Politicans

talked to an immigrant tailor who told me he found out one of his clients supported deportations so he made his shirt collar too small on purpose

— derek guy (@dieworkwear) February 3, 2025

Disaster aid — for decades a mostly bipartisan issue — is suddenly a political hot button after Hurricane Helene last year and this year’s Los Angeles wildfires. Experts explain how the money goes out, why it's needed and how it's spent. https://t.co/i1SKuBShd3

— The Associated Press (@AP) February 4, 2025

Per the Associated Press, “Who gets more disaster aid? Republican states. Experts explain that and more about FEMA”:

Federal disaster aid is nearly everywhere. About 94% of Americans live in a county that has gotten Federal Emergency Management Agency help for disasters since 2011.

But disaster aid — for decades a mostly bipartisan issue — is suddenly a political hot button after Hurricane Helene last year and this year’s California wildfires. President Donald Trump and a conservative think tank have floated the possibility of shifting disaster response to the states, including eliminating FEMA or curtailing federal handouts.

Experts worry about that…

Experts say every state gets millions in federal help — and a little more goes to Republican states and congressional districts.

New York University’s Rebuild By Design, a nonprofit that focuses on disaster prevention, created an atlas of the 795 non-medical and non-technological federal disasters since 2011, which they called climate disasters. It found that every state and all but a few hundred counties have been helped.

“It’s clear that climate is not a red or blue challenge,” said Amy Chester, the atlas creator and Rebuild by Design’s director. “Communities are suffering whether you are a red state or blue state.”

Since 2011, more than $68.2 billion in FEMA aid has been spent on disasters that don’t include the pandemic or oil spills. And that’s payments just to governments, not people. Tens of billions more came — mostly from Housing and Urban Development — to people needing individual help to rebuild…

The disaster-heavy states that former FEMA chief Fugate calls his “frequent fliers” also tend to be more Republican. About two-thirds of the top 15 states in total FEMA funds, FEMA spending per person and number of federally declared disasters are Republican. Those include Florida, Louisiana, Alaska, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Mississippi.

Twelve congressional districts have had at least a dozen federally declared disasters since 2011; three-quarters of them are represented by Republicans. Those are in Kentucky, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Texas, Vermont and West Virginia…

The first thing that has to happen in any disaster is the state has to ask the president to declare it a federal disaster, which lets the money flow, Fugate said.

In general, the federal government pays 75% of the cost with state and locals picking up 25%. But in the biggest disasters the state share can shrink to 10% or even close to nothing, especially if Congress steps in.

In disasters, government bills pile up quickly. States may have a hard time even making payroll because of that and that’s where FEMA can step in early, helping with initial payments sometimes within 30 days.

And FEMA simply has specialized expertise. In California, for example, the state’s wildfires mean tons of debris — much of it toxic — has to be cleared and quick, Fugate said. FEMA can ask the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers — experts who cleared World Trade Center debris — to take charge, making it faster and cheaper for taxpayers.

Experts also worry that states will struggle to stop waste, fraud and abuse that are currently harder with FEMA due to federal procurement laws…

Cynic that I am, I suspect a state-level FEMA would be a windfall for Ken Paxton’s developer cronies in Texas, Chuck Grassley’s #nepo-family in Iowa, and Jane Sanders’ leadership institute in Vermont.

Meanwhile, I take some comfort that Joe Biden is living his best retirement life:

One thing I told all the leftists who wanted to "teach Joe Biden a lesson" was that he was going to end up fine at the end of this. And he will. You didn't screw him over. You screwed the rest of us over. https://t.co/5K9yxxNP05

— You Should've Said Nicer Things About Joe Biden (@What46HasDone) February 3, 2025

Congratulations Joe pic.twitter.com/ZayFofFFTG

— BenNyc (@ben_nyc) February 4, 2025