‘Disaster Losses Have Grown Considerably,’ Says Rep. Barletta
The federal government needs to improve how it distributes disaster response funds without affecting quality, the chairman of a House subcommittee on emergency management said May 12.
“While there are significant variations from year to year, we have found that disaster losses have grown considerably over the past three decades,” said Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Pa.), leading a hearing of the Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management subcommittee.
“As we were rebuilding, I was amazed that much of the federal assistance was to rebuild in the same place in the same way, leaving people vulnerable to the next storm,” Barletta said.
Disaster spending at the federal level has risen steadily over the years. For example, spending as a share of total disaster losses grew from 23% in 1989 during Hurricane Hugo to 80% in 2012 during Superstorm Sandy. Moreover, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved nearly more than $178 billion for more than 1,300 presidential disaster declarations since 1989, Barletta noted.
“The federal government has a responsibility to respond after a disaster, but we also have a duty to be good stewards of the taxpayer dollar,” Barletta added.
