Money’s so short at the Federal Emergency Management Agency these days that it may soon declare an emergency of its own — to raise cash for the next disaster facing the United States.
That’s the upshot of a letter to Congress from FEMA Director W. Craig Fugate, who warns that relief funds are running dry and FEMA is poised to invoke an emergency exception to get around budget statutes and provide limited aid in the event of a new disaster.
The crisis, building for months, is an apt metaphor for many of the ills that beset this Congress. Much as President Barack Obama sees himself as a champion of big ideas, his administration keeps tripping over smaller, practical steps in everyday governance.
Republican obstructionism is surely a factor, but so, too, is the Democratic leadership’s failure — some would say political cuteness — about building in enough floor time on the legislative calendar.
The Senate allowed the estate tax to lapse in December under similar circumstances, costing the Treasury billions. Despite earlier promises, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) now fears that a must-pass war funding bill won’t clear Congress before Memorial Day.
The White House is not immune. As Obama demands more transparency from Wall Street, his administration is quietly running a disaster relief fund that would be insolvent already if FEMA were to pay the bills owed to states. Five years after Hurricane Katrina — which hurt his predecessor — it’s a growing embarrassment.
Fugate’s letter said that just $693 million remained in the disaster relief fund as of April 7. But $645 million is already owed to 47 states for past disasters; not counted is an additional $1.7 billion to meet settlements on federal payments owed to Gulf Coast state and city governments rebuilding hospitals and schools damaged by Katrina. - Politico Story
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