FEMA recalls workers to prepare for Tropical Storm Karen
Washington (CNN) - The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Thursday it is recalling some furloughed workers to help prepare for Tropical Storm Karen, expected to strike the Gulf Coast this weekend.
About 86 percent of the agency's staff was furloughed Monday due to funding issues associated with the government shutdown.
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To Texans' dismay, feds deny additional aid after fertilizer plant explosions
(CNN) - The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied additional aid tied to deadly explosions at a Texas fertilizer plant, a decision ripped Wednesday by local and state officials who accused President Barack Obama of having "gone against his word."
FEMA's administrator informed Gov. Rick Perry in a letter Monday that it was denying a request to declare West, Texas - the small town where an April 17 fire led to simultaneous blasts at a fertilizer distribution facility, killing 15 and decimating homes, businesses and more within 37 blocks - a "major disaster" area. The letter noted Obama had previously issued an emergency declaration and other measures that paved the way for some direct federal assistance.
FULL STORY Majority want federal funds for disasters, regardless of cost
Washington (CNN) - Nearly six in ten Americans say the federal government should provide funds to states slammed by natural disasters without having to cut spending in other areas of the budget, according to a new national poll.
Fifty-nine percent of people questioned in a Washington Post/Pew Research Center survey released Wednesday say federal emergency aid does not need to be offset by cuts elsewhere in the budget, as some GOP lawmakers have urged. Nearly seven in ten Democrats, 57% of independents, and even 52% of Republicans questioned agree.
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House passes $50 billion-plus Sandy aid package
Washington (CNN) – Lawmakers in the House of Representatives approved measures Tuesday to send more than $50 billion in aid to the Northeastern states ravaged by Superstorm Sandy last fall, though some conservatives in the House were pushing for spending cuts that would offset the cost of the recovery package.
The final bill passed 241-180, with 49 Republicans voting for the measure. The package now heads to the Senate.
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Obama signs scaled-back Sandy aid bill
Washington (CNN) – President Barack Obama signed into law Sunday a $9.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package following delays over fiscal cliff bickering, warnings of dwindling federal funds and swirling controversy over millions of dollars for unrelated projects.
The measure passed the House on Friday, 354-67. The Senate approved the measure unanimously and without debate. The new law includes more than $9 billion to help the government pay flood insurance claims.
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Congress approves scaled-back Sandy aid bill
(CNN) - Congress approved a $9.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package on Friday following delays over fiscal cliff bickering, warnings of dwindling federal funds and swirling controversy over millions of dollars for unrelated projects.
The measure passed the House, 354-67. The Senate did so unanimously and without debate.
FULL STORYRand Paul: FEMA is 'inefficient'
(CNN) - Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky held firm on his stance Thursday that local government provides better service when disaster strikes than the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
This summer, the Republican senator made headlines when he held up a bill re-authorizing the National Flood Insurance Program by attaching a non-related "personhood" amendment that called for defining life as beginning at conception.
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Obama visits FEMA ahead of New Jersey trip
(CNN) - President Barack Obama visited the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Washington Wednesday morning ahead of his trip to New Jersey to assess storm damage with the state's governor.
Obama last visited FEMA on Sunday ahead of the storm, which damaged huge swaths of the East Coast.
Romney speaks with FEMA
Davenport, Iowa (CNN) - Mitt Romney spoke Monday with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Administration and the National Weather Service as Hurricane Sandy slammed into the U.S. East Coast.
Romney joined the representatives from the agencies, as well as officials from the Department of Homeland Security, on a 20-minute phone call at 4 p.m. ET while the GOP nominee was in Davenport, Iowa for an event, according to campaign spokesman Kevin Madden.
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House approves short-term funding plan
(CNN) - A short-term spending measure to fund the federal government into next week won approval Thursday from the U.S. House and now goes to President Barack Obama's desk.
The measure was part of a bipartisan agreement intended to end a dispute over disaster relief spending that threatened to cause a partial shutdown of the government when the current fiscal year ends at midnight Friday.
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