When the devastating tornado ripped through Joplin this spring, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., firmly reassured those affected that they would not be forgotten.
“I warned FEMA and assured victims in Joplin that they would not be forgotten after the camera trucks lowered their antennas and rolled out of town,” McCaskill said in a news release Monday. “I will fight to make sure that promise is kept.”
With the continued trail of natural disasters across the nation, this promise is becoming harder to keep. The Federal Disaster Relief Fund within the Federal Emergency Management Agency is down to about $900 million, below the $1 billion officials prefer.
As a result of the funding shortage, FEMA temporarily suspended long-term rebuilding projects in Joplin and other areas affected by natural disasters. These resources are now being used to fund immediate disaster needs along the east coast from Hurricane Irene.
Freshman Cecilie Washburn, who is from a small town 10 minutes from Joplin and worked in the city throughout high school, said she knows firsthand the needs the city still has.
“I mean, Joplin High School students are going to school in the mall right now,” Washburn said. “It is still going to take a lot of resources to get everything back to normal.”
Washburn said she feels the federal government should be involved with the rebuild until it is complete.
FEMA’s response efforts have drawn mixed response from residents in Joplin, Washburn said.
“Recovery from hurricane damage on the east coast must not come at the expense of Missouri’s rebuilding efforts,” Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said in a news release. “If FEMA can’t fulfill its promise to our state because we have other disasters, that’s unacceptable, and we need to take a serious look at how our disaster response policies are funded and implemented.”
Legislators will be soon be faced with the decision of how to increase federal disaster funding, and if the debt ceiling debate is any example, agreement will not come easily.
Gov. Jay Nixon’s office told Missouri citizens the state is still committed to helping communities stricken by natural disasters.
“From day one, Gov. Nixon has ensured that Missouri has the resources to fulfill the state’s obligations to help Joplin and other communities recover from tornadoes, floods and other natural disasters, and we know we will face significant expenses as we begin the process of repairing and rebuilding the levees and other critical infrastructure across the state,” a news release from Nixon’s office stated.
The news release also focused on the future.
“Moving forward, the state will continue to meet its obligations to help communities get back on their feet as quickly as possible, and we have every reason to believe that our federal partners will continue to do the same,” the news release stated.
Nixon took $170 million of state funds already appropriated to 45 other state programs to help fund disaster clean-up in Missouri, over which Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich sued him last week. Schweich claimed the funding was re-appropriated unconstitutionally.
Nixon and other state legislators chose to cut this money from various state programs rather than use the state’s “rainy day fund,” which has $527.4 million dollars in it as of 2010 according to the Missouri Budget Project.
Legislators chose not to use the rainy day fund partly because of the numerous loopholes involved. The fund stipulates that when funds are taken out they must be replaced within three years. Many state legislators did not think it would be feasible to pay back the money within the three-year time limit.
