The Federal Emergency Management Agency is facing scrutiny for its spending on diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
Lawmakers at a House Oversight Committee hearing Tuesday pressed FEMA head Deanne Criswell on FEMA’s DEI spending.
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An emergency response official’s decision to withhold vital assistance to hurricane victims that showed visible support for Republicans is a scandal that belies a larger issue, namely, an unaccountable federal bureaucracy left to police itself and which President-elect Donald Trump has eyed for reform and cuts.
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Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) sent a letter to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Deanne Criswell on Monday demanding accountability within the federal agency after it was reported that FEMA workers were advised to discriminate against Trump supporters who needed assistance after Hurricane Helene.
Earlier this month, The Daily Wire reported that a FEMA supervisor ordered workers to bypass the homes of Donald Trump’s supporters as they surveyed the damage caused by Hurricane Milton in Florida.
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It wasn’t as if the Tar Heel state didn’t see Hurricane Helene coming. On Sept. 25, one day before Helene stormed ashore, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency as the storm’s path showed it churning northward toward Appalachia after making landfall in Florida.
Yet that advance declaration was not followed by any state evacuation orders, and the population largely sheltered in place as Helene hit the steep, wooded hills of western North Carolina, squatting over the area, unleashing more than an inch of water an hour for more than a day. The unprecedented, relentless downpour, falling on ground already saturated by rain the week before, tore old pines and hardwoods out by the roots, creating arboreal torpedoes that rocketed down the steep inclines; water that turned photogenic stony creeks into whitewater torrents, lifting ancient streambed boulders and tossing them like chips on to roads and into homes and buildings. The storm left 230 people dead, nearly half of them in North Carolina, with dozens still missing as of early November.
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Marn’i Washington, the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) supervisor fired for not helping supporters of President-elect Donald Trump, said Tuesday that this occurrence was not an “isolated” incident.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Sunday revealed he is working with Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti to investigate whether the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) discriminated against Tennesseans affected by Hurricane Helene based on their political views.
Lee made the announcement after a FEMA official directed relief workers to avoid homes advertising support for President-elect Donald Trump after Hurricane Milton in Florida, specifically through guidance that told workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump” and “practice de-escalation and preventative measures” as best practices when providing relief.
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At 7:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 27, Chris Trusz was standing on one of the bridges spanning the Broad River in Chimney Rock. He wanted to get a photo. It had been raining steadily for 36 hours and the river was running 10 inches above normal. Trusz, who’d moved to the western North Carolina mountain town 18 months earlier, wasn’t worried; residents had been warned there might be a bit of flooding. He got his picture and walked up the hill to his home.
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Republicans on a top congressional committee have launched an investigation into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over its “priorities” after reports emerged claiming that the agency spent most of its money aiding illegal aliens, to the point that it had little money left to deal with the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
According to Fox News, a letter was issued by members of the majority on the the House Homeland Security Committee, declaring that the committee “is investigating [DHS’] prioritization of its ability to adequately respond to natural disasters.”
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Senator Bill Hagerty on Friday said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been “far too slow” in providing relief to those in East Tennessee who were in the path of Hurricane Helene last month.
Hagerty told News Channel 11 the federal agency “has been far too slow to step up to the plate,” and its response plagued with “serious” issues with management and staffing problems.
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As the disastrous impact of Hurricane Helene reverberates through the nation and the southeast braces for the impact of Hurricane Milton, many Americans are calling out the tepid federal response from the Biden-Harris Administration even as billions of taxpayer dollars are ushered to foreign countries or into programs for illegal immigrants.
Hurricane Helene, which devastated sixteen states in the southeast from Florida to North and South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, has taken the lives of over 220 Americans, and left millions without food, shelter, or power.
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On the eve of Hurricane Milton’s landfall on a disaster-weary Florida, FEMA, the nation’s disaster relief agency reported a stark shortage of frontline workers available to be deployed: just 8% of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s vaunted Incident Management personnel were still available for deployment.
The stunning declaration in Wednesday’s Daily Operations Briefing exposed the longtime impact of FEMA’s expanding work on unrelated missions like COVID funerals and illegal immigrant services, a crisis created by a worker shortage, a workforce morale issue and the reality of burnout from a increasingly frenetic natural disaster pace.
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Five members of Tennessee’s delegation to the U.S. House and both of its U.S. Senators voted earlier this year against legislation that provided additional funding to the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) to provide for the welfare of millions of illegal immigrants who crossed the southern border under the Biden-Harris administration.
The realization that FEMA was tasked with managing illegal immigrant populations inside the United States came after Hurricane Helene, when Republicans revealed FEMA has directed $640.9 million in federal grants to nonprofits who support illegal immigrants.
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Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN) says he’s sent a letter to FEMA asking for a detailed account of its spending in Tennessee and North Carolina counties impacted by Hurricane Helene. “This department has a $40 billion budget and now they’re asking for more money and we found five or six billion additional dollars they could use. They’re not even looking at that,” he says.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in May 2023 launched a $12 million grant program designed to increase “equity” in disaster responses by making greater investments in communities with high concentrations of racial and sexual minorities, documents show.
FEMA’s 2023 Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program sought to disburse multi-million dollar grants designed to bolster disaster preparedness “equity” for what it called “underserved communities,” a label later defined in grant documents as “populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, who have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social and civic life.” Examples of these groups cited in the FEMA documents include African Americans, Hispanics, Middle Easterners, LGBT people and people living in rural areas, among others.
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U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has set up pop-up offices across eight counties in East Tennessee this week to assist victims of flash flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.
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In the midst of the last major budget crisis in Washington, Democrats diverted money and the legal authority to put the nation’s disaster relief agency into the business of caring for the millions of illegal immigrants who crossed the border on the Biden-Harris administration’s watch. And now both parties seem to be trying to obfuscate the truth.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is supposed to be the government’s premier emergency relief organization in times of disaster, like the situation now faced by victims of Hurricane Helene’s aftermath in North Carolina and Tennessee.
But according to the FEMA website, the agency now places higher priority on instituting Diversity, Equity and Inclusivity guidelines than on easing the suffering of Americans displaced by disaster.
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Matt Boyle, the national political editor at Breitbart News, said former President Donald Trump is heading into the November 5 general election with more energy on his side compared to Vice President Kamala Harris.
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If you have been awake these last several days, you will know all about how the aspiring First Gentleman, Doug Emhoff, publicly slapped a former girlfriend so hard she spun around. I believe, but am not sure of the chronology, that that was after Emhoff inseminated the nanny he and his former wife had engaged to, well, possibly to help him in his task of “redefining masculinity.”
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is reportedly turning away donations for victims of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, according to a report from an on-the-ground volunteer who attempted to deliver a caravan of essential supplies to local residents on Saturday.
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The Biden-Harris administration is lying to the American public when they claim that FEMA is out of money. Speaker Mike Johnson just posted on X that, “Last Wednesday, I led Congress to provide $20 billion extra dollars (available immediately) to FEMA so they would have operational funds right now to respond to Helene.”
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Tennessee State Representative and House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) said Starlink units being delivered and installed in areas of East Tennessee decimated by flash flooding from Hurricane Helene have been a “lifeline” for residents who remain without a connection to the outside world.
On Monday, Faison began collaborating with Tennessee political commentator Robby Starbuck, who has purchased and donated more than 20 Starlink units, to connect those in East Tennessee stranded in rural areas left without power.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) twice denied to The Tennessee Star that it is confiscating hurricane relief supplies in Tennessee, North Carolina, or any area recovering from the destruction wrought by Hurricane Helene.
The denials come despite Elon Musk, the owner of Space X, reporting that one of his company’s engineers said supplies were confiscated by the federal agency in Asheville, North Carolina, where the world’s richest man is supplying volunteers with Starlink devices to restore Internet connectivity to the rural communities.
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All 11 members of the Tennessee congressional delegation sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Tuesday requesting the “swift approval” of Governor Bill Lee’s request for an updated major disaster declaration in the wake of flash flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene.
Lee initially requested federal assistance for Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hawkins, Johnson, Unicoi, and Washington counties following the flash flooding that devastated buildings and roads in East Tennessee on September 26 and September 27, which the president approved on Saturday.
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Tennessee U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) announced Monday that he is suspending all campaign fundraising activities and instead urging his supporters to direct their monetary donations to relief efforts benefiting those impacted by Hurricane Helene.
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Tennessee leaders from the state and federal level surveyed storm damage and met with local officials in areas of East Tennessee devastated by Tropical Storm Helene this weekend.
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All 11 members of the Tennessee congressional delegation sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting the “swift approval” of Governor Bill Lee’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration due to severe storms that devastated communities across the Volunteer State last month.
On May 8 and May 9, several rounds of significant severe weather impacted 13 Tennessee counties, causing three fatalities and damage to 459 homes in Tennessee.
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Southwestern Michigan impacted by recent storms might be given a federal disaster declaration.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants President Joe Biden to issue a Major Disaster Declaration for four Michigan counties after the multiple tornadoes earlier this month. While Branch, Cass, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph counties have all received state disaster support, and preliminary estimates suggest a need for federal financial assistance.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced over $54 million in awards last month for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Shelter and Services program to Arizona entities to offset “costs incurred” due to the influx of illegal immigrants into the country.
According to funding awards posted publicly by FEMA last month, two Arizona-based charitable entities, Pima County and Maricopa County will collectively receive $54,573,093 to support illegal immigrants in the 2024 fiscal year.
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A new study from a liberal law school claims that global warming, also known as “climate change,” has a greater impact on LGBT couples than on normal couples.
As reported by Fox News, the study from the UCLA School of Law claims that “same-sex couples are more likely to reside in communities with poorer infrastructure and less access to resources. They are, therefore, less prepared to respond and adapt to natural hazards and other climate disruptions.”
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State and federal officials are awaiting President Joe Biden’s disaster declaration to help recovery from tornadoes and severe storms that impacted 11 counties in mid-March.
Gov. Mike DeWine, along with Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican Sen. J.D. Vance, wrote asking for a FEMA presidential disaster declaration to open federal aid for those impacted not already reimbursed by other government programs or private insurance.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will provide almost $12 million to the Tipton County Board of Education to rebuild Crestview Elementary School, U.S. Representative Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) announced Tuesday.
Cohen represents Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District, which covers approximately half of Tipton County.
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Arizona Congressman David Schweikert is introducing legislation on Friday that would loosen regulations on the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program to allow for places of worship to get more protection.
The House bill dubbed the “Warranting of Religious Spaces to Handle Increased Protection (WORSHIP) Act” would allow an increase from 50% to 75% to use the grant funds for personnel-related expenses and allow the hiring of “public safety personnel” to be permitted under the grant as part of “covered expenses.”
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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Tennessee Department of Revenue have extended the tax filing and payment deadlines for Tennesseans affected by the December 9 severe storms and tornadoes.
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The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) announced the availability of Disaster Unemployment Assistance for seven Tennessee counties affected by the severe storms and tornadoes.
On December 9, severe thunderstorms and a recorded eight tornadoes ripped through Middle Tennessee, causing six fatalities, dozens of injuries, significant damage to nearly 1,900 homes, and the destruction of over 500 homes.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is urging Tennessee businesses that suffered damages during the deadly tornadoes that ripped through the state earlier this month to apply for financial relief as soon as possible.
“FEMA may refer survivors of the Dec. 9 tornadoes to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) with information on how to apply for a disaster loan. It’s important to submit the loan application as soon as possible,” the organization said in a Wednesday release. “SBA disaster loans are the largest source of federal disaster recovery funds for survivors. SBA offers long-term, low-interest disaster loans to businesses of all sizes, private nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters.”
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Four Tennessee counties affected by severe storms in July have been approved to receive assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance (PA) program, the federal agency announced this week.
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Arizona Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Kristen Sinema (I-AZ) have asked for answers from three federal agencies after the state received just $23.9 million of more than $800 million in funding they helped secure to fund private organizations that house illegal immigrants released into the United States after being encountered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during their transit across the border.
In a letter addressed to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the heads of the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the senators warned that Pima County may be unable to support the influx of migrants in April 2024. They noted that New York City received over four times more funding than Arizona.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced that low-income Tennessee residents in the ten counties impacted by tornadoes and severe storms that began at the end of March could be eligible for USDA’s Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP).
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On Thursday, roughly 1,200 Soldiers and Airmen from the Tennessee National Guard departed from various locations across the state to support response and recovery efforts in Florida following the landfall of Hurricane Ian, according to a press release by the Tennessee Department of Military.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed back against a reporter who he said was trying to politicize the state’s hurricane preparedness efforts.
The governor has been giving multiple briefings daily. At one briefing Tuesday, a reporter asked about remarks made by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) administrator Deanne Criswell earlier in the day.
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Tennessee residents have received $81.9 million in funeral expense assistance through COVID-19 funeral reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Just short of half of those payments were made this year. As of January, FEMA had sent Tennessee $47 million in assistance.
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President Joe Biden granted a Major Disaster Declaration on Friday to help seven Tennessee counties recovering from the severe winter storm that hit the region in early February, at the request of Governor Bill Lee.
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On Wednesday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee asked FEMA to work with TEMA on a joint Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) to determine the state’s eligibility for federal assistance to support power restoration and recovery efforts in counties impacted in the floods and severe ice storm on February 3rd and February 4th, 2022.
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Governor Bill Lee’s office announced Friday that the Biden administration has qualified twelve counties to receive Major Disaster Declaration relief after a tornado-producing storm front tore through the state in early December.
“I appreciate the hard recovery work we’ve already accomplished with our local, state, and federal partners,” Governor Lee said. “We will continue working to make sure Tennesseans have every resource necessary for a full, swift recovery.”
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On Thursday in a press release, the Tennessee Department of Revenue reminded Tennessee residents impacted by December’s severe weather that they are potentially eligible for sales tax refunds on home appliances, home furniture, and home building supplies, as they rebuild after storms.
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Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the mayor of Waverly, Tennessee, Buddy Frazier to the newsmakers line to recount the damage of the city’s August 21st flooding and ongoing recovery efforts.
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Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf will work with the federal government in order to address labor shortages in the healthcare sector amid another surge in coronavirus cases.
Wolf, who is partnering with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), will create “strike teams” to be sent to hospitals and long-term care facilities.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced on Monday that he requested federal emergency assistance for nine counties impacted in the tornado outbreak over the weekend, according to a press release by the Tennessee Department of Military.
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Seventy-two percent of Tennesseans will end up paying more money in flood insurance prices starting October 1 when the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s new flood insurance rules begin.
This summer, FEMA rolled out its new rating methodology called “Risk Rating 2.0.” FEMA said this new methodology will deliver rates that are “actuarily sound, equitable, easier to understand and better reflect a property’s flood risk.”
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