Obama's Response to Louisana Flooding compared with Bush and Katrina

[GMDino]

(08-19-2016, 05:11 PM)PhilHos Wrote:

Seriously, though, I find it more interesting that Obama has said NOTHING about the flooding.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/08/14/president-obama-signs-louisiana-disaster-declaration

Quote:August 14, 2016


President Obama Signs Louisiana Disaster Declaration

The President today declared a major disaster exists in the State of Louisiana and ordered Federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by severe storms and flooding beginning on August 11, 2016, and continuing.

The President's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in the parishes of East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. Helena, and Tangipahoa.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

Federal funding also is available to the state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work as a result of the flooding in the parishes of East Baton Rouge, Livingston, St. Helena, and Tangipahoa.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-obama-louisiana-floods-20160819-snap-story.html

Quote:President Obama plans to visit the site of deadly flooding in Louisiana next week after facing criticism that he stayed on vacation here this week while the stated reeled from the devastation.



Obama will go to get a “first-hand look” at the damage, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement Friday, adding that Obama had been waiting for the immediate emergency to pass before tying up local resources with a presidential visit.


“The president is mindful of the impact that his travel has on first responders and wants to ensure that his presence does not interfere with ongoing recovery efforts,” Earnest said.



Critics had complained that Obama was seen golfing on television alongside reports of flooding that has damaged tens of thousands of homes and killed at least 13 people. The Advocate, a newspaper in Louisiana’s capital of Baton Rouge, editorialized that Obama should leave Martha’s Vineyard to visit “the most anguished state in the union” and show solidarity with suffering Americans.


...


To be sure, the scale of the damage from Katrina was much more significant than the current flooding; the hurricane killed at least 1,400 and was the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, causing more than $67 billion in insured losses, and exposed the ineptitude of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Even Bush criticized the initial response as unacceptable.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/latest-evacuation-urged-louisiana-community-41478191

Quote:Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards is defending the Obama administration's response to the severe flooding in his state.

President Barack Obama has received criticism for staying on vacation rather than traveling to Louisiana to see the damage first-hand.


But Edwards said Thursday that he's spoken with the White House daily and has received quick responses for each request he's made to the administration. He noted that FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate visited the state Tuesday and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson was in-state Thursday.


Edwards said he is "not complaining in any way about our federal partnership."



He added that while the President can visit whenever he'd like, he'd prefer him to wait "a week or two" because such visits require local police and first responders to help block roads and provide security.

"nothing".