FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and FEMA Deputy Administrator Rich Serino
With this week's deadly storm as a backdrop, there's been a fair amount of interest in Mitt Romney's plans for FEMA's future. Just last year, the Republican said he intends to effectively close FEMA's doors, turning over authority for emergency response to states and the private sector.
At a public event on Tuesday, Romney was asked 11 times by reporters whether he'd keep FEMA intact if elected president, and 11 times, the candidate ignored the question. It took a while, but yesterday, his campaign issued a written statement with the Republican's position.
"I believe that FEMA plays a key role in working with states and localities to prepare for and respond to natural disasters," Romney said in a statement supplied by his campaign Wednesday. "As president, I will ensure FEMA has the funding it needs to fulfill its mission, while directing maximum resources to the first responders who work tirelessly to help those in need, because states and localities are in the best position to get aid to the individuals and communities affected by natural disasters."
At a minimum, this is preferable to the candidate blowing off the question altogether. But the written statement from aides -- why Romney wouldn't say this out loud is unclear -- leaves key questions unanswered.
For example, why is it that Romney now believes FEMA should get "the funding it needs," but last year, he said "we cannot afford" to fully fund the agency? Other than the calendar, what's changed?
What's more, the budget plan Romney endorsed would mean at least a 34% cut to FEMA's budget. Has the Republican candidate changed his mind about this, too, or does he stand by his previous commitment?
And let's also not forget that GOP policymakers over the last two years have said they only intend to fund disaster relief if they can cut a comparable amount of spending elsewhere in the budget. Would a Romney/Ryan administration operate with this principle in mind?
The election is five days away. The answers to these questions matter.
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The Republican Plan is to "Privatize Everything".
With more and more Americans unable to even meet Maslow's Hierarchy of BASIC Needs, where will the money come from?
-The phrase "Blood from a stone" comes to mind. . .
Romney is at heart a corporate oriented business person. If he favors "privatizing" something it is strictly because he sees a potential to make significant profits from that activity for himself or his fellow 1%ers. As with "for profit" prisons, the overall effect of the privatization is of no concern to him, just the profit.
Romney doesn't care what this does to the vast majority of Americans as long as he and his patrons profit. The vast majority of Americans exist only as background noise to Romney. I suspect when he announced to his "friends" that it wasn't his job to worry about 47% of the population he understated the case...99% would have been a more accurate figure.
Odin save us from this creature.
"The Republican Plan is to "Privatize Everything"."And then overcharge for it.
When people are forced to pay for the most basic needs for survival they will pay almost anything.
The phrase "Greed is good" comes to mind
Another question never asked...to whom all this privatization be going...
Here is a partial list of billionaires to whome Mitt Romney will owe his presidential allegiance, the energy companies alone look like those binders in Dick Cheney's office.
Hurricane Sandy, and the response by FEMA and the candidates, IS this year's October Surprise.
Sometimes the surprise is some "dirt" one campaign digs up on the other. Sometimes it is a maneuver by the incumbent ("Peace is at hand" in Vietnam, 1972). But sometimes it is an event that no one expected, and the response by the candidates, which is the surprise.
When Romney loses next Tuesday (and he will), the GOP pundits will claim it was due to the unfair way in which Obama used the trappings of office in order to "look presidential" in response to Hurricane Sandy.
I think it is equally instructive to look at how Romney responded. A photo-op food drive that the Red Cross did not want.
Sometimes it takes things going bad for us to remember that the federal government does good things. Surprise, surprise.
That's the philosophy of conservatives the world over. The UK Tory party receives funding from private medical insurance firms and regularly hand out health care contracts to them to run our supposed 'National Health Service'. The conservatives are slowly & methodically selling off a treasured national institution that, because it's of benefit to the poorer members of society, they've always loathed.
Dispicable sleeze...
The Republican Plan is to "Privatize Everything".
Well, what's the point of doing something, if nobody makes a profit from it?
911: "911 emergency dispatch. What's your emergency?"
Caller: "Help! I'm trapped by the rising water."
911: "M'am, what is your credit card number?"
"I'm Mitt R'money and I support this message." Paid for by Citizens to Privatize All Public Services.
There is not a single expert, pundit or pollster -- let alone an average voter -- who can decipher Mitt Romney's real position on any issue of substance out of the web of lies, exaggerations and contradictory statements that the GOP nominee has spewed all year long. The choice coming down the stretch this election is crystal clear. Romney wants the country to fend for itself, using the 50 percent of Americans he deems worthless as a spigot for wealth to flow to the super-rich. Killing FEMA is the worst example of Romney's skewed ideology. He wants ordinary Americans to literally drag themselves out of floodwaters and rebuild their communities with no help from the government that they pay taxes to keep in operation. This is insanity. - progressive
I believe that FEMA plays a key role in working with states and localities to prepare for and respond to natural disasters...I will ensure FEMA has the funding it needs to fulfill its mission, while directing maximum resources to the first responders who work tirelessly to help those in need, because states and localities are in the best position to get aid to the individuals and communities affected by natural disasters.
Hmmmm....Let's tease this out a little. Just for fun, I googled FEMA's mission:
FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
Wow - Sure sounds like they're on the same page.
I'll go out on a limb and suggest that Romney thinks that "The funding FEMA needs" is a whole lot less than the funding FEMA thinks it needs. And when those former FEMA dollars get handed out to the states, it'll be the voucher system all over again, where the GOP hands you a check, shakes your hand, and wishes you luck now that you're on your own.
.
In the end, won't Mr. Romney make FEMA......EMA? Or SEMA?( S- State) or more likely PEMA? (P -Private)?
Romney would probably make it ENEMA. Need I say more?
We dont have to worry about Mitts stance on anything because he is not going to get elected.
but doesn't the fact that the polls are so close mean that about half the voters don't care that this man has no substance? Doesn't that bother you?
It frightens the crap out of me!
Agreed!
That's what so worrisome for me also. How can so many women want to vote for this POS? That is, if you can believe the polls which I don't since they are "all over the map". I suppose that people don't remember what Mitt says from one day to the next - or they just don't care and they dislike Obama so much, they would vote a jackass in to replace him? Is it because he's black? I don't like to play the race card (I'm white), but it truly puzzles me and I can think of no other reason for the hatred of the President.
Mitt Romney is a professional speculator . Gambling is what he does . If you expect a millionaires son who has achieved a sort of success to modify behaviors to fit into a set of notions , don't hold yer breath .
Up up and away noble gambler
Don't think twice about yer promises
Its alright
Actually, no. If you look at his history, all of his deals are set up as sure things. He might win a little and he might win a lot, but they're structured so that any losses are borne by someone else.
Romney has never risked any of his own money. When he started Bain, he was given money by his boss, the original Bain. Used his boss's money, got the company running, was given a guarantee by his boss that if the company failed, he'd still have his cushy job. So, he really hasn't risked anything and made his money off of other people's misfortune. Great guy, huh? I didn't think so.
Actually, it was Latin American money connected to Death Squads that funded Bain under Romney:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/08/mitt-romney-death-squads-bain_n_1710133.html
It is estimated that $21-32 trillion is hidden off-shore. A one time 20-30% surtax on this money would ease some of the economic struggles world wide. Each following year the surtax can be adjusted based on the amount of that money that is spent in the country of origin. The more one spends, the less the tax.
Having 50 FEMA's with a weak coordination agency is a recipe for a disaster. You can easily see a situation where wealthier states divert flood waters to poorer states, or police guard bridges to prevent people from poor neighborhoods from escaping to upper crust neighborhoods. Oh, wait... Am I sensing Deja Vu?
I'm not worried that Romster will be elected. What worries me is that it (appears) very close, that I have to be concerned about rigged voting machines, and that nearly half the populace buys into this shyster.
Tony this is my concern also and that with all of his lies people are still beating a path to the voting booths to vote for him. It doesn't make any sense from where I stand!!
All you have to remember is 1) this is the country that voted George W. Bush at least once legally, and 2) this is what you get over the long term when a country's educational system goes into decline.
Please, VOTE and get others to vote so we can cancel out all the idiots.
He wants to be elected. That's why he's saying this. If he does get elected (please, God, NO!) he will probably shut FEMA's doors. He is a LIAR after all.
Please don't feed the trolls. They're only on here to fight.
You know what Romney DID say, linksys1000?
http://youtu.be/oqXk5XxHKx8
No, Romney never said he would shut FEMA's door, he merely said he would transfer the responsibility to the STATE level or better yet...privatize it. Now lets look into these two solutions he provided:
As with everything else Romney proposes or say, the thought is never complete and the math just don't add up. But who cares about counting or thinking it through while we have such important stuff to take down like Big Bird and family's access to contraception, right?
Can anyone say Halliburton?
I am a happy middle-class retiree, and would like to be able to enjoy the rest of my natural life, not having to be concerned about someone who doesn't care about the 47%-I do pay taxes, even if Gov. Romney assumes I don't. Why in the world does anyone need to have so much money,and to be dishonest about it? Just remember, all of these uber rich folks can't take it with them, and they will be judged by their actions when the time comes.
Privatizing? Another Bush is on it!
http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/content/jeb-bush-forms-new-company-and-gets-privatized-disaster-response-business
T% thing is out of control. Who ever said that Romney doesn't care about the 47%??? He just said that the 47% would vote Obama...is this a lie???? Would they vote for Romney? For years they have been told that the Democrats are the party they should vote for because they have the compassion to throw money their way..I think not...ditto for Unions, unfotunately MY union is one of them. i get crap from them for obama 3-4 times a week, all paid for with MY dues....
He said "...it's not my job to worry about them. I'll never convince them to take responsibility or care for their own lives.", does that sound like caring to you?
Hey, Rachel: I know you are fond of crunching (useful) numbers and creating greatly (informative) graphics on your show; so am I. I suggest the following: Has anyone made a guesstimate of what the cuts in pubic service employees (to date) has cost the areas affected by Hurricane Sandy? In other words, how many more hands might have been on board for this disaster had those cuts not been made?
Part 2: What would FEMA look like under the Romney-Ryan budget and how much would THAT FEMA be hampered in fighting this disaster?
This might make for interesting numbers and conjecture as well as a wake-up call.
Yours in the struggle.
Ooops! Sorry for mis-spelling public.
OK everybody, let's all vote. GOTV.
By the way the Democratic party called me last night to make sure I know where my polling place is and I am going to vote. How many of you have been contacted?
I keep getting called by the RNC in a county that I haven't lived in in 11 years. AND, I was a registered Democrat. They are really desperate and pathetic. I guess they think that because I'm white I'll vote for Romney? NOT IN A MILLION, BILLION, TRILLION YEARS!!
...states and localities are in the best position to get aid to the individuals and communities affected by natural disasters.
Does that mean that the National Guard units and state emergency crews now headed to New York and New Jersey from Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts should turn around and go home? Somehow I don't think Ocean County, NJ is in such a good "position" to help its own citizens right now.
people thought Willard was going to actually answer a direct question?
silly people
For months I've been thinking; this man is supposed to be a Christian (as Mormonism defines itself). How does he justify to himself all of lying he has done and will continue to do up until Election Day? Isn't honesty one of the highest forms of morality in ANY religion? Is it an 'ends justifies the means' scenario...perhaps authorized by his Bishops (along with a secret handshake)?
I honestly just don't get it...and I don't get that he will get the vast majority of the evangelical vote. They know he has lied, too. It's been proven time and again.
How does anyone from the self-proclaimed God Party justify themselves? That aura of purchased sainthood drifts around them like a wafting wind of stale next-morning perfume, leaving the rest of us gasping for fresh air.
One of the mistakes we make is to look at Romney's religion from our point of view rather than trying to see ourselves (and our religion) from their point of view. Consider the Reformation. Aside from the Protestant and Catholic elements there were different brands of each group. And each brand felt it was the one true religion and everyone else was wrong or outsiders or agents of Satan etc. Well, I believe that is exactly the way the Mormon Church views all other religions, traditional Christianity. And those outside the embrace of the "One True Faith" are fair game...cheat them, lie to them, kill them; it is all good because their mythology is wrong.
Interesting thing about the evangelicals. They will support a white, male Cultist over a Black male Christian. Did you ever wonder about that? I don't because I live in the South. I know that skin color trumps religion ever day when us crackers are being real.
Romney hasn't said that--A press release is nothing,he's been asked 12 times and had the chance to go on video/audio he didn't say a word.When time change and things change,he would tell you,he wasn't the who wrote that stuff.We should know better by now.
I wish Obama would make a closing statements on lessons learned from this campaign season and all the disasters that have stroke the US since he took office i.e from BP oil spill to Sandy.
Stressing the importance of governing and public good.Romney claims that he was a moderate in MA are not true.
-The only thing Romney believes strongly is that privatizing everything is "good".
It’s really hard to think of a public service less likely to be suitable for privatization, if you think privatizing rescue agency is the right thing,you are not far from privatizing public parks,national forests,roads etc.We can see evidence of this model of society in Romney term in office. Romney proposed 33 new fees(more than anywhere else in the country) along with increases in 57 existing fees, resulting in higher costs for birth certificates, new car purchases, driver’s learning permits, firearms permits, professional licenses, and billboards advertising, as well as for many state services. He also increased a state gasoline fee.Even some conservatives were critical of this method.But if you run a state like a private business,this makes sense.
He talks of the Olympics,but Romney's fails to mention that it cost the taxpayers of US five times the previous four olympics combined.With this kind of money,you don't need to be an expert in what you want to to,because you can pay them to do the job for you.
To summarize,i'd say Romney is not a leader,he may be a manager,but Our country is not a business that's controlled by an outside manager whose sole responsibility is to manage funds and generate profits.
To privatize FEMA is a sure fire way to have people make a lot of money off the pain and distress of a lot of people in a very difficult/deadly situation. I do not approve of this. FEMA must be funded to its' fullest and run by the government because no state can afford the cost of the devastation NJ and NY faces. ROMNEY IS WRONG!
At first, it seemed implausible that a candidate could get away with shunning reporters in a national election (let alone, one for President of the USA and Commander-in-Chief of the US armed forces). Now, it's getting scary. Not because he still won't answer, but because so many people consider it a minor flaw to be tolerated as long as it gets the other guy out of office!
Despite the irrefutable evidence that Mitt Romney's a bad manager, would do harm on the geopolitical stage, and doesn't concern himself with a resolute stance on anything (I bet you could get him to admit that rich Mormons who know French are un-American and need to be removed from our sight, given a long enough election season); Mr. Romney is even showing us he's just terrible at business! Don't get me wrong, he's great at making money. But understanding business? I call b.s. on him.
How can a Harvard Business graduate with 25 years in "business" not know how to read a Bloomberg News article, or not have the basic math skills to understand the damage (and impossibility) of his proposed economics "plan?"
I'd dread the idea that he is so callous, cynical, and dismissive of the electorate he can say these things knowing perfectly well how bad it sounds. I don't know which he's doing (being stupid, or being evil) but I hope the electorate wakes up and realizes that ousting Mr. Obama is not worth the suffering so many Americans will face once this far-right agenda is given the green light.
Concur. The idea of moving into an age of increased environmental instability with a President who's only idea of human compassion is tax-breaks for his fellow billionaires is horrifying.
The poor aren't going away with Romney's gutting America's safety nets.
Climate change isn't going away with Romney's cutting FEMA.
The sick and the elderly aren't going away with Romney's privatizing health care.
Global upheaval isn't going away just because Romney's finger is on the button.
States aren't going to have any bigger budgets no matter what costs and expenses Romney tosses onto their backs...
But hey, Mitt is white. On the outside at least...
I just wonder, why does the Repulican Party alway said get rid of. I feel that a fix it solution would be of better use.
It's interesting, Linksys1000, that while you use the word facts repeatedly, you have not implemented even one yourself. The only real assertion you have made is that the President will lose the election, and even that is not currently supportable with any evidence.
However, Romney's various contradictory statements concerning FEMA are a matter of public record, supported by video and direct quotes, as are the many times in the past few days that he refused to even address direct questions about his record. He finally issued a generic and sadly inconclusive statement that leaves him lots of room to do....well, pretty much anything he wants to, should he be elected. You asked for facts, even though you refuse to supply any yourself. Those are facts. Now, be a big boy and answer with some verifiable facts yourself(about THIS issue, and please, leave the word socialist out, it's really getting tiring) or run along back to Righty unreality land, where your opinions will be cheered on without question. Don't bother the adults again unless you have something substantial to say.
Romney sees dollar signs everywhere for all his rich supporters. There is opportunity in making money in everything even saving lives. But wait, saving lives is not about making money, its about a moral imperative, that a life cannot have a dollar amount placed on it. To try to privatize FEMA and other services is to try to take that moral imperative and ignore it. It says to people your life has a money value attached to it. We are better then that, but apparently Romney isn't.
Vote Rmoney! Vote no relief for your lower-middle class white stupid ass that can't make ends meet anyway in the face of unforeseen disaster, Yea!!
-Paid for by the Really Great Ideas Super PAC and the Committee for Wealthy Amercians*! (Yea!)
Why do we even pay attention to the statements he issues? if he changes his mind, he changes his mind. I lived with a pathalogical lier for many years and learned that you just have to tell yourself not to believe anything that comes out of their mouth. If, by some weird chance, they were telling the truth -- oh well -- it was more likely that they weren't and you gotta go with the odds
If you want an example of how private organizations deal with disasters, you only need look at how the oil industry dealt with the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
Only a government organisation can afford to keep enough resources sitting waiting and planning for a disaster of this magnitude.
You can't run a government like a business, sometimes it has to spend money on things no company would dream of spending money on simply because it has to have the resources available when they are needed. Only a government can command armed forces to go in and act as humanitarian aid. How would a private company request the help of an aircraft carrier if it needed it's desalinization plants for a disaster. The US navy would not take orders from "Disaster Inc". It would be a logistical nightmare.
The reason FEMA works the way it does is because it spends millions of dollars preparing for and improving after every disaster.
I for one find it repulsive that a company would want to be in the business of making a profit off this scale of disaster. Can you imagine share holders rubbing their hands and the company share price goes up because a hurricane or earthquake just hit a large city.
If a governor or senator believes the people don't need FEMA, put their state on a black list. If they get hit, they don't get help. I don't think those elected officials would stay elected for long.
I think you have to read his statement very carefully. It doesn't really contradict what he said before. He claims it will receive "the funding it needs," which is going to be by his definitiion. It still sounds as though he plans to dump most of the responsibility on the states.
My thoughts exactly, it leaves a lot of unanswered questions...what will FEMA's role be? Where is the funding coming from? What will the "states and localities" role be? How much will be left up to them? How and when will the money be distrubuted and who will be in charge of it?
That statement is very vague.