Scott Powers
U.S. Rep. John Mica, the Winter Park Republican who chairs a key house subcommittee, told FEMA officials Friday that some of their responses to the Louisiana flooding last month were “not acceptable.”
Mica, who toured the flood-ravaged areas of southwest Louisiana the weekend before winning the Aug. 7 primary in his quest for a 13th term, chaired a hearing Friday of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Transportation and Public Assets, which has review of FEMA.
He faces Democratic nominee Stephanie Murphy in the general election.
“No family, community or state should endure what has occurred in federal response to the national disaster in the Baton Rouge area,” Mica said.
Mica slammed the Federal Emergency Management Agency for failing to get modular housing deployed, for what he called “dysfunctional” processing of 128,000 individual claims filed by residents, for having faulty floodplain maps that failed to identify areas of risk, and for taking four days to deliver supplies like water to some areas. He urged the agency to prepare to assist with closed schools, roads, and bridges, and to help struggling businesses.
“The administration must be better prepared and Congress must act to ensure the tens of thousands of people left homeless in Louisiana are not left behind,” Mica said. “It is shameful that people are still in shelters and waiting on relief from our government. As we enter the hurricane season, we must correct these errors.”
