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Several states are battling blizzard conditions as the Federal Emergency Management Agency faces funding disruptions from the partial government shutdown. The Trump administration says, to conserve resources, FEMA will focus only on immediate disaster responses until Congress restores funding for the Department of Homeland Security. With no deal in sight, all non-emergency recovery work has been suspended, slowing down efforts to rebuild from past storms. “These actions reflect the reality of operating without appropriations. FEMA cannot continue normal recovery operations under these conditions and must prioritize only its most critical, life-saving responsibilities,” DHS said in a news release.Despite the funding lapse, DHS said federal officials coordinated closely with state and local authorities ahead of the winter storm that battered New England and the Mid-Atlantic this weekend. FEMA travel related to active disasters has not been cancelled, and critical survivor assistance will continue, according to the agency. Asked if the partial shutdown could delay the deployment of federal disaster assistance or the approval of disaster declarations, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement on Monday, “While FEMA is available to work directly with state jurisdictions before, during, and after these types of events to identify needs where supplemental federal assistance would be appropriate following a request from the governor, the Trump Administration has yet to receive any such requests from this winter storm.”The DHS funding lapse started more than a week ago. Democrats say it won’t end until Republicans agree to new restrictions on immigration enforcement. It remains to be seen if a compromise can be reached as lawmakers return to Capitol Hill this week following a recess in their home districts. The Trump administration has blamed Democrats for the mounting disruptions to FEMA’s non-emergency services. Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, called the disruptions “unnecessary and cruel.” “Kristi Noem is using the shutdown as an excuse to continue the Trump administration’s reduction of Federal funding in communities that need support and have suffered devastating disasters,” Thompson said in a statement on Monday. Sen. Andy Kim (D-New Jersey) told CNN on Sunday that there is still enough money in the Disaster Relief Fund for FEMA to continue its work. He argued that the Trump administration is intentionally causing pain for political leverage. FEMA and DHS didn’t respond to emailed questions about those accusations and the current balance of the Disaster Relief Fund. The scope of the service suspensions that DHS has announced is unusual for a shutdown, according to Jeff Schlegelmilch, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University. He said pausing long-term rebuilding efforts will have serious consequences for communities still reeling from past disasters. “It’s a massive disruption to that recovery process,” Schlegelmilch said. “We could easily be talking about thousands of projects that are impacted by this, perhaps more.”
Several states are battling blizzard conditions as the Federal Emergency Management Agency faces funding disruptions from the partial government shutdown.
The Trump administration says, to conserve resources, FEMA will focus only on immediate disaster responses until Congress restores funding for the Department of Homeland Security. With no deal in sight, all non-emergency recovery work has been suspended, slowing down efforts to rebuild from past storms.
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“These actions reflect the reality of operating without appropriations. FEMA cannot continue normal recovery operations under these conditions and must prioritize only its most critical, life-saving responsibilities,” DHS said in a news release.
Despite the funding lapse, DHS said federal officials coordinated closely with state and local authorities ahead of the winter storm that battered New England and the Mid-Atlantic this weekend. FEMA travel related to active disasters has not been cancelled, and critical survivor assistance will continue, according to the agency.
Asked if the partial shutdown could delay the deployment of federal disaster assistance or the approval of disaster declarations, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement on Monday, “While FEMA is available to work directly with state jurisdictions before, during, and after these types of events to identify needs where supplemental federal assistance would be appropriate following a request from the governor, the Trump Administration has yet to receive any such requests from this winter storm.”
The DHS funding lapse started more than a week ago. Democrats say it won’t end until Republicans agree to new restrictions on immigration enforcement. It remains to be seen if a compromise can be reached as lawmakers return to Capitol Hill this week following a recess in their home districts.
The Trump administration has blamed Democrats for the mounting disruptions to FEMA’s non-emergency services.
Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, called the disruptions “unnecessary and cruel.”
“Kristi Noem is using the shutdown as an excuse to continue the Trump administration’s reduction of Federal funding in communities that need support and have suffered devastating disasters,” Thompson said in a statement on Monday.
Sen. Andy Kim (D-New Jersey) told CNN on Sunday that there is still enough money in the Disaster Relief Fund for FEMA to continue its work. He argued that the Trump administration is intentionally causing pain for political leverage.
FEMA and DHS didn’t respond to emailed questions about those accusations and the current balance of the Disaster Relief Fund.
The scope of the service suspensions that DHS has announced is unusual for a shutdown, according to Jeff Schlegelmilch, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University. He said pausing long-term rebuilding efforts will have serious consequences for communities still reeling from past disasters.
“It’s a massive disruption to that recovery process,” Schlegelmilch said. “We could easily be talking about thousands of projects that are impacted by this, perhaps more.”
