Trump says to halt aid to California wildfire victims, but law says he can't

[webfact]

Trump says to halt aid to California wildfire victims, but law says he can't

By Sharon Bernstein

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump visits the charred wreckage of Skyway Villa Mobile Home and RV Park with then Governor-elect Gavin Newsom (L), FEMA head Brock Long (R), Paradise Mayor Jody Jones (2nd R) and Governor Jerry Brown in Paradise, California, Nov. 17, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump cannot withhold disaster relief once an emergency has been declared, federal statutes show, despite the Republican's tweet on Wednesday that he had ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to cease helping victims of last year's California wildfires.

 

At FEMA offices near the site of last year's devastating Camp Fire, which destroyed the town of Paradise and killed 86 people, disaster victims continued to apply for government aid to pay bills, buy food and rebuild their businesses.

 

"FEMA is here and people are signing up and they’re getting relief right now," James Gallagher, the Republican state assemblyman who represents the area, said in a telephone interview.

 

In his tweet, Trump returned to his oft-repeated - and disputed - theme that California had mismanaged its forests, over-regulating logging and other measures that would thin them out to make wildfires less intense.

 

"Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money," Trump wrote on Twitter.

It is not clear whether Trump was referring to money already approved which FEMA is distributing or to future funds.

 

Representatives of FEMA did not respond to requests for comment about the law or the president's tweet on Wednesday, even though some were working despite the government shutdown.

 

The agency's website, however, shows the text of federal laws governing emergencies.

 

A key statute, the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, says that once a federal declaration of emergency or disaster has been made, the president "shall not ... delay or impede the rapid deployment, use and distribution of critical resources to victims of an emergency."

 

SHOCK TO REPUBLICANS

Trump's tweet early on Wednesday was a shock to Republican lawmakers in the state, who criticized Trump for politicizing disaster relief and pointed out that it was the federal government, not California, that had been doing less in recent years to manage its forests.

 

Trump's tweet was part of an ongoing back-and-forth with the most populous U.S. state, which is overwhelmingly Democratic and has a new governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom, who criticized Trump on his first day in office on Monday.

 

It also came a day after Newsom and the governors of Oregon and Washington signed a letter asking Trump to spend more to manage the federal government's forests in the Western United States.

 

The fire that devastated Paradise hit one of the last remaining Republican bastions in the state, and Trump's tweet came as a surprise to the party's representatives.

 

"Californians in fire areas have lost everything," said Marie Waldron, the state Assembly Republican Leader. "They should not be victimized again because of a political squabble."

 

Moreover, Waldron said, the fire likely started in the Plumas National Forest, and not on state land. Federally owned lands make up 60 percent of California's forests, she said, and at the state level, Democrats and Republicans last year passed a bipartisan plan to better manage its woodlands.

 

FEMA has so far made available about $50 million to help victims of the wildfires in Paradise as well as in other parts of the state with housing needs, according to the agency's website. There was no indication the funds had been cut off.

 

Last year, the state asked Congress to appropriate an additional $9 billion in assistance, about half of it from FEMA. That request has been delayed as Congress deals with the funding disputes that have led to a partial shutdown of the federal government.

 

(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; editing by Bill Tarrant and G Crosse)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-01-10

[Chomper Higgot]

Vindictive, ignorant or vindictive and ignorant.

 

Take your pick

[Becker]

33 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Vindictive, ignorant or vindictive and ignorant.

 

Take your pick

All of the above and then some.

[Tug]

If unlimited privilege spoonfed money since infancy would turn a person into something as vile vindictive small and nasty as trump give me the struggle of the common man so I might have impathy chairity compassion and love for my fellow man just pathetic 

[helpisgood]

It's one thing if Trump wants to quarrel with the State of California about the wildfire(s).  There must be a number of ways he can do that especially with the advice of his political staff.  

 

Yet, what kind of fellow human being would cut off public funds from people who have lost their homes and almost all of their possessions within from those fast-moving wildfires?  And, these are funds allocated for just such a purpose. 

 

So much for being a public servant and making America great.   

 

Also, the OP mentions that withholding funds is unlawful.  Surely, the president has access to legal counsel.  Thus. did he consult them and decided to go ahead anyway, or did he just not bother to find out.  As president, and not a corrupt casino owner, he cannot do whatever he wants regardless of the law.

 

So much for rule by law. 

Edited January 10, 2019 by helpisgood
typo

[Berkshire]

The stupidity of Trump never ceases to amaze me.  In trying to punish democratic California, he ends up hurting his own constituents....

 

[The fire that devastated Paradise hit one of the last remaining Republican bastions in the state, and Trump's tweet came as a surprise to the party's representatives.]

[Katia]

50 minutes ago, helpisgood said:

It's one thing if Trump wants to quarrel with the State of California about the wildfire(s).  There must be a number of ways he can do that especially with the advice of his political staff.  

 

Yet, what kind of fellow human being would cut off public funds from people who have lost their homes and almost all of their possessions within from those fast-moving wildfires?  And, these are funds allocated for just such a purpose. 

 

So much for being a public servant and making America great.   

 

Also, the OP mentions that withholding funds is unlawful.  Surely, the president has access to legal counsel.  Thus. did he consult them and decided to go ahead anyway, or did he just not bother to find out.  As president, and not a corrupt casino owner, he cannot do whatever he wants regardless of the law.

 

So much for rule by law. 

He tends to fire off knee-jerk tweets about whatever thoughts come to his mind (and then sometimes has to go back on them).  It's merely annoying when it's your self-centered cousin who does it, but it's downright unprofessional (among other things) as a president (or really, in official capacity for any sort of job, I don't care if you're a paper boy).  I doubt his advisors heard anything about it until it came out on Twitter...

[neeray]

42 minutes ago, helpisgood said:

Also, the OP mentions that withholding funds is unlawful.  Surely, the president has access to legal counsel.  Thus. did he consult them and decided to go ahead anyway, or did he just not bother to find out.  As president, and not a corrupt casino owner, he cannot do whatever he wants regardless of the law

Your paragraph here says it all. I add to that.

 

* withholding funds is unlawful  Trump has proven during election and now as POTUS that he does not respect the laws of the land.

* access to legal counsel  Trump has access but thinks he knows better, thus, does not listen (or understand) counsel advice even if he does "bother".

*he cannot do whatever he wants regardless of the law  He thinks he can because he thinks he is the law. (Oops, I said "he thinks" twice. But he acts without thinking).

[PremiumLane]

Come on, government funding is for the rich only, not for ordinary people ???? 

[Guest]

50 minutes ago, Katia said:

He tends to fire off knee-jerk tweets about whatever thoughts come to his mind (and then sometimes has to go back on them).  It's merely annoying when it's your self-centered cousin who does it, but it's downright unprofessional (among other things) as a president (or really, in official capacity for any sort of job, I don't care if you're a paper boy).  I doubt his advisors heard anything about it until it came out on Twitter...

Trump creates uncertainty among people. Uncertainty creates fear. Fear creates anger. Anger creates division between people, who would normally live happily together. 

 

I wonder if this is what Trump wants.

[keemapoot]

1 minute ago, oilinki said:

Trump creates uncertainty among people. Uncertainty creates fear. Fear creates anger. Anger creates division between people, who would normally live happily together. 

 

I wonder if this is what Trump wants.

Yes, exactly. Trump has proven that his strategy of polarization works as long as he firmly keeps his 38% base stoked. He will not go far astray in provoking any issues that do not resound positively with this group of people. But he is relentless in insulting, provoking any people or groups which he perceives either strengthens his image with this base or do not detract from it. 

 

He is the ugliest form of national politician and one who has blackened the name of the formerly proud Republican Party.

[Enoon]

 

"Which is better - to be ruled by one tyrant three thousand miles away or by three thousand tyrants one mile away?"

Mather Byles, Massachusetts, 1706-1788.

 

Looks like you've got both, "one mile away", Mather.

 

 

Edited January 10, 2019 by Enoon

[KhunFred]

Amazing.  A president so ignorant of the role of the courts that he thinks he can act without any checks or balances. Elementary civics seems to be out of his orbit. Here in Thailand, I tell someone where I am from and they start to laugh. That tells me all I need to know.

[mamypoko]

President for some

[smileydude]

He's penny pinching to build that wall.

[Jingthing]

5 hours ago, Berkshire said:

The stupidity of Trump never ceases to amaze me.  In trying to punish democratic California, he ends up hurting his own constituents....

 

[The fire that devastated Paradise hit one of the last remaining Republican bastions in the state, and Trump's tweet came as a surprise to the party's representatives.]

Don't be amazed. Expect it.

My rule of thumb is always expect "trump" to get worse and you'll never be disappointed. 

Impossible to respect this hot mess as a legitimate president (or his fans who have no excuse by now to not get what a disaster he is). 

[attrayant]

Typical Forrest Trump.

 

The Federal Government owns and manages - or mismanages, as the case may be, more than half of California's forests.

 

Of the approximately 33 million acres of forest in California, federal agencies (including the USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service) own and manage 19 million acres (57%).

 

State and local agencies including CalFire, local open space, park and water districts and land trusts own another 3%. 40% of California's forestland is owned by families, Native American tribes, or companies. Industrial timber companies own 5 million acres (14%). 9 million acres are owned by individuals  with nearly 90% of these owners having less than 50 acres of forest land.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 10, 2019 by attrayant

[ResandePohm]

Having been the big loser in the November elections he has probably realised that he isn't as popular as he thought amid the American people. Also with all the investigations looking into his affairs and family he has obviously turned vindictive towards America and the American people and is out to do as much damage as he possibly can to everything and everyone American. He needs to be impeached as soon as possible to save the USA from any further damage. Even Pence cannot be worse than him.

[ResandePohm]

18 minutes ago, attrayant said:

Typical Forrest Trump.

 

The Federal Government owns and manages - or mismanages, as the case may be, more than half of California's forests.

 

Of the approximately 33 million acres of forest in California, federal agencies (including the USDA Forest Service and USDI Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service) own and manage 19 million acres (57%).

 

State and local agencies including CalFire, local open space, park and water districts and land trusts own another 3%. 40% of California's forestland is owned by families, Native American tribes, or companies. Industrial timber companies own 5 million acres (14%). 9 million acres are owned by individuals  with nearly 90% of these owners having less than 50 acres of forest land.

 

 

 

 

Trump says to rake up all the leaves just like Finland do. That alone says he is ignorant. The forests in Finland are almost exclusively Pine trees and Fir trees. They do not have leaves but needles. So it is obvious this advice did not come from the Finnish president.

[huainnews]

  Watch out, I can see meltdown approaching.

  Let's hope he implodes rather than explode.

[Jingthing]

3 minutes ago, huainnews said:

  Watch out, I can see meltdown approaching.

  Let's hope he implodes rather than explode.

Yes. Scary times indeed. The white house has been occupied by a destructive clown demagogue that clearly has no regard for the best interest of all of the American people. It's all about him and he's obviously amoral and mentally bizarre. Anything could happen. It's going to get much worse before it gets better. He needs to be removed. 

[Srikcir]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Trump's tweet early on Wednesday was a shock to Republican lawmakers

You'd think by now that there is nothing Trump can say to shock Republican lawmakers.

The fact that it has shows really how far Republican lawmakers have degenerated into Trump's abyss of abnormalcy.

[Jingthing]

13 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

You'd think by now that there is nothing Trump can say to shock Republican lawmakers.

The fact that it has shows really how far Republican lawmakers have degenerated into Trump's abyss of abnormalcy.

Exactly, and now "trump" is seriously threatening to go full on DICTATOR with his fake national emergency gambit to try to build his great ego branding wall, and so far it appears the republicans are so corrupted that they are going to go along with that. 

Look, I knew when he got elected that he was going to very, very bad and I was accused of hyperbole. He's turned out to be even much worse than my expectations and he's not nearly done yet.

Edited January 10, 2019 by Jingthing

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The fact that federal laws and/or court rulings don't permit something has never been any kind of impediment to Trump and his tweet-storms. He's the worst combination of ignorant, arrogant and dangerous -- a would-be American dictator with no respect for the laws of the land.

 

[worgeordie]

Deny people who have lost everything,but look

to spend 5 Billion on a wall.

regards worgeordie

[Gillyflower]

3 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

The fact that federal laws and/or court rulings don't permit something has never been any kind of impediment to Trump and his tweet-storms. He's the worst combination of ignorant, arrogant and dangerous -- a would-be American dictator with no respect for the laws of the land.

 

That's why he seems to admire Putin and his ilk.

[keemapoot]

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Exactly, and now "trump" is seriously threatening to go full on DICTATOR with his fake national emergency gambit to try to build his great ego branding wall, and so far it appears the republicans are so corrupted that they are going to go along with that. 

Look, I knew when he got elected that he was going to very, very bad and I was accused of hyperbole. He's turned out to be even much worse than my expectations and he's not nearly done yet.

Republicans in the Senate are corrupted in the sense that they know their election survival depends on supporting Trump, so they stay silent or avoid challenging him (biting their lips), when under a normal Republican President, the better angels of their nature would never be tested like this, so we would never know.

 

So, I would say they are yellow-bellied, spineless, yes, but as far as corrupt, not as much unless you consider their using his term to advance their agenda and keep Republicans in power.

[Katia]

8 hours ago, oilinki said:

Trump creates uncertainty among people. Uncertainty creates fear. Fear creates anger. Anger creates division between people, who would normally live happily together. 

 

I wonder if this is what Trump wants.

I think he wants whatever he wants, and doesn't care how he gets it-- whether there's actual deliberate manipulation involved, or if he simply doesn't think, runs his mouth about "but I wanna do this and I think we should do that and hang what anyone else thinks/feels!" and fear/anger/division happens to be the result, I don't know.

[keemapoot]

Forrest Gump is at it again. Smartest person in the room.

 

[Bundooman]

On ‎1‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 10:57 AM, oilinki said:

Trump creates uncertainty among people. Uncertainty creates fear. Fear creates anger. Anger creates division between people, who would normally live happily together. 

 

I wonder if this is what Trump wants.

Yes. Yes, yes - and yes again.