On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Situation Room,” Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX) stated that if President Trump thinks the federal government’s response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico was successful, “we’re all in trouble, and especially the people in the Carolinas.”
Castro said, “You know, if the president thinks that his response and the federal government’s response to Puerto Rico was an incredible success, then quite honestly, we’re all in trouble, and especially the people in the Carolinas. And it really is an insult to humanity when 3,000 people died. The government wouldn’t admit anywhere close to that number. The response was slow. It was insufficient. And for him to boast about it now on the eve of a huge category 4 hurricane hitting the Carolinas is just amazing.”
Castro also discussed the response to Hurricane Harvey and said, “[T]here could have been more resources committed earlier, and also, part of the problem is what happens as the emergency’s going on. Certainly, the response in Texas and places like Florida was much better than it was in Puerto Rico, but the slowness of the federal government, of FEMA, and other departments in getting resources to people after the hurricane has happened and the devastation is done, that leaves a lot to be desired.”
He also stated Congress “could have done a better job” providing oversight on the administration’s response to disasters over the last year.
Castro concluded, “The other thing is, you have two layers of bureaucracy, basically. The federal government that sends a lot of money to state governments, and then the money often is supposed to go from there. The Texas state government has also not done the best job of making sure that resources get to the folks that have been affected, and unfortunately, too often, that’s the case.”
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