{"id":2025948,"date":"2023-09-08T14:33:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T18:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-panel-probes-femas-response-to-maui-fire\/"},"modified":"2023-09-08T14:37:12","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T18:37:12","slug":"house-panel-probes-femas-response-to-maui-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-panel-probes-femas-response-to-maui-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"House panel investigates FEMA&#8217;s handling of Maui fire."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhouse-panel-probes-femas-response-to-maui-fire%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2025948&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>A House\u2064 committee has sent\u200c an inquiry to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) \u2062Administrator Deanne\u2064 Criswell asking\u200d for details about how assistance programs have been implemented\u200c following the fire \u200bin Maui, Hawaii.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<blockquote>\n<h2>House Committee Launches Investigation \u200cinto FEMA&#8217;s \u2062Response to Maui \u2062Fire<\/h2>\n<p>House\u2062 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Ranking Member Rick Larsen\u2063 (D-Wash.) issued the letter (<a href=\"https:\/\/transportation.house.gov\/uploadedfiles\/2023-09-07_sg_rl_letter_to_criswell_re_maui_final.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>) launching an investigation\u2064 into FEMA&#8217;s\u200b response\u200d to the early August fire on Sept. 7,\u200d asking that\u200b the \u200cagency offer\u2062 clarification and transparency regarding the allocation and effectiveness of federal resources deployed to\u2062 address the\u2062 disaster and provide relief\u200d to\u200b affected communities.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n<p>The disaster \u2064in \u2062Maui, which began on Aug. 8, led to widespread devastation, \u2064particularly \u200bin Lahaina. In response, President Joe \u200cBiden swiftly approved a Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) on Aug. 9,\u2064 followed by the issuance of a federal major\u200c disaster declaration \u200don Aug. 10, as the event is one of the deadliest fires in U.S.\u200c history, with 115 \u2064confirmed \u200dfatalities and\u2064 many still \u200bmissing as of early September.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\" id=\"in_article_related_stories\">\n<div class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n              <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/lawyers-claim-cable-tv-and-phone-companies-also-responsible-in-maui-fires-5487036\">Lawyers Claim Cable TV and Phone Companies Also\u2063 Responsible in Maui Fires<\/a>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">9\/7\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n              <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/lahaina-residents-say-police-barricades-prevented-people-from-fleeing-raging-fires-5483563\">In Maui Fires, Defying\u200d Police Blockades Proved\u200d Life-Saving<\/a>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">9\/4\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cMore than one thousand \u200cFederal personnel deployed to assist in the response efforts to this devastating \u200dfire,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/san-francisco-public-schools-renaming-plan-rife-with-historical-errors\/\" title=\"San Francisco Public Schools Renaming Plan \u2018Rife With Historical Errors\u2019\">committee members<\/a>\u200c wrote in the letter \u2064to Ms. \u200dCriswell. \u201cConsidering the\u2062 large and extended Federal response effort, the Committee will continue to monitor the allocation and effectiveness of \u200dFederal resources. This includes investigating concerns\u200c that arise\u2062 with \u200bthe use of federal \u200dresources \u200dand assets during and after response and recovery efforts.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;For example, even as the fires in Maui were still\u200d burning,\u200b reports raised serious <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/prominent-anti-semite-attends-obama-birthday-bash-jewish-comedian-snubbed\/\" title=\"Prominent Anti-Semite Attends Obama Birthday Bash, Jewish Comedian Snubbed\">concerns related<\/a> to alerting residents of the\u2064 danger, evacuations from vulnerable areas, and access to resources, including water, to \u2062fight the fire. Additionally,\u2062 questions were \u2064raised\u200b related\u200d to the \u200dhousing of FEMA and other Federal personnel, including the location of housing and \u200dcost to the taxpayer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The committee members asserted in their letter that\u200c their primary\u200b aim is to assess the efficiency and appropriateness \u200cof federal \u2063disaster\u200b assistance programs and ensure \u2063that taxpayer resources are being utilized effectively to \u200cassist survivors. The committee&#8217;s inquiry highlights several pressing concerns that have arisen during\u200d the ongoing response and recovery efforts.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode post-related-videos\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The lawmakers also pointed out that while the responsibility\u200d for disaster response primarily rests with the state\u200d governor, FEMA provides \u200bfunding and assistance to \u2064support state-level \u200befforts.<\/p>\n<p>The committee members\u2064 said they hope to \u200dscrutinize how Hawaii leveraged FEMA&#8217;s\u200b resources for preparedness,\u2064 mitigation, and response\u200b and evaluate \u200cthe effectiveness \u200dof \u2063these programs in \u200bthe context of \u2064the Maui disaster.<\/p>\n<p>The committee posed 15 questions to the agency, including how it determines \u200dthe appropriate resources \u200bto award to \u200bdisaster areas and how the funds are disbursed to survivors.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, inquiries\u2062 from the committee delve\u2064 into specific issues, including the number of\u2064 individuals and families receiving assistance, the\u2063 challenges in\u2062 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-panel-probes-femas-response-to-maui-fire\/\" title=\"House panel investigates FEMA's handling of Maui fire.\">providing\u200c permanent\u2064 housing solutions<\/a>, the use of federal funds for housing, \u2063the efficiency of alert systems, and FEMA&#8217;s\u200c funding for mitigation and resiliency \u2062programs \u200cin Hawaii.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>FEMA did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times&#8217;s request\u2063 for comment.<\/p>\n<h2>&#8216;Federal Response Seems \u200cVery \u200bDelayed&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/mccarthy-hints-congressional-investigation-of-federal-maui-response-5479984\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">indicated<\/a> on Aug. 23 that he likely has enough questions about the Maui fire to investigate \u200cthe government&#8217;s response to the fire.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The House committee has requested information from FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell regarding the implementation of assistance programs after the Maui, Hawaii fire. Chairman Sam Graves and Ranking Member Rick Larsen initiated the investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1843,"featured_media":2025949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2025948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1843"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2025948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2025948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2025949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2025948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2025948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2025948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}