Reports that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is running short of funds for emergency relief, particularly after announcing earlier this year hundreds of millions of dollars in grants for communities receiving migrants, is a "cataclysm" of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' "own making," Rep. Pat Fallon told Newsmax on Friday.
"As far as FEMA claiming they don't have money, and Joe Biden saying that he wanted to bring Congress back in to pass something to give FEMA more money, they didn't read the continuing resolution we just passed," the Texas Republican told Newsmax's "Newsline." "It had $20 billion in there specifically for emergency relief, for FEMA. So, I don't know, maybe they could do their jobs and they would know that they actually have the funds."
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, while en route earlier this week to survey damages left by Hurricane Helene in South Carolina, told reporters earlier this week, however, that FEMA does not have enough money to finish out the rest of this year's hurricane season, reports The New York Times.
Biden suggested Monday that he may need to call lawmakers back to the Capitol to approve more money for disaster relief, claiming that the continuing resolution just passed did not provide enough money for FEMA to handle multiple disasters.
Fallon insisted Friday that Biden's actions are showing he's unfit to remain as president.
"If this was any Republican president, the press would be screaming from the rooftops and mountaintops about how this response has been inadequate," he said. "It's been wholly inadequate by this administration. And they're not being held accountable."
Fallon also commented on a House Judiciary Report showing that since 2021, under Harris and Biden, 1.9 million illegal migrants have gotten away from authorities.
"We don't know who these folks are," he said. "There were over 10 million people have crossed the border illegally under the Biden-Harris administration."
And those numbers are "ludicrous" and the government is endangering Americans, Fallon added.
"You can see it just in Texas very quickly," said Fallon. "From 2011 to today, there were over 299,000 illegal migrants that were arrested and charged with 513,000 crimes, resulting in 187,000 convictions. That's just in Texas. Can you imagine if you extrapolate those numbers across the entire country?"
Meanwhile, Fallon said that the immigrant situation, as well as the troubled response to Hurricane Helene, is "what happens when you hire for the presidency and the vice presidency. unqualified partisan ideological hacks."
"That's why I like to have business people that come into government and serve because they know how to, you know, make a payroll and create things and build things," he said.
"Kamala Harris has never signed the front of one paycheck. She doesn't know how to administer. She's not a leader. All she does is, you know, cater to a far left, really constituency. And that doesn't serve you well when you have emergencies like this."
FEMA, in a statement Friday afternoon, reported that there has been "a lot of misinformation" about the agency's assistance programs, "which is having a negative impact on our ability to help people."
The agency said it wants to encourage as many people who need help as possible to apply for assistance.
People in the declared disaster areas are urged to call 800-621-3362 to apply for help or apply through the FEMA app.
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
- Find Newsmax channel in your home via cable and satellite systems – More Info Here
- Watch Newsmax+ on your home TV app or smartphone and watch it anywhere! Try it for FREE – See More Here: NewsmaxPlus.com
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.