WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, today presided over the subcommittee’s hearing of Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 to consider the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)’s budget request. FEMA Acting Administrator Peter Gaynor testified as to FEMA’s priorities and needs.
“The work of this Subcommittee has led to historic investments in training, preparedness, and mitigation,” Senator Capito said during opening remarks. “While we are pleased that this funding is enabling FEMA to invest in the resilience of American communities, it is important for us to better understand the specific return the American taxpayers are getting for this investment.”
Senator Capito made a point to ask Acting Administrator Gaynor about progress being made concerning the rebuilding of Kanawha and Nicholas County schools following the 2016 floods in West Virginia.
“I think it’s reasonable to expect the community to get very impatient with the bureaucracies of acquiring property, all the environmental assessments,” Senator Capito said during questioning. “What can you say to a community that is now three years past the flood, who are in temporaries, what kind of partnership can we expect from FEMA to move this much quicker?”
To watch Senator Capito’s opening statement, click here. To watch her questions for Acting Administrator Gaynor, click here.
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