WATCH & LISTEN: Rep. Al Green, Bexar County Commissioner, Former FEMA Official Discuss Trump and Abbott’s Failure to Prepare Texas for Hurricane Season
Rep. Al Green: “[We cannot] eliminate the one agency that has the experience and the expertise to manage a disaster.”
AUSTIN, TX — Sabotaging Our Safety held a press call with U.S. Representative Al Green (TX-9), Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert, and former Director of Public Affairs of FEMA Rafael Lemaitre to discuss how Donald Trump’s policies are systematically weakening FEMA’s disaster preparedness capabilities and dismantling Texas’s storm defense infrastructure, leaving the state’s most vulnerable communities at risk. The call follows Texas Republican lawmakers’ recent passage of legislation that only provides band-aids instead of bold action, even as the state stands to lose at least $74 million in critical disaster mitigation funding because of Trump’s cuts.
“It’s up to leaders at the local, state, regional, and national levels to work together to protect FEMA and prevent President Trump from eliminating it. Unfortunately, it seems that if Trump can aggressively dismantle an agency, he will. All of these disaster cuts seem to benefit the pockets of people who are extremely wealthy – these cuts have gone into their pockets. While this is not a good time for the most vulnerable in Texas, it is a great time for us to unite, band together, and fight to protect our communities,” said Representative Al Green (TX-9). “Democratic Members of Congress will work to maintain FEMA, strengthen FEMA, and get more dollars into states when these events arrive. We cannot eliminate the one agency that has the experience and the expertise to manage a disaster.”
“Texas families deserve leaders who take disaster preparedness seriously. Yet we have seen a deliberate effort by the Trump administration to weaken FEMA, leaving our communities more vulnerable when storms strike,” said Representative Sylvia Garcia (D-29). “This negligence, especially during hurricane season, puts Texas lives in grave danger. We must invest in resilience, preparedness, and recovery so Texas stands strong — and that is the fight I am carrying forward.”
“We saw in the legislature that there was an opportunity to earmark significant funds to provide disaster relief but they only allocated $50 million out of the special session for a state that is full of rainy days. Texas has more money in its Rainy Day Fund than almost every state in the United States combined,” said Tommy Calvert, Bexar County Commissioner. “Whether it was Storm Uri in 2021, or a number of emergencies that are truly rainy days for communities, we’ve seen the state benefit the bankers holding onto that money a lot more than Main Street getting that money. And that is shameful.”
“I fear that we’re on course to have to painfully relearn the lessons of Hurricane Katrina. We all saw that disaster unravel in real time on television and remember that that was a bad time for emergency management. FEMA was underfunded. It was not a respected agency. It lacked agency, power, and influence, and we saw the results of that. We saw a bungled response to a major disaster,” said former Director of Public Affairs of FEMA Rafael Lemaitre. “Congress finally made changes to make FEMA the agency that it was able to become by improving and funding it. And yet today, we see an administrator at FEMA whose only experience and qualifications seems to be his loyalty to the president.”
Full recording of the call is available here.
Background
Trump Gutted Federal Disaster Response While Hurricane Season Looms
Trump has weaponized disaster relief and systematically destroyed America's emergency response capabilities when Americans need help most, leaving Texas families vulnerable during the state's most dangerous weather seasons.
Trump proposed eliminating FEMA entirely, then slashed 20% of staff and froze critical emergency funds that protect Texas families during disasters
Trump cancelled FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program that eliminates $4.6 billion in flood protection funding nationwide, including critical Texas infrastructure projects
New requirements delayed Urban Search and Rescue deployment for more than 72 hours during Texas floods while families waited on rooftops for help
Trump denies 6 of 10 requests from Democratic governors while approving 14 of 15 from Republicans, turning life-saving aid into political weapons
Twenty states are suing the administration over "devastating" disaster preparedness cuts that leave Americans vulnerable when storms strike
Trump abandons Americans when they need help most while handing out massive tax cuts to billionaires and corporations
Texas Republicans Stripped Emergency Funding While Prioritizing Hollywood Subsidies
Texas Republicans cut 300 million for bringing the film industry to Texas promoted by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.
First responders reported it took days to integrate radio communications during the floods, yet Republicans prioritized entertainment industry subsidies over life-saving emergency equipment
House Bill 254 would have changed qualifications for the state's new rural infrastructure disaster recovery program to allow Kerrville and other rural cities to be eligible for grant money
The bill passed the House with a 135-1 vote yet was never heard in the Senate, abandoning rural communities that desperately needed disaster recovery assistance
The Kerrville Assistant City Manager estimated the city could have experienced up to $11 million of damage from the Fourth of July flood, but Republicans blocked access to recovery programs
Senate Republicans killed disaster recovery funding while prioritizing entertainment industry subsidies, exposing their dangerous priorities
Climate Denial Threatens Over $1 Trillion in Texas Real Estate
Trump's systematic destruction of climate research and environmental protections leaves more than $1.1 trillion in Texas real estate defenseless against increasingly severe storms and flooding.
Recent estimates indicate that more than $1.1 trillion in Texas real estate is at risk from severe climate change-related disasters, according to a new Realtor.com report
Trump has defunded more than 100 climate research projects, making it impossible to track changes over time and prepare Texas communities for worsening conditions
EPA administrator Lee Zeldin moved to reverse the 2009 finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger the public, eliminating the government's ability to regulate emissions from vehicles, oil wells, and fossil fuel facilities
Texas A&M professor Andrew Dessler rallied 80 scientists to refute Zeldin's flawed data, calling the administration's report "a mockery of science" that's "full of half-truths, omitted facts, just simple mistakes, arm-waving anecdotes and hunches"
Dessler warns that Trump's policies are "anti-adaptation," making Texas less prepared for extreme heat, extreme precipitation, extreme dry spells, and more destructive hurricanes
Research shows Texas is among the most vulnerable places to climate impacts, yet the administration is systematically dismantling the tools needed to protect $1.1 trillion in real estate and millions of Texans' lives
The Bottom Line
Trump has systematically dismantled federal disaster response while Texas Republicans strip emergency funding to prioritize Hollywood subsidies over public safety
More than $1.1 trillion in Texas real estate faces climate threats while Trump defunds the research needed to protect communities and prepare for worsening storms
Texas families are left dangerously exposed to floods, hurricanes, and extreme weather while politicians play games with life-saving disaster preparedness funding
Texans deserve federal disaster protection and state leaders who fight for emergency preparedness, not political theater that puts lives and property at risk while benefiting special interests
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