While President Trump declared Texas an emergency disaster area from the Hurricane Harvey impacts, the Trump Administration’s FY 2018 budget blueprint for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is “penny wise and pound foolish”:· Cuts $667 million from FEMA state and local grant funding for programs that include disaster preparedness and response. In other words, reducing funding for prevention and resilience actions that can mitigate harms to people and property to better withstand the impact of hurricanes and coastal storms. That’s important for communities to better understand climate risks and take protective measures that reduce harms and save money in the future. It’s been reported that out of all 50 states, Texas, California and Oklahoma have the most disaster declarations from FEMA. This is an area of strong potential bipartisan policy alignment, especially in the Midwest and Great Lakes states.

Source: Huffington Post August 27, 2017 18:46 UTC