Top Democrats slam Noem over Texas flood response: ‘That’s abandonment’
Democrats Reps. Greg Stanton (Ariz.) and Gabe Amo (R.I.) slammed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday over the administration’s response to fatal flooding in Texas amid its efforts to cut disaster response, climate and weather agencies.
“They need to justify it. And I guarantee you here, they will not be able to defend these actions,” Amo said about the overhaul during the Thursday presser.
This past weekend, at least 120 people were killed and nearly 160 individuals remain missing in south-central Texas after flash flooding hit along the Guadalupe River.
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Stanton and Amo, the top Democrats on the subcommittees overseeing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), respectively, called on Noem and acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson to testify to Congress after the flooding spurred questions about the preparedness of the agencies.
“Gutting FEMA won’t make it more responsive, just like getting rid of it won’t make disaster response better; it lets communities fend for themselves in their darkest hour. That’s not reform. That’s abandonment,” Stanton said, echoing concerns from fellow Democrats.
Since his return to the White House, President Trump has enacted multiple cuts to key players in disaster management such as the National Weather Service (NWS) as well as NOAA in an effort to crack down on government spending and increase efficiency. Several federal workers have also departed FEMA amid cuts.
During the Texas flooding, two key positions at the Austin-San Antonio NWS office were vacant after one worker took a buyout offered by the administration earlier this year. The other person retired around the same time.
Noem has long called for the government to eliminate FEMA and doubled down on the view Wednesday, calling for it to be “remade” after the Texas floods, amid the administration’s budget cuts.
“FEMA can always do better,” Stanton said Thursday. “Stable and predictable funding from Congress would help them at least keep pace. Instead, this administration is deliberately cutting off resources.”
“It’s like slashing the tires on a fire truck and then complaining that it’s slow to arrive at the fire,” he continued.
Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin pushed back on Stanton and Amo’s characterization of the federal response, stating the administration “has taken an all-hands-on-desk approach” to recovery efforts.
“FEMA is shifting from bloated, DC-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief for their citizens” she said in a statement. “The old processes are being replaced because they failed Americans in real emergencies for decades.”
Stanton and Amo, along with Democratic Reps. Rick Larsen (Wash.) and Zoe Lofgren (Calif.), sent an oversight letter to Laura Grimm, the under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and acting NOAA administrator, and Richardson demanding answers about the government’s response by July 22.