The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has less than 10% of its front-line personnel available for deployment as it prepares for the second major hurricane to hit the Southeast this month, according to its daily operational summary.
FEMA Publish daily briefing on Wednesday As preparations continue for Hurricane Milton, which is expected to hit Florida in the coming days, the agency has revealed that it currently has only 8% (1,115) of FEMA employees available. This number represents a significant drop in availability compared to previous years. Management briefing session from late September 2023 Government agencies were shown to have 20% of the same staff available for deployment.
A FEMA spokesperson indicated to Fox News Digital that the availability numbers released by FEMA only refer to the cadre of employees who are part of FEMA's core competency of incident management. They are the first FEMA personnel dispatched during any disaster.
Meanwhile, a FEMA spokesperson noted that FEMA has a total of 22,000 employees available and resources from other agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security.
Concerns about FEMA's front-line staffing come amid other concerns about FEMA's response to Hurricanes Helen and Milton. Among them: FEMA spending money on housing for immigrants; Block the distribution of civilian relief supplies Prohibits entry to areas of North Carolina affected by Helen.
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Government Accountability Office (GAO) in May 2023 A report has been published This means that as of the start of fiscal year 2022, FEMA is 35% understaffed, with an overall shortfall of approximately 6,200 people. According to the GAO, FEMA officials attributed the staffing shortage to “increased burnout and attrition due to COVID-19 liability and managing increased disaster activity during the year.” .
The split shows Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and North Carolina residents following the storm. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Mario Tama/Getty Images)
With Hurricane Helen devastating and deadly across the South, FEMA is under intense pressure to deliver aid to those in need. In its latest update on FEMA staffing numbers, the agency said it has more than 5,600 employees from across the federal workforce, including more than 1,500 from FEMA. Additionally, the agency has shipped more than 11.5 million meals, 12.6 million liters of water, 150 generators and more than 400,000 tarps to the region, while providing more than $45 million in “flexible advances.” He said he was assisting thousands of Helena survivors. “Funding.
Despite the current staffing shortage, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorks He made the claim in an interview with MSNBC. He said Americans “should be confident that FEMA has the resources” needed to recover from Helen and prepare for Milton.
“We have search and rescue teams. We have the Army Corps of Engineers. We're ready,” Mayorkas said of Florida, referring to federal preparations for Milton. “FEMA likes to say, ‘FEMA is flexible.’ We can respond to multiple events at once.”
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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas spoke during the daily press briefing at the White House.
But despite his optimistic response to FEMA's funding concerns, Mayorkas said in a formal press conference last week that “FEMA does not have the funds to get us through this crisis.” [hurricane] season. “
Questions about FEMA funding are further exacerbated by suggestions that FEMA was giving disaster relief payments to migrants. FEMA is sending aid to migrants, but the money is part of the Shelter and Services Program and remains separate from disaster relief funds. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) acknowledged that the money is part of a separate program unrelated to disaster relief, but believes the agency should not be involved in the immigration crisis. He said there was.
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“The funding is different, and of course that's not a false statement,” Johnson told Fox News' Shannon Bream. “But the problem is with the American people, and their frustration is that FEMA should be involved.”
There were also widespread concerns that private aid providers were being prevented from accessing affected areas in North Carolina. “Some of the reports I've received through some of my contacts who are trying to provide assistance are saying that there are special requirements from FEMA to get into these specific areas. ” Joe Leake said, Vice president of emergency response company My Patriot Supply.
Before Helen made landfall, Congress passed a stopgap spending bill that included funding for FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund, but excluded billions of dollars in additional disaster funding that had been requested. on friday, President Biden wrote a letter to Congress. He called for additional funding because “FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund has the funds needed now to meet immediate needs, but faces a funding gap at the end of the year.”
Chairman Mike Johnson spoke to Fox News Digital after touring areas in Florida and Georgia affected by Hurricane Helen. (Getty Images)
“Without additional funding, FEMA will need to forego long-term recovery efforts to meet immediate needs,” Biden added. “To avoid forcing such unnecessary trade-offs and to give confidence to the communities we serve that assistance continues in the short and long term, Congress requires FEMA to Additional resources should be provided.”
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When pressed about reconvening the House of Commons for a special session to approve additional funding, Johnson said that FEMA currently has the necessary funds and that to approve additional funding Congress must He suggested that it would be necessary to request a tally of the amount provided.
Asked whether he planned to reconvene, Prime Minister Johnson said: “The way the process works is that the states and local authorities come together, assess the damage, send that to the federal authorities, and that's how everything moves forward.'' ” he answered. Congress on this issue. “It's going to take some time to tally this storm. This is one of the largest storms in our history. So there's a lot of work being done right away. Perhaps the timing is right for Congress. I think that will be the case when the election is expected to be held shortly after. ”
