The spending pattern has raised questions about the priorities of President Joe Biden and his Vice President Kamala Harris
Shocking figures reveal Biden admin's spending on migrant shelters, etc. instead of hurricane relief
- The federal disaster agency is spending $171 billion on migrants, etc.
- It's only allocated $137 million so far to the Hurricane Helene response
Charitable Americans have offered hurricane victims food, water and other essentials, often complaining that government support is nowhere to be seen. Pictured: Charitable children in Shady Hills, Florida.
'It's led to billions that are tied up on paper and unavailable to help folks today.'
Fema's biggest problem, he said, are the 'enormous' $104 billion-and-rising sums already devoted to the pandemic response and how that's 'strained their budget for hurricanes and other natural disasters.'
'That number is expected to balloon even further through 2026.'
Fema did not answer The Mail's request for comment.
The US is battling a deadly hurricane season, with Helene wreaking havoc from Florida into the Appalachian Mountains and claiming at least 230 lives, making it one of the worst storms in the nation's history.
Families across the storm-battered southeast complained that Fema was offering little help as they tried to rebuild their lives and repair shredded and flooded-out homes, often without power or cell phone service.
Robby Starbuck, a conservative activist in Tennessee, said Fema was largely absent from his state's hurricane-hit areas, and that he and others had stepped in to help victims with everyday essentials and Starlink internet devices.
'As a taxpayer, I'm disgusted,' Starbuck told The Mail.
'The government is giving all this money to illegal immigrants and foreign conflicts. It just seems to be a rule of thumb now that American citizens can expect that we don't come first in our own country anymore.'
Meanwhile, Milton has intensified and is set to become a major hurricane heading for landfall in the Tampa Bay area on Thursday, raising fears of further devastation across Florida, the nation's most disaster-prone state.
Against this backdrop, the Biden administration's Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has said Fema does not have enough funding to make it through the hurricane season, which runs June 1 to November 30.
He did not specify how much extra cash was needed.
US Air Force airmen use heavy equipment to clear a road through debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Keaton Beach, Florida.
Rescue teams use chain saws to clear debris in the search for victims and survivors from flooding caused by Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, North Carolina.
Some lawmakers have called for a supplemental spending bill this fall to plug the gap, while former president Donald Trump and others have railed against lackluster support for hurricane victims and largess overseas.
At a campaign rally in Michigan, Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, accused his rival, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, of diverting emergency cash to the record-breaking number of migrants who have entered the US in recent years.
'Kamala spent all her Fema money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal migrants, many of whom should not be in our country,' Trump said.
'They stole the Fema money, just like they stole it from a bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have vote for them this season.'
At another rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Trump said the Biden-Harris administration had offered those who had seen their homes 'washed away' by floodwater just $750 to rebuild their shattered lives.
'And yet we send tens of billions of dollars to foreign countries that most people have never heard of,' he added.
His running mate JD Vance said it was 'insulting for people who have lost their homes and nearly everything to have somebody swoop in and talk about $750 like that's a big sum of money.'
Meanwhile, Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr, has called it 'madness' for billions of dollars in foreign aid to be sent overseas, instead of to American citizens who had lost everything in the storm.
FEMA has spent $640 million on housing migrants, administration officials have said.
Fema manages the Shelter and Services Program, which issues grants to communities impacted by a large influx of migrants.
Democratic presidential nominee and US Vice President Kamala Harris poses for a photo-op.
Heavy rains from hurricane Helene caused record flooding and damage in Asheville, North Carolina.
The Aquatics Division of the City of Tampa Parks and Recreation Department serving sandbags to Tampa residents ahead of Hurricane Milton striking the city
The latest official model from the National Weather Service shows Hurricane Milton barreling through Florida, displacing millions of residents from their homes
According to Neefus, Fema's exorbitant Covid spend other bygone emergencies is likely to leave the agency scrambling to make ends meet for the rest of hurricane season.
'It's tough to imagine being in Helene's wake — or Milton's — and wondering if and when enough resources will be at the ready,' he said.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13938599/joe-biden-ukraine-covid-migrant-shelters-hurricane-relief-funds.html
A video of a FEMA seminar has sparked fury for suggesting disaster preparedness policies should be tailored to transgender migrants.
The discussion, titled 'Helping LGBTQIA+ Survivors Before Disasters', saw FEMA's Pride group's director of education Reilly Hirst discuss the concerns 'migrant transwomen' have in seeking shelter.
She said that trans migrants might struggle to find accommodations at faith-based shelters.
FEMA's approach to disaster management has come under scrutiny following its response to Hurricane Helene, which saw at least 230 people killed and thousands more displaced across the south east.
And with deadly Hurricane Milton due to barrel into Florida this afternoon, many have been raising concerns about FEMA's priorities.
Reilly Hirst suggested disaster preparedness policies should be tailored to transgender migrants
'This is what Hurricane Helene victims are up against,' Republican Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote.
'FEMA Training Director is concerned about faith-based shelters misgendering "migrant transwomen.”
'These are the unqualified idiots using FEMA disaster relief funds to house migrants and FAILING western NC Hurricane Helene victims. They hate Christians.'
Hirst's stance was slammed online, with many accusing her of inappropriately prioritizing DEI.
'Maybe rescue people trapped in destroyed mountain towns instead. That'd be nice,' one person said.
FEMA's response to disaster management has come under scrutiny in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene
At least 230 people died and thousands more were displaced when the powerful storm tore through six states
Hirst's panel also talked about moving away from disaster relief which benefits the highest number of people, in favor of 'disaster equity'
The backlash against FEMA comes as the agency ran out of money after spending billions on the migrant crisis.
In the past two years, FEMA - the Federal Emergency Management Agency - has handed out over $1 billion of taxpayer dollars to fund the housing of illegal immigrants.
This figure sparked outrage in the wake of Helene, with residents in flood-hit North Carolina claiming the response from FEMA has left them disappointed and relying on volunteers.
Hirst's comments were made in the context of FEMA webinars on disaster preparedness in which the panel discussed 'focusing efforts on LGBTQIA+' victims.
'LGBTQIA people, and people who have been disadvantaged already, are struggling,' moderator Tyler Atkins said.
Tyler Atkins
The panel talked about moving away from disaster relief which benefits the highest number of people in favor of 'disaster equity'.
'The shift we’re seeing right now is a shift in emergency services to disaster equity. But we have to do more,' said Maggie Jarry of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13941883/Fema-outrage-taxpayer-funded-seminar-trans-migrants.html
A drone view shows a damaged area in Swannanoa, North Carolina on September 29, 2024, after Hurricane Helene tore through the southern state
Resident Anne Schneider, right, hugs her friend Eddy Sampson as they survey damage left in the wake of Hurricane Helene on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, in Marshall, North Carolina
A destroyed church in Swannanoa, North Carolina
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admitted that FEMA ran out of money to make it through the hurricane season, after it handed out more than $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to give housing assistance to illegal migrants over the last two years.
Grieving families in North Carolina have been forced to bury their dead in their backyards - and are accusing authorities of downplaying the damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
The official death toll rose to 227 over the weekend - half of whom were from North Carolina - but state and federal officials told The Spectator that this number is woefully inaccurate.
Many bodies haven't even been recovered amid debris and flooding. There are also piles of deceased people who have yet to be identified. They are being transported all over the state in hopes of finding open morgue space.
'According to folks on the ground - fire, medical, law enforcement officials - they’re way underreporting the numbers. All the morgues are full and they’ve hauled a ton [of bodies] to Greensboro,' the state official said. 'People are starting to bury them in their yards because they have no place to put them.'
One individual who was in Asheville when Helene hit told The Spectator: 'It's so much worse than they're saying...I think there's a massive cover-up.'
The small mountain town of Swannanoa dealt with flood levels not seen since 1791, and locals have said their community was 'entirely erased.'
A whistleblower wrote a letter to Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., that details how the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has wasted and misappropriated funds in the wake of Helene and is now 'exacerbating the emergency.'
The letter to Gaetz also alleges 'hundreds if not thousands' of first responders and service members have been 'without deployment orders' with some waiting around in hotels while others 'have sat idle' as Americans throughout the southeast are in dire need.
Elon Musk has lashed out at the Federal Emergency Management Agency for preventing SpaceX from taking relief packages to hurricane-ravaged North Carolina.
The billionaire described FEMA's actions as 'unconscionable' in a furious statement to his social media platform, X
Entire towns in western North Carolina were washed away last week when Hurricane Helene tore through the region.
Elon Musk has lashed out at FEMA for preventing SpaceX from taking relief packages to hurricane-ravaged North Carolina
An aerial view of flood damage wrought by Hurricane Helene along the Swannanoa River on October 3, 2024 in Asheville, North Carolina. FEMA and other emergency-management whistleblowers allege the agency wasted funds, withheld pre-disaster aid and was slow to deploy first responders and service members to help with recovery efforts
'FEMA is both failing to help AND won’t let others help. This is unconscionable!!
Musk said it's 'not just SpaceX' being prevented from dropping donations.
'They won't let anyone help,' he said.
Entire towns were washed away during the category 4 storm
Musk's post was inundated with people saying it was 'disgusting' that residents were being denied aid.
'This is unforgivable,' one person said.
Searching a flood-damaged property
The carnage in downtown Marshall, North Carolina
No comments:
Post a Comment