A federal judge issued a temporary order on Tuesday stopping the Trump administration from redirecting $4.5 billion in funds for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), intended to help communities prepare for and prevent future storm damage. Nineteen Democratic attorneys general and one governor are suing the Trump administration for trying to cancel Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, also known as BRIC, a FEMA program that gives money to help communities upgrade infrastructure and better prepare for extreme weather.
Judge cites public harm in decision
U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns said he believed stopping the program could seriously hurt the states and the public, more than it would hurt the federal government to leave things as they are during the lawsuit.
While the lawsuit is ongoing, FEMA is not allowed to use the money from the BRIC program for any other purpose.
The judge said the Trump administration could ask to use the blocked money if a huge, unexpected disaster happens. “And nothing prevents the Government from asking the court to release any necessary funds on an emergency basis should a disaster of unprecedented proportions occur while the injunction remains in place,” Stearns wrote.
States argue BRIC program is essential
The 20 officials suing the Trump administration over the cancellation of FEMA’s BRIC program argue in their lawsuit that it’s a vital part of disaster mitigation when disasters strike.
They believe this money is needed more today than in the past because of climate change and disasters becoming more frequent and severe. People living in those states could face more danger from things like storms, floods and heat waves, according to the lawsuit.
The states that filed suit are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro filed in his capacity as governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Trump administration’s stance on FEMA
Trump and Department of Homeland Security officials believe FEMA should be eliminated. They want state governments, not the federal government, to handle emergencies like floods, hurricanes and wildfires.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Cole Lauterbach
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://straightarrownews.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.
