Following the Biden administration’s refusal to provide FEMA assistance in the wake of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, the White House has issued a statement attempting to justify the decision. Though the derailment and subsequent “controlled burn” resulted in a large spill of multiple dangerous chemicals and toxic smoke engulfing the small village and surrounding area, Biden’s FEMA has repeatedly told Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine that Ohio is not eligible for disaster assistance.
As Fox News reported Thursday:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) told Ohio’s state government that it was not eligible for disaster assistance to help the community recover from the toxic spill, Dan Tierney, a spokesperson for DeWine, told Fox News Digital on Thursday. Tierney explained that FEMA believed the incident didn’t qualify as a traditional disaster, such as a tornado or hurricane, for which it usually provides assistance.
“The DeWine Administration has been in daily contact with FEMA to discuss the need for federal support, however FEMA continues to tell Governor DeWine that Ohio is not eligible for assistance at this time,” DeWine’s office said in a statement earlier in the day. “Governor DeWine will continue working with FEMA to determine what assistance can be provided.”
FEMA said that its team is in constant communication with DeWine’s office, but didn’t comment on the request for federal relief.
FEMA spokesperson Jeremy Edwards told Fox News, “FEMA is in constant contact with the emergency operations center in East Palestine and with the Ohio Emergency Management Agency,” adding, “We are closely coordinating with EPA, HHS, and the CDC, who are helping to test water and air quality, and to conduct public health assessments.”
But despite the “constant contact” and coordination with other federal agencies, Biden’s FEMA has steadfastly refused to directly assist the victims of the spillage and burning of toxic chemicals. This seems inconsistent with Democrats’ claims of concern over environmental issues. Could it be that small, mostly-white towns simply don’t fit the criteria for disaster relief?
Following news reports of FEMA’s refusal to provide East Palestine disaster relief, the White House “explained why it turned down Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s request,” according to an exclusive report by Fox News.
The explanation sounds more than a little like a too-little-too-late excuse. As Fox News reports:
A Biden administration official told Fox News Digital that it has provided extensive assistance to surrounding communities following the chemical release earlier this month in eastern Ohio. However, the official said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the agency that usually provides relief to communities hit by hurricanes and other natural disasters, isn’t best equipped to support the state’s current needs.
“The Biden Administration is mobilizing a robust, multi-agency effort to support the people of East Palestine, Ohio. Since February 3, the Environmental Protection Agency has had personnel on the ground,” the official told Fox News Digital. “FEMA is coordinating with the emergency operations center working closely with the Ohio Emergency Management Agency.”
“But what East Palestine needs is much more expansive than what FEMA can provide,” they continued. “FEMA is on the frontlines when there is a hurricane or tornado. This situation is different.”
But this statement overlooks the salient fact that FEMA — which, to put in the for-what-it’s-worth column, is an unconstitutional agency with no legitimate justification for existing — has never limited itself to natural disasters. In fact, FEMA’s own website states, “Disasters can come in many forms. FEMA responds to all declared domestic disasters and emergencies, whether natural or man-made.” FEMA, which was established as its own agency under the Carter administration in 1979, has provided relief and assistance to several non-natural disasters. Almost as soon as the agency was minted, it responded to the dumping of toxic waste into the Love Canal in Niagara Falls. It also responded to the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, which actually took place just days before Carter activated the agency by executive order on April 1, 1979.
FEMA was one of the first federal agencies (if not the first) on the ground after the 1995 terrorist bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah building in Oklahoma City. No one would suggest that the truck-bombing of a federal building is a “natural” disaster.
And in recent years, FEMA has had its hand in events that have nothing to do with “a hurricane or tornado.” During the so-called Covid pandemic (which, since likely caused by the leak of a deliberately-tweaked virus from a Fauci-funded Chinese lab, would not properly be considered a “natural” disaster), FEMA was put in charge of procuring medical supplies.
So, non-natural disasters such as chemical dumping and spills, reactor meltdowns, terrorist attacks, and leaked viruses are part of FEMA’s mission to respond to “all declared domestic disasters and emergencies, whether natural or man-made” — except for this time.
In response to the Biden administration’s recalcitrant refusal to provide FEMA aid to the site of the toxic disaster, Ohio’s congressional delegation wrote a joint letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Thursday, demanding to know why the agency refuses to help. The letter was signed by all 17 of Ohio’s members of Congress, and states:
It is our understanding that Governor DeWine’s Administration has been in communication with your agency about the need for federal support to assist with the cleanup of the Norfolk Southern train derailment and subsequent chemical fire that occurred in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3.
Despite the severity of the wreckage, chemical release, and the disruption to the lives of local residents we have just been informed that Ohio apparently does not meet the eligibility threshold for FEMA assistance at this time. We respectfully request that you provide a detailed response as to why the residents of this community do not qualify for assistance from your agency.
But the Biden administration is holding firm on its refusal for FEMA aid. In a press conference Friday, DeWine said, “At this point, based on what FEMA has told us — and continues to tell us — my chief of staff talked to them again this morning, we do not qualify for assistance.”
This is — of course — typical of the Biden administration’s response to this disaster, which should never have happened in the first place. Earlier this week, Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) said that there have been “hundreds of train derailments after we spent more than a trillion dollars on infrastructure in this country,” while Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is focused on “woke” political tangents, such as “whether we have too many white men in construction jobs.” Vance said Buttigieg should look to his job description, “which is ensuring we have a viable transportation infrastructure in this country.”
