NBC: Democratic senators demand answers from FEMA about firings, frozen funds
By Alexandra Marquez
A group of Democratic senators are demanding answers from acting Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Cameron Hamilton about why hundreds of FEMA staffers were fired last month.
“Our constituents … have experienced first-hand the shortcomings of the federal approach to disaster resilience and recovery. Instead of addressing their needs and concerns, the Trump Administration has taken a sledgehammer to the foundation of FEMA,” Sens. Peter Welch of Vermont, Alex Padilla of California, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Adam Schiff of California, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Chris van Hollen of Maryland wrote in a letter shared first with NBC News.
The letter included specific questions, like asking Hamilton whether FEMA conducted performance evaluations before they laid off staff, whether FEMA evaluated the impact of the firings on the “overall performance of FEMA operations” and asking for a list of positions that were eliminated in the agency under the Trump administration.
Democratic senators demand answers from FEMA about firings, frozen funds , continued
The senators also asked for answers about why the administration has halted the disbursements of certain FEMA grants, including grants for improving emergency alert systems and grants for enhancing emergency health care preparedness in their states.
“The Administration’s destructive approach will not assist the disaster-impacted communities across the country hoping to rebuild and move forward. To the contrary, it will leave the nation more vulnerable to future disasters and less prepared to pick up the pieces when the dust settles,” they wrote, asking Hamilton to transmit his answers back to the Senate by March 31.
Hamilton has led FEMA since the start of the Trump administration, but the president has not yet selected a nominee to take over as the official FEMA administrator. Early in his term, while touring hurricane recovery efforts in North Carolina, the president floated eliminating the agency completely.
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