FEMA Still Providing Poor Service To Citizens

We all know about the pitifully inadequate response FEMA initially made when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, and virtually destroyed New Orleans. Most of us thought that after the public humiliation FEMA suffered over this, they would get their act together and actually start helping the victims. But has this happened?

In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, 2.6 million households applied for disaster assistance. The 18-month mandated cut-off for aid is fast approaching, and so far, only about 4700 families have gotten the full disaster assistance capped at $26,200. This is less than 1/4 of 1% of the households that applied.

This is an astoundingly small number, especially since those who applied tended to be poorer, less-insured and have a higher jobless rate than most Americans.

I have to agree with Sheila Crowley of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, when she says, "I cannot name another circumstance when so many public servants have worked so hard to provide such dehumanizing and shoddy service to citizens who were entitled to basic help and deserved fundamental respect." The coalition is pushing for the government to extend the 18-month cut-off period.

There are many reasons why FEMA's service has been so inadequate. FEMA has an antiquated computer system. FEMA has required applicants to provide proof of house payments, even though that proof was washed away in the flood. FEMA has required applicants to meet with officials in New Orleans, even though they may have been evacuated to locations hundreds of miles away.

FEMA seems to have an endless list of excuses for why they have failed. But they have still failed in their obligations, and continue to fail even today.

Personally, I think their biggest failure is due to their attitude. FEMA director R. David Paulison said, "No good deed goes unpunished. We felt like we did a good job."

A good job of doing what? It certainly wasn't [and isn't] a good job of helping Katrina and Rita victims. This guy seems to be carrying on a tradition of incompetence established by "Brownie" right after the disaster hit.

And listen to this bit of nonsense by Bush apologist Ronald D. Utt of the Heritage Foundation. He said, "From a human suffering point of view, I think it's good news [that most households have been dropped from consideration], a lot of people have simply found it easier to stay where they are, which are probably places of greater opportunity than New Orleans."

He assumes that because people cannot afford to return due to the abysmal failures of FEMA, that they must not want to go home. What a dunce! This reminds me of Barbara Bush remarking that the children evacuated from New Orleans must be having a good time. Do any of these right-wingers even try to understand?

The Bush administration has screwed up the disaster relief from the very start. It is starting to look like they simply don't want to help these people.