Connecticut elected officials warn that the Trump administration's staff cuts at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may affect federal disaster response this hurricane season.
FEMA has lost 20% of its staff since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term in office, according to a Government Accountability Office report released earlier this month.
Most of the cuts have affected regional offices, including Region 1, which serves Connecticut, where 292 jobs were eliminated, representing 12% of the staff, the report said.
That's unacceptable, especially during a hurricane season, Governor Ned Lamont said on Thursday.
"Mr. President, this is no place to save money. Cutting back on the emergency response necessary to take care of people,” Lamont said.
“You look at the red state and the blue states, an emergency is an emergency,” he said. “Don’t discriminate based on politics. Take care of people. That's why I think that these cuts at FEMA are incredibly ill-considered.”
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said he has asked new FEMA Administrator Cameron Hamilton to address the staffing shortage, but said he’s yet to get a response.
“I’m demanding again today that he give us a plan. What will he do when disaster strikes? Obviously I hope for the best, but we need to prepare for the worst,” Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal, a Democrat, acknowledges it might be difficult to get a response without his majority Republican colleagues in the U.S. Senate joining the demand.
