House Oversight Committee Launches Probe into FEMA Maui Response

Home Republicans have launched a probe into the Biden administration’s controversial response to the Maui fires in August.

Home Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., introduced the investigation into the Federal Emergency Administration Company’s dealing with of the scenario on Friday. Comer introduced the probe in a joint press launch with Pete Periods, R-Texas, who heads the Subcommittee on Authorities Operations and the Federal Workforce.

Hawaii locals have criticized the administration’s response to the wildfires on many fronts, together with the timing of the catastrophe response, the measure of support given to those that have been affected by the fires, and the shortage of transparency from FEMA as questions piled up earlier than and after restoration efforts started.

Maui locals who started native support operations throughout the fires instructed The Each day Sign that FEMA was “nowhere to be discovered” for days after the fires subsided, although Governor Josh Greene claimed that FEMA was on the bottom “in six hours.

“The lethal wildfire in Maui shocked the nation and left many, particularly these immediately impacted by the tragedy, with severe questions that stay unanswered as we speak,” Comer and Periods mentioned within the press launch. 

President Biden constructed his total fame on empathy and compassion however didn’t ship an applicable response when it mattered most. To make sure locals are receiving the help they want, and taxpayer {dollars} [are] getting used successfully, the Home Committee on Oversight and Accountability is taking motion and looking for info from FEMA on all ongoing restoration efforts in Maui. The Oversight Committee has a duty to make sure FEMA is using each device at their disposal effectively and can work to make sure FEMA delivers help in a seamless, swift timeframe.

This probe into FEMA’s response to the Maui fires shouldn’t be the primary time the company has confronted scrutiny. The Subcommittee on Authorities Operations and the Federal Workforce centered on FEMA’s catastrophe response in Fort Myers, Florida, in a current listening to.

The listening to aimed to make clear the challenges FEMA confronted in offering well timed and environment friendly help to communities affected by Hurricane Ian in September 2022. The Fort Myers restoration effort highlighted the necessity for a complete overview of FEMA’s procedures and protocols.

Comer, Periods, and different Oversight Committee Republicans have written a letter to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell looking for official particulars regarding the scope of FEMA’s current responses which have, to this point, been unavailable to the general public—together with demanding to know whether or not FEMA employees have been housed in costly resort resort rooms throughout their keep on Maui.

The Each day Sign workforce on the bottom in Maui noticed federally-marked autos within the parking tons and garages at inns just like the Grand Wailea, which expenses near $1,000 per night time.
A Daily Mail report confirmed that FEMA officers stayed in three five-star resorts throughout their keep in Maui, whereas Nationwide Guardsmen have been housed within the cheaper Westin resort in Lahaina.

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