On August 23, 2011, a 5.8 earthquake centered in Virginia was felt throughout the mid-Atlantic. Minor by the standards of the West Coast, the earthquake, even on the less-prepared East Coast, resulted in no deaths or serious injuries and only minor structural damage. Yet President Obama still declared the earthquake a “Major Disaster” and, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Administration has distributed over $25.2 million in recovery aid as of January 16. This incident is one of the countless examples of the overuse of FEMA aid …
The Iowa Caucus was not the only thing folks looking to the 2012 election were talking about this week. Barron’s Washington Editor Jim McTague warned that 2012 is likely to be a banner year for natural disaster declarations. Why? As the numbers show, “In nearly every presidential election year since 1972, there was an increase in disaster declaration; the same holds for the year before the elections.” Citing Heritage expert Matt A. Mayer, McTague goes on to explain that in 2011, the Obama Administration issued a whopping 242 disaster declarations. …
The 2011 hurricane season ends today. Other than Hurricane Irene, which was nearly just a tropical storm when it hit land, no hurricanes hit the United States in 2011. Of the 455 FEMA declarations issued by the Obama Administration, only Hurricanes Irene and Alex (August 2010) have qualified for Major Disaster Declarations, FEMA’s highest disaster declaration. That is great for America. The problem is that, despite the rare appearance of hurricanes and only three declarations for earthquakes—yes, the weak tremor that hit Virginia and Washington, D.C., in September earned two …
Over the summer, Hurricane Irene and the East Coast earthquake put national attention on America’s disaster response system, especially the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). And once again, the problems that The Heritage Foundation has been pointing out for years—the federalization of routine disasters, FEMA’s funding issues, and the condition of capabilities at all levels of government—were exposed. As the chart below shows, the number of disasters the federal government has declared has accelerated substantially in the past year. (Read more below chart) The exploding number of declarations is trend that Heritage’s Matt …
Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee may have ravaged northeastern Pennsylvania with floodwaters, but displaced people have found aid and comfort in the relief provided by private charities and businesses. A recent New York Times story described affected people’s disillusionment with the federal government’s ability to dispense disaster relief aid through FEMA. “Uprooted and desolate, hard-working people in this part of the country expect a bit more from their government,” the Times reported. The story failed to mention the outpouring of food, furniture and housing repair assistance provided by charities …
Catching you up on clips, commentary and news of the day. Sign up for the daily email update from Scribe. At 50, the Chinook remains the Army’s workhorse – Michael Hoffman, Army Times Graves eyes upper rungs of conservative ladder – Daniel Malloy, The Atlantic Journal-Constitution Lawmakers: Revamp disaster recovery system – Deborah Barfield Berry, Clarion Ledger A major victory, but the battle rages on – Peter Brookes, New York Post The green-jobs fallacy – Ed Feulner, St. Paul Pioneer Press Obamanomics: Hollow out defense, fatten up cronies – James …
By the time Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) took to the floor Monday to berate Republicans for supposedly blocking emergency disaster aid, the Federal Emergency Management Agency had already announced it did not need the money Reid claimed was being blocked. FEMA’s disaster relief fund became a key issue in the continuing resolution the Senate passed Monday night, funding the federal government through Nov. 18. A record number of emergency declarations this year by President Obama stretched FEMA’s fund to the brink. Republicans offered an additional $1 billion in disaster aid, but coupled …
Listening to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) or reading The New York Times yesterday gave the impression that disaster relief victims were suffering from a lack of government aid. “Without additional funding,” Reid warned, “thousands of people who have lost literally everything they owned will be forced to go without food and shelter.” The New York Times, reporting from Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, noted, “Uprooted and desolate, hard-working people in this part of the country expect a bit more from their government.” Yesterday, with Reid on the brink of forcing a government …
Earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and now blackouts? One might say Mother Nature is on a rampage. On Thursday around 3:45 p.m., 1.5 million people lost power. A mass blackout occurred spanning California, Arizona, and parts of Mexico. Affecting major cities throughout the region, the high-voltage power line outage between Arizona and California left millions without power. Sweltering heat and massive traffic pileups activated emergency operations in areas like San Diego. Blackouts continued throughout the evening, leaving small hope that any relief would come prior to late Friday. Blackouts can come from …
Liberals have spent the past two weeks asking Congress to write a blank check for federal disaster funding. They’ve concentrated their attacks on House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) for seeking offsets in other areas of the budget to cover the additional aid. They’ve portrayed Cantor as a callous conservative, suggesting that his stance is extreme and hypocritical. The facts tell another story. The Wall Street Journal reveals that it’s actually congressional Democrats, not Cantor, standing in the way of additional disaster funding. House Republicans have offered a plan that …
