With Florida recovering from recent hurricanes, questions remain surrounding FEMA and federal aid.
This month, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody sued FEMA’s administrator and a former FEMA supervisor. The lawsuit claims they conspired “to interfere with the civil rights of Florida citizens” following hurricanes Helene and Milton. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said in a statement the employee, who was fired after the incident, told her team not to go to homes with yard signs supporting President-elect Donald Trump.
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor discussed what happened with Tom Hudson on “The Florida Roundup.”
“FEMA is absolutely necessary to help us recover from the catastrophes that were hurricanes Helene and Milton, Castor said. "And that was an unfortunate incident, and I'm glad the FEMA administrator addressed it and dismissed that employee, but it's a very unwelcome distraction from the important work that is going on now on rebuilding and recovery.”
She said she doesn’t believe federal aid was withheld from storm victims in Florida with Trump signs in their yards.
“I've been impressed, actually, with the cooperation between all of our local communities, the state, and FEMA in preparation for the hurricanes, and now it's really up to Congress to focus on how we give FEMA, Small Business Administration, and our other agencies the hurricane recovery dollars that we're going to need to rebuild in a stronger way here across the Sunshine State,” Castor said.
Criswell has said funds for disaster relief are running out. President Joe Biden also sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson requesting $40 billion in funding for FEMA.
Castor said the odds of Congress taking up the spending before the end of the year are very good.
“These disasters and catastrophes, whether they're wildfires, floods, extreme events, are coming faster and they're more costly, so you have to have a functional Disaster Relief Fund to address impending disasters, so that FEMA has the funds to provide food, water, shelter when you have a disaster," Castor said.
She continued: “And then the larger issue for Floridians moving forward is making sure we pass a disaster supplemental appropriations bill that provides the resources for us to rebuild, for homeowners, for small businesses to be able to rebuild in a more resilient way.”
“These disasters and catastrophes, whether they're wildfires, floods, extreme events, are coming faster and they're more costly, so you have to have a functional Disaster Relief Fund to address impending disasters, so that FEMA has the funds to provide food, water, shelter when you have a disaster.”U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor
Castor emphasized the need to improve wastewater systems in the wake of recent storms.
“They overwhelm municipal sewage and water treatment systems. We had these very unfortunate pollution events that impacted the Tampa Bay area and the entire west coast of Florida. So we don't want to just rebuild water systems the way they were," Castor said. "We've got to modernize them with additional pump stations, backflow preventers and lift stations.”
She also said there are very serious issues with power outages.
“One of the reasons small businesses and the community was so hard hit in the aftermath of Milton was fuel disruption and power lines were down everywhere," Castor explained. "So we had many critical infrastructure entities like hospitals, emergency shelters, schools, wastewater systems, food banks that did not have power. So we have got to be able to fund modernization of the grid, new kind of microgrids, and solar battery systems that can play an important life-saving role and cost-saving role.”
She said she’s hopeful the Trump administration will understand the need for disaster relief funds, especially as the former president chooses Floridians for his cabinet.
“And I'd really encourage Floridians to talk to their policymakers in Washington and talk to them about the importance of rebuilding water systems and wastewater systems and electrical grids in a manner that protects the taxpayer dollar,” Castor said.
Recently, Trump selected Pam Bondi as his next pick for U.S. attorney general, shortly after Matt Gaetz withdrew. Bondi is Florida’s former attorney general.
“… I'm hopeful that AG designate Bondi appreciates that role to her, that she has. She answers first to the United States Constitution and to the citizens of this country and to the Justice Department,” Castor said. She added Bondi strongly supports and has good relationships with law enforcement.
This story was compiled off an interview conducted by Tom Hudson for “The Florida Roundup.”
