US Lawmakers Told FEMA an "Army of Bureaucrats"

[Louisiana1976]

GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — The mayor of a Texas town slammed by Hurricane Ike told federal lawmakers Friday that although residents were grateful for the government's help to rebuild homes and businesses, it was at times like working with an "army of bureaucrats."

Federal lawmakers heard testimony from residents and officials during a meeting in Galveston about long delays in getting help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other government groups or seeing their claims rejected. A local FEMA official said he also was sometimes frustrated by the process.

Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas said the agency was friendly and helpful but also described it as "the nay-saying, penny pinching FEMA that stands in the way of all the help FEMA is supposedly there to provide." Thomas said it was similar to an "army of bureaucrats."

State Rep. Craig Eiland, D-Galveston, had similar sentiments: "It's always important for FEMA to remember that the 'E' in their name stands for emergency and not eventually."

Brad Harris, FEMA's Texas federal coordinating officer for Hurricane Ike, said he also was frustrated at times. He said some regulations prevented him from giving affected communities all the different types of help they requested.

But he said the agency has done much good, including disbursing $1.4 billion in aid and providing housing assistance to 31,000 people.

"I think we've done a hell of a job. I really do," Harris said.

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more....http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/6637861.html

[bertman]

1. It's very important for FEMA to move quickly to help the stricken, but it's equally important

for FEMA to be deliberate and to take the time to ensure that people aren't abusing (ripping off) the system. It's a delicate balancing act, especially when people have lost their homes and their lives are totally disrupted.

I have family (in-laws) who live on the Gulf Coast. New Orleans, Bay St. Louis, Gulf Shores. They got lambasted. They also got FEMA help--eventually--but not awfully late. When I spoke with them about their experiences they told me that the government was being taken for a ride BIG TIME by locals who were double-dipping and lying about their losses. I was shocked. These folks are Obama Democrats so they are pro-government but they were not happy with the level of fraud and misspent dollars after Katrina.

Of course, there were other things they talked about too, but this thread is about FEMA and its speed of response.