FEMA Didn't Answer Thousands of Calls From Flood Survivors, Documents Show

Reporting cited here

1. reported

   The New York Times and House staff reported that DHS's rule requiring Secretary Noem to approve expenditures above $100,000 delayed deployment of FEMA urban-search-and-rescue support after the Texas floods by more than 72 hours.

   Passages and source records documenting: A $100,000 signoff rule delayed federal Texas flood support more than 72 hours

   A $100,000 signoff rule delayed federal Texas flood support more than 72 hours · Internal records tied the deployment delay to secretary-level spending approval

2. reported

   The New York Times reported from FEMA documents that nearly two-thirds of calls from Texas flood survivors went unanswered after the agency allowed call-center contracts to lapse under cost controls.

   Passages and source records documenting: FEMA left nearly two-thirds of Texas flood-survivor calls unanswered

   FEMA left nearly two-thirds of Texas flood-survivor calls unanswered · Internal documents showed thousands of survivor calls went unanswered

3. documented

   GAO reported only about a 1 percent workforce change at the Department of Homeland Security while the 22-agency total fell more than 11 percent; contemporaneous FEMA reporting documented service disruptions inside that protected department-wide total.

   Passages and source records documenting: DHS staffing changed about 1 percent while most major agencies shrank

   DHS staffing changed about 1 percent while most major agencies shrank · DHS had roughly a 1-percent workforce change over the GAO period