| |
Trump OKs Disaster Appeals for 7 States04/13 06:05
(AP) -- The Trump administration approved major disaster declaration
requests for at least seven states this week, according to information released
Saturday by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, allowing affected
communities to access federal support. About 15 requests for assistance from
others states and tribes for extreme weather events this year and last seem to
be pending, along with three appeals of previous denials.
Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota and Washington
were granted major disaster declarations, which can unlock federal support and
funding for recovery needs such as public infrastructure repairs and aid for
survivors.
The announcement, in a FEMA daily briefing document, comes weeks into
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin's tenure overseeing the disaster
relief agency and is the latest signal that the former Republican senator from
Oklahoma could ease some of the turmoil from the leadership of his predecessor,
Kristi Noem, who was fired by President Donald Trump in March.
Nonetheless, FEMA's work could be undermined by the ongoing DHS shutdown,
now eight weeks long. While disaster response and recovery can continue through
a shutdown because FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund does not lapse, that money is
running low as the funding impasse drags on. The DHS appropriations bill would
replenish the fund with more than $26 billion.
Mullin said Tuesday that he planned to brief Trump that day on the pending
declaration requests, affirming his intention to speed up work on past
disasters in the run-up to Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1.
"We're trying to push this stuff forward as fast as possible," Mullin said
after surveying Hurricane Helene recovery work in North Carolina on his first
official visit as DHS secretary, acknowledging that "disasters are happening
constantly."
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said Saturday that Trump responds to
such requests "with great care and consideration, ensuring American tax dollars
are used appropriately and efficiently by the states to supplement -- not
substitute -- their obligation to respond to and recover from disasters." She
said an administration goal is having state and local governments "invest in
their own resilience before disaster strikes, making response less urgent and
recovery less prolonged."
While Mullin assured fellow senators during his confirmation hearing that he
believed in FEMA's mission, the agency's future is uncertain. Trump has
expressed a desire to push more responsibility for disasters down to states.
The FEMA Review Council he appointed last year has not released a
recommendation report expected to include sweeping changes to how the federal
government supports disaster resilience, response and recovery.
It was not immediately clear whether other states or tribes had also been
told of approvals or denials that were not yet announced publicly. Hawaii
Governor Josh Green, a Democrat, said Wednesday said his state had received a
disaster declaration for devastating March flooding.
Trump also amended past disaster declarations for Tennessee and Mississippi,
adding more counties for individual assistance after a severe winter storm in
January.
Some communities have experienced unprecedented long waits for answers on
their disaster requests during Trump's second term. An analysis by The
Associated Press in September found approvals were taking more than a month on
average.
It took less than two weeks on average for a governor's disaster declaration
request to be granted by presidents in the 1990s and early 2000s. That rose to
about three weeks during the past decade under presidents from both major
parties.
Arizona has been waiting nearly three months for an answer to its appeal
after being denied support for severe storms and flooding that occurred in
September.
Some Democrat-led states have complained about being denied disaster
declarations despite proving need. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore called Trump's
decision "deeply frustrating" after the president twice denied the state's
request for support for May 2025 flooding despite a FEMA assessment showing
over $33 million in damages.
While FEMA assesses damage and uses a specific formula to analyze the
possible impact on states and local jurisdictions, disaster declarations are
ultimately at the president's discretion.
None of the approvals made this week includes hazard mitigation funding, a
once-typical add on to disaster declaration support that helped communities
build back with more resilience. Trump has not approved a hazard mitigation
request for more than a year.
|
|
