Survivors Should Be Prioritized Over Politics

A Rebuttal to Senator Vance’s WSJ Opinion

JD Vance’s Wall Street Journal Opinion piece on Oct 8, contains misleading information and misinformation.  Moreover, it politicizes something that should be focused on survivors, not campaigns.  I retired from FEMA in May 2023.  I worked there for 15 years, under administrations from both parties.  Every day of those years I worked beside dedicated government employees who made personal, family, and financial sacrifices to serve others in their greatest time of need.  

Senator Vance stated, “A week went by while the citizens of North Carolina suffered without the equipment and soldiers needed to save lives and begin recovery.”  This narrow interpretation is misleading and incomplete.  Senator Vance only refers here to “active-duty military personnel.”  He fails to acknowledge the thousands of National Guard soldiers and equipment pre-staged and responding across multiple states.  As someone who served in both the Army and the National Guard, I know first-hand that the distinction does not matter to the survivor.

As far as FEMA is concerned, by Oct 3, federal disaster assistance was approved and available for survivors in designated counties in Florida, Georgia North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.  By the very next day, Oct 4, more than $45 million was already in the hands of survivors.  That assistance includes displacement, personal property, medical/dental, funeral, childcare… and so much more. These are essential human services.

And this factual information I present has been accomplished and vetted by career federal employees, both Republican and Democrat, who are focused on saving lives and protecting property.

Senator Vance implies that FEMA’s response, to include funding, has been negatively impacted by a directive to “reorient FEMA’s institutional focus away from U.S. citizens and toward aliens….”  Again, not true.  While politicians and citizens alike can debate border security and the national budget, it is a fact that FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) is a completely separate stream of funding, absolutely not connected or disrupted by border security in any way.  Furthermore, as reported by Newsweek, and in congressional records, “Last week, Congress approved $20 billion for FEMA’s disaster relief fund as part of a stopgap spending bill to fund the government through December 20. But the measure left out billions of dollars in requested supplemental disaster funding.  Republicans supplied the no votes in both chambers.”   This is both factual and verifiable.

In addition, Senator Vance makes this claim that, “FEMA even seems to be picking winners and losers among the American people… Ordinary Americans of all backgrounds know that especially when it comes to disaster relief, federal agencies exist to serve all Americans, not to give some groups special treatment.”  Not true again.  The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recognizes that, “Although disasters affect everyone, they often shine a spotlight on longstanding disparities and inequities experienced by people from racial and ethnic minority groups, people with low incomes, and other communities with less power and access to resources. These groups are also disproportionately affected by disasters due to decades of systemic and environmental injustices.”  I have been deployed, on the ground, to several disasters and have seen this with my own eyes.   FEMA is not “giving special treatment” to underserved communities.  FEMA is working to give them the same rights, access, and information as everyone else have always had.

During the last week, we have seen in this country an abundance of misinformation and disinformation that has served no other purpose than to hurt individuals and communities trying to respond and recover from disasters.  When they hear pundits falsely claim that FEMA has no money, or falsely claiming they can only get $750, many choose not to apply and risk losing out on the essential services I listed above. 

I am not writing this to insult Senator Vance or to protect FEMA.  FEMA is not perfect, nor does it claim to be.  They can and do address fair criticism.  FEMA is used to having a finger pointed at them, even when it is neither fair nor accurate.  FEMA can handle bad press.  FEMA does not need my help. 

I am writing this for all of the survivors, regardless of political affiliation, who desperately need and deserve honest, accurate, and timely information.  I am also writing this for the first responders and emergency managers, including dedicated FEMA employees, who have earned the right to an honest account of their efforts.