Replies to post #271870 on Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

President Trump's Budget Would Cut Hundreds of Millions From Disaster Relief Programs

"TRUMP WOULD SLASH SISASTER FUNDING TO THE VERY AGENCIES HE'S PRAISING FOR HARVEY RESPONDS "

VIDEO

Ian Salisbury
Aug 28, 2017

When President Trump released his proposed budget earlier this year .. http://time.com/money/4789140/trump-budget-cuts-2018-plan/ , it included cuts across the board — including hundreds of millions from programs that help Americans cope with disasters like Hurricane Harvey.

Throughout last fall's election, President Trump called for cutting billions in waste out of Washington. The White House's proposed fiscal 2018 budget .. https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/budget/fy2018/2018_blueprint.pdf , released this past May, attempts to make good on those promises. Hefty cuts are proposed for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the agency charged with overseeing the government's response to natural disasters, as well as the National Weather Service and the government's flood insurance programs.

Here's specifically what the Trump budget proposes:

* $667 million from FEMA .. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/25/us/politics/trump-hurricane-texas-fema.html?mcubz=0 .. targeting grants that help state and local governments prepare for natural disasters and other emergencies like terrorist attacks. The budget would also require 25% cost matching for preparedness grants. Modeled on FEMA's existing disaster recovery grants, the provision is designed to ensure state and local governments pick up part of the tab when the federal government doles out money.

* $62 million from the National Weather Service, or about 6% of its 2017 budget .. http://thebridge.agu.org/2017/05/31/noaa-cut-16-president-trumps-budget-request/ . The proposed cuts include $5 million the agency plans to spend updating its weather models and another $5 million on experimental forecasts aimed at allowing it to predict changing weather 30 days in the future instead of the current 16 days .. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2017/05/24/white-house-budget-aims-to-slow-gains-in-weather-forecasting-shocking-weather-community/?utm_term=.25fed7209f0b .

* $190 million for the National Flood Insurance Program to update maps detailing which areas .. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-budget-idUSKBN16R2FT .. of the U.S. are flood prone, which can affect flood insurance premiums and real estate development in coastal areas.

For what it's worth, President Obama also faced criticism .. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-23/trump-fema-chief-supports-cutting-coverage-for-flood-prone-homes .. for efforts to push disaster rebuilding costs back on to states and towns. And some long-time FEMA critics, pointing to what they have called wasteful spending following storms like hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, point out the agency's budget .. https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/why-ending-fema-will-improve-disaster-response .. has steadily increased since it was created in the late 1970s, reaching more than $10 billion a year by the 2010s.

Still, it can be difficult if not impossible for Washington politicians to turn away federal money—at least when it's their own constituents who are in need. Texas's Republican Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, who both voted against disaster funding for New York and New Jersey in the wake of 2012's Superstorm Sandy, have already called on Trump .. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/348247-rep-king-ny-wont-abandon-texas-despite-hypocrite-ted-cruz .. to provide aid to their home state.

Congress has until Oct. 1, when the 2018 fiscal year begins, to pass a spending bill for the coming year, which may include—or not—any of the White House's various proposals. With Trump and Congress facing off on his proposed border wall .. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/08/23/trumps-demand-to-build-border-wall-could-upend-sensitive-negotiations-on-capitol-hill/ .. and other issues, many expect a fight.

http://time.com/money/4918458/trump-budget-targest-disaster-response/

[fuagf]

FEMA Administrator Brock Long steps down

He oversaw the government’s response to Hurricane Maria.

By Emily Stewart Feb 13, 2019, 4:20pm EST

[...to end...]

Upon Long’s exit, Deputy Administrator Pete Gaynor will become acting FEMA administrator.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/2/13/18223882/brock-long-fema-resigns-hurricane-maria

"Nice try.
TRUMP WOULD SLASH SISASTER FUNDING TO THE VERY AGENCIES HE'S PRAISING FOR HARVEY RESPONDS
As he toured rising floodwater in Texas on Tuesday, President Trump effusively praised his administration’s Hurricane Harvey response, an effort he began touting on Twitter last weekend even before the storm made landfall.
P - But not too long ago, the president proposed a budget calling for cuts to some of the federal government’s most consequential efforts to prepare states and local communities and help them recover from catastrophic events such as Harvey.
P - Congress is likely to approve a Harvey recovery bill, as it has after past disasters, to cover the huge cost of storm damages. The cuts proposed by the Trump administration would slice away funding for long-term preparedness efforts, many of them put in place to address the sluggish federal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
P - The proposed cuts would include programs run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, whose new administrator was praised by Trump in a tweet last weekend for “doing a great job”; the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which helps rebuild homes, parks, hospitals and community centers; the National Weather Service, which forecasts extreme storms; and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, whose research and community engagement help coastal residents prepare for disaster. "