, including that the agency was out of money because the Biden administration was spending cash on housing for immigrants in the country illegally and that FEMA was offering victims only $750 in federal aid. The $750 is the amount of immediate assistance offered to disaster victims; the maximum aid the agency would offer, for home repairs and other services, is more than $42,000. …”

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www.wsj.com

 

[lawtig02]

VP JD Vance on Face the Nation today:

“… VICE PRESIDENT VANCE: --Let's be honest, Margaret. You talk about the expertise from FEMA. FEMA in North Carolina, in California, in Florida with some of the hurricanes, has often been a disaster. And it's not because we don't have good people at FEMA. It's because bureaucratic red tape and garbage prevents the rapid deployment of resources to people who need it the most.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But the states are now going to have to do this themselves?

VICE PRESIDENT VANCE: The president is trying to encourage us to reform the way that we deliver emergency response in a way that gets resources to people who need it--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --So don't take him literally, is what you're saying?

VICE PRESIDENT VANCE: No- we should take the president at his word that FEMA needs desperate reform, because it does. Margaret, when I went to North Carolina as VP-elect, but before we were sworn in, people would talk about how FEMA would get resources, food, medicine, water, to a warehouse, but then would have no plan to get it from the warehouse to the people in the mountains who were literally starving and thirsting to death. We can do so much better, and under Donald Trump's leadership, we will.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But they work with the state and local officials.

[crosstalk]

… VICE PRESIDENT VANCE: --They- no- the FEMA management officials, don't work well enough with state and local officials to get resources to the people who need it. We should expect- and this is, I think, one of the fundamental premises of President Trump's leadership. The American people should expect more of their government. When there's a terrible disaster, they should expect food, medicine and water to get to the people who need it. When there's a terrible fire in California, the fire hydrants ought to actually turn on. I am sick of the American people having such low expectations for their government. They should demand more of us, because it's the greatest country in the world, and that's what Donald Trump's leadership promises to bring back

MARGARET BRENNAN: So still count on the federal government, but watch that space. …”

Transcript: Vice President JD Vance on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Jan. 26, 2025

The following is the full transcript of an interview with Vice President JD Vance on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that aired on Jan. 26, 2025.

www.cbsnews.com

So put even more responsibility on the overwhelmed and under resourced local officials who are already struggling to get the goods from the warehouse to the end user, which has always been their responsibility? Any Pubs here want to defend this? It’s abject idiocy.

 

[BlooVooDoo]

VP JD Vance on Face the Nation today:

“… VICE PRESIDENT VANCE: --Let's be honest, Margaret. You talk about the expertise from FEMA. FEMA in North Carolina, in California, in Florida with some of the hurricanes, has often been a disaster. And it's not because we don't have good people at FEMA. It's because bureaucratic red tape and garbage prevents the rapid deployment of resources to people who need it the most.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But the states are now going to have to do this themselves?

VICE PRESIDENT VANCE: The president is trying to encourage us to reform the way that we deliver emergency response in a way that gets resources to people who need it--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --So don't take him literally, is what you're saying?

VICE PRESIDENT VANCE: No- we should take the president at his word that FEMA needs desperate reform, because it does. Margaret, when I went to North Carolina as VP-elect, but before we were sworn in, people would talk about how FEMA would get resources, food, medicine, water, to a warehouse, but then would have no plan to get it from the warehouse to the people in the mountains who were literally starving and thirsting to death. We can do so much better, and under Donald Trump's leadership, we will.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But they work with the state and local officials.

[crosstalk]

… VICE PRESIDENT VANCE: --They- no- the FEMA management officials, don't work well enough with state and local officials to get resources to the people who need it. We should expect- and this is, I think, one of the fundamental premises of President Trump's leadership. The American people should expect more of their government. When there's a terrible disaster, they should expect food, medicine and water to get to the people who need it. When there's a terrible fire in California, the fire hydrants ought to actually turn on. I am sick of the American people having such low expectations for their government. They should demand more of us, because it's the greatest country in the world, and that's what Donald Trump's leadership promises to bring back

MARGARET BRENNAN: So still count on the federal government, but watch that space. …”

Transcript: Vice President JD Vance on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Jan. 26, 2025

The following is the full transcript of an interview with Vice President JD Vance on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" that aired on Jan. 26, 2025.

www.cbsnews.com

Arguing that the failure of FEMA, after securing, transporting and delivering supplies, to distribute aid from the local warehouse to individuals is a rational basis for possibly eliminating the agency and letting states to do it all themselves is the kind of thing that makes perfect sense to MAGAcolytes.

 

[lawtig02]

Arguing that the failure of FEMA, after securing, transporting and delivering supplies, to distribute aid from the local warehouse to individuals is a rational basis for possibly eliminating the agency and letting states to do it all themselves is the kind of thing that makes perfect sense to MAGAcolytes.

Mainly because it shows they lack any awareness of how shit actually works. They’ve been coddled so much their whole lives they no longer know who’s responsible for doing what. Just easily manipulated snowflakes.

 

[BlooVooDoo]

Mainly because it shows they lack any awareness of how shit actually works. They’ve been coddled so much their whole lives they no longer know who’s responsible for doing what. Just easily manipulated snowflakes.

Yeah and it fits in with the animosity towards professionals and subject matter experts (aka the deep state and “elites”). I’m genuinely afraid of what 4 years of this shit will do to the US, both domestically and internationally, but the MAGA movement needs to reach critical velocity in this presidential term so these simpletons can fully experience what a lack of competent leadership based on rational, thoughtful and well-informed analysis can lead to. It’s the only way to end government by temper tantrum.

 

[ZZLPHeels]

Trump said, “you know who actually came to the rescue in North Carolina? People from other states.”

Yes, people who were trained, paid for and deployed by FEMA. Without FEMA those people don’t come.

 

[genevabuck]

Come hurricane season, Gulf of America states might get just what they voted for.

 

[uncgriff]

States should get fema dollars commiserate with their per capita federal tax revenue.

Same with Medicare social security and all government programs.

MAGA dies the next day

 

[altmin]

Like I said, i look forward to Alabama being able to source and pay for hundreds or thousands of trailers after a Cat 4 strike, non-perishable food, heavy equipment, body bags, bottled water, clothing, the funds for immediate cash for those who need anything, THEN wait to get paid back after Congress approves the funding to cover those debts.

 

[altmin]

Also let's cut to the chase on this

1. To foment outrage and drum up deplorable support, Trump campaign makes up a story about FEMA doing nothing in NC
2. To make Trump look like he was all wise and all-knowing, the US now have to destroy FEMA so he didn't retroactively look like a moron, when everyone - even many of his supporters - know he is as dumb as a bag of fucking hammers.

 

[BlooVooDoo]

Come hurricane season, Gulf of America states might get just what they voted for.

Tornado season comes first

 

[lawtig02]

Also let's cut to the chase on this

1. To foment outrage and drum up deplorable support, Trump campaign makes up a story about FEMA doing nothing in NC
2. To make Trump look like he was all wise and all-knowing, the US now have to destroy FEMA so he didn't retroactively look like a moron, when everyone - even many of his supporters - know he is as dumb as a bag of fucking hammers.

Aka, the MAGA Playbook.

 

[JCTarheel82]

Trump said, “you know who actually came to the rescue in North Carolina? People from other states.”

Yes, people who were trained, paid for and deployed by FEMA. Without FEMA those people don’t come.

This struck me as well. Trump is so intellectually feeble and rhetorically clumsy that he made an argument in support of FEMA while advocating for defunding the agency.

 

[Callatoroy]

So put even more responsibility on the overwhelmed and under resourced local officials who are already struggling to get the goods from the warehouse to the end user, which has always been their responsibility? Any Pubs here want to defend this? It’s abject idiocy.

How many natural disasters have you been through? Personally, I have been through 3. In every instance the communities were far more efficient and quicker to respond than the fed g'ment. What those communities don't have is the financial resources of the fed g'ment. Trump is right about state and local g'ments being able to assist quicker. So, if the fed sends the $$$ to the state and locals and stays out of it otherwise, that is a big improvement. Just because its trump's idea or his stolen idea doesn't make it automatically bad. By nature, the fed g'ment is inefficient and plodding. Trump is attempting to make the process to get help to people faster. How is that bad?

 

[Yosef]

Trump said, “you know who actually came to the rescue in North Carolina? People from other states.”

Yes, people who were trained, paid for and deployed by FEMA. Without FEMA those people don’t come.

No it wasn't.
I have a house in the NC mountains that got flooded. 1 foot of water in my house.
Samaritan's Purse and Wine to Water both contacted me wanting to come help. We ended up getting help from Samaritan's Purse. We had double digit workers both days at my house. Each person spoke for a minute telling where they are from and why they were there. A majority came from Wisconsin and they said the only reason they were there was they heard there was a need.
Others came from Virginia and South Carolina and only a few were from NC.
Trump was correct in saying that others will come help. They will and they did.
Say what you want about Franklin Graham but his organization Samaritan's Purse is an amazing organization who are usually the first ones there in emergency response situations.

 

[Callatoroy]

Like I said, i look forward to Alabama being able to source and pay for hundreds or thousands of trailers after a Cat 4 strike, non-perishable food, heavy equipment, body bags, bottled water, clothing, the funds for immediate cash for those who need anything, THEN wait to get paid back after Congress approves the funding to cover those debts.

Getting the people to do the work isn't the problem. Fed red tape and a 1 size fits all approach is the problem.

 

[lawtig02]

How many natural disasters have you been through? Personally, I have been through 3. In every instance the communities were far more efficient and quicker to respond than the fed g'ment. What those communities don't have is the financial resources of the fed g'ment. Trump is right about state and local g'ments being able to assist quicker. So, if the fed sends the $$$ to the state and locals and stays out of it otherwise, that is a big improvement. Just because its trump's idea or his stolen idea doesn't make it automatically bad. By nature, the fed g'ment is inefficient and plodding. Trump is attempting to make the process to get help to people faster. How is that bad?

Where will the local governments get the resources they need with the money Trump wants to send them? Especially when every person working locally is either personally impacted by the disaster, working his/her ass off to help people who have been impacted, or both? The flooded Home Depot down the street? Amazon?

That’s what FEMA does. It’s not intended to be the first responders or the boots on the ground right after the disaster hits. That’s always been the responsibility of the local officials and organizations. FEMA is supposed to make sure resources get to the right places and to coordinate the response among the local officials and organizations (yes, including Samaritan’s Purse, which does a great job, often in coordination with FEMA). And while responding to a disaster is rarely perfect by definition, FEMA does that much better than anyone else can.

 

[Callatoroy]

Where will the local governments get the resources they need with the money Trump wants to send them? Especially when every person working locally is either personally impacted by the disaster, working his/her ass off to help people who have been impacted, or both? The flooded Home Depot down the street? Amazon?

That’s what FEMA does. It’s not intended to be the first responders or the boots on the ground right after the disaster hits. That’s always been the responsibility of the local officials and organizations. FEMA is supposed to make sure resources get to the right places and to coordinate the response among the local officials and organizations (yes, including Samaritan’s Purse, which does a great job, often in coordination with FEMA). And while responding to a disaster is rarely perfect by definition, FEMA does that much better than anyone else can.

If it would just get resources to a warehouse (like trump said in the video) and that ended their involvement then that would be an improvement. its the "coordinating" that becomes the problem. In the first disaster (Hugo) I went through, and participated in, I honestly don't remember fema's involvement. We did have thousands of people from multiple states, numerous charities, and numerous corporate volunteers and contributions involved. The cities of Charleston, N. Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, Hanahan, Summerville, etc. were fantastic, as was the state g'ment. Things moved rapidly. I don't think fema could have caused things to happen any faster. I was both impacted by it and a participant in the rebuilding process. Almost all g'ment red tape was sidelined for a period of time. Shit just flowed faster than I could have ever imagined and was caught off guard on the rebuilding side because I expected g'ment red tape to take longer. Effective governors have the ability to move mountains when they have the financial resources.