https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2024/oct/6/fema-chief-deanne-criswell-blasts-false-claims-abo/
The U.S. government’s top disaster relief official said Sunday that false claims and conspiracy theories about the federal response to Hurricane Helene — spread most prominently by Donald Trump — are “demoralizing” aid workers and creating fear in people who need recovery assistance.
“It’s frankly ridiculous, and just plain false.
This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people,” said Deanne Criswell, who leads the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “It’s really a shame that we’re putting politics ahead of helping people, and that’s what we’re here to do. We have had the complete support of the state,” she said, referring to North Carolina.
Republicans, led by the former president, have helped foster a frenzy of misinformation over the past week among the communities most devastated by Helene, promoting a number of false claims, including that Washington is intentionally withholding aid to people in Republican areas.
“FEMA absolutely has enough money for Helene response right now,” Keith Turi, acting director of FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery said. He noted that Congress recently replenished the agency with $20 billion, and about $8 billion of that is set aside for recovery from previous storms and mitigation projects.
💩💩💩💩FEMA NEEDS TO GET THEIR STORY STRAIGHT.
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I immediately was suspicious of Mayorkas' announcement about not enough $$$. They're always scheming...and full of shit.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas faces a new firestorm of criticism for claiming FEMA is out of disaster funds right as the DHS' Inspector General released a report saying FEMA is sitting on at least $8.3 billion in untapped, unspent funds.
The IG report also notes that FEMA officials extend spending programs based on "subjective" criteria and that "as a result, the potential risk for fraud, waste, and abuse increases the longer a program remains open."
