• Font Size    

In Case You Missed It ...

RAW VIDEO: 100-Mile Police Chase
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Galveston Mayor Says FEMA Needs To Be Revamped

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +   
Mar 4, 2009 8:47 am US/Central

Galveston Mayor Says FEMA Needs To Be Revamped

GALVESTON (AP) ― The Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster assistance protocols should be revamped so areas suffering as a result of Hurricane Ike can get the aid they need faster, Galveston Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas told a House Homeland Security subcommittee.

Thomas told Congress Tuesday that applications for aid had accumulated at FEMA without action and that the agency had demanded documents to support claims from people who had lost everything. Thomas asked Congress to cut red tape and speed federal assistance to thousands of people who lost their homes to Hurricane Ike nearly six months ago.

A federal report last month said 13,000 families in Galveston County were unable to return home and, according to the Gulf Coast Homeless Coalition, nearly 600 people remain homeless from the devastating hurricane that struck last September. Just 35 percent of businesses have reopened.

Thomas also testified that the agency had attempted to force the city to pay a $3 million bill from a private contractor for setting up a Red Cross tent city.

"For areas hurt as badly as Galveston, the normal rules for recovery are often insufficient. This entire program needs to be revamped," Thomas said in Tuesday's online edition of the Houston Chronicle.

FEMA spokesman David Garratt defended the agency's handling of hurricane relief without addressing the issues raised by the mayor. FEMA funnels funds through the states where bottlenecks occur, he said. Progress has been made but "a number of unique and significant hurdles remain," Garratt said.

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, chairman of the House Homeland Security subcommittee, has called for a report of changes wanted by Galveston officials and others, within 30 days.

But Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the Homeland Security Committee that oversees Cuellar<s panel, said he was convinced "we can improve accountability and streamline the red tape."

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

CBS11TV.com Extra: Hurricane Ike Video Collection

© MMIX, CBS Stations Group of Texas L.P. All Rights Reserved.