Micah Bock, the deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, told Newsmax on Monday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency must be "fundamentally" restructured, "eliminating it as it exists today" to improve its response to natural disasters.
Bock, in an interview with Newsmax's "National Report," defended the Trump administration's response to the flooding in Central Texas, criticizing the Biden administration as being at the root of the agency's issues.
Bock said, "FEMA has not served the interests of the American people and provided for their needs in a very, very long time. So fundamentally, restructuring FEMA and eliminating it as it exists today into a new organization is right in line with serving the American people in the ways in which those needs need to be met."
He added that "the response from the state and local governments within the state of Texas have been overwhelmingly positive. The governor has given his full endorsement of FEMA's response."
When asked about The New York Times report that nearly two-thirds of calls made to FEMA during the disaster went unanswered, Bock said, "There's always ways to improve. And the secretary is laser-focused on obtaining those methods and applying them as natural disasters continue. But it is important to note that every individual in Texas who called FEMA had the ability to be answered, and we were able to answer them and get to their requests."
He added, "Of course, when a natural disaster takes place, there is a surge in wait times for calls, but those were adequately responded to and effectively responded to. But it's also important to understand that the manner in which disaster management is currently being addressed does have its issues, and that makes it even more important to reform FEMA from the ground up, to turn it into a new organization that is actively solving the issues that the American people are facing following a natural disaster."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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