Noem's Funds Sign-Off Policy Slowed FEMA

The deadly flood along the Guadalupe River in Texas has claimed well over 100 lives, and nearly 200 are still unaccounted for. As people and homes were swept away, the callous and sociopathic Malignant Loser golfed at one of his golf clubs. His Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi "ICE Barbie" Noem, was applying "cost controls" that resulted in slowing FEMA's response for three days, as CNN reports:

"As monstrous floodwaters surged across central Texas late last week, officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency leapt into action, preparing to deploy critical search and rescue teams and life-saving resources, like they have in countless past disasters.

But almost instantly, FEMA ran into bureaucratic obstacles, four officials inside the agency told CNN.

As CNN has previously reported, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — whose department oversees FEMA — recently enacted a sweeping rule aimed at cutting spending: Every contract and grant over $100,000 now requires her personal sign-off before any funds can be released."  (our emphasis)

This incompetent, cosplaying nitwit treats Homeland Security's multi-billion dollar budget as she would her household budget, a common misunderstanding among right-wingers. Funds exceeding one hundred thousand dollars as the trigger for her approval is crazy and guaranteed to be hugely wasteful at the end of the day. The report continues:

"For FEMA, where disaster response costs routinely soar into the billions as the agency contracts with on-the-ground crews, officials say that threshold is essentially 'pennies,' requiring sign-off for relatively small expenditures.

In essence, they say the order has stripped the agency of much of its autonomy at the very moment its help is needed most.

“We were operating under a clear set of guidance: lean forward, be prepared, anticipate what the state needs, and be ready to deliver it,” a longtime FEMA official told CNN. “That is not as clear of an intent for us at the moment.” [snip] 

In the past, FEMA would have swiftly staged these teams, which are specifically trained for situations including catastrophic floods, closer to a disaster zone in anticipation of urgent requests, multiple agency sources told CNN.

But even as Texas rescue crews raced to save lives, FEMA officials realized they needed Noem’s approval before sending those additional assets. Noem didn’t authorize FEMA’s deployment of Urban Search and Rescue teams until Monday, more than 72 hours after the flooding began, multiple sources told CNN." (our emphasis)

The clear intent of the MF's regime is to transfer as much wealth to the top on percent as possible, regardless of the damage to people's lives (as MAGA Senator Joni Ernst would say, "we're all going to die") and ICE Barbie can be counted on to follow orders.  

(photo: Her Mar a Lago face on, Barbie appears on Fox as Texas disaster unfolds)