U.S. Rejected Davis on Aid to Clear Trees -- Bush to CA: "Let it Burn!"

[Dems Will Win]

Even the severity of the CA fires it turns out, were Bush's fault! If he had FEMA approve this request instead of sitting on it for 6 months, it would have had an enormous impact. Bush doesn't care, he says to California: "Let it burn!"
<snip>

FEMA spent six months studying the governor's request, then turned it down hours before fires began, saying state was already getting funds.

By Gregg Jones and Dan Morain, Times Staff Writers


SACRAMENTO — The Bush administration took six months to evaluate Gov. Gray Davis' emergency request last spring for $430 million to clear dead trees from fire-prone areas of Southern California.

The request was finally denied Oct. 24, only hours before wildfires roared out of control in what has become the largest fire disaster in California history.
<snip>
If Davis had received the denial earlier, Bono said, he would have had time to wage an appeal.

FEMA spokesman Chad Kolton said the agency denied Davis' request for an emergency declaration because California was already receiving more than $40 million from the departments of Agriculture and Interior to deal with a bark beetle infestation that has damaged thousands of acres of forest in the San Bernardino Mountains.

"Federal agencies were already engaged in a very substantive way," Kolton said. "Federal assistance was already being provided."

Davis' request, made in a letter to President Bush dated April 16, took months to process, Kolton said, because "we obviously wanted to consider this issue very carefully."

Members of the California congressional delegation were informed of FEMA's decision in an e-mail last Friday, after some of the fires were already burning. Kolton said Davis' Sacramento office was also notified of the decision verbally and in a faxed letter.

In that letter FEMA offered no explanation for why it had taken six months to rule.

"FEMA recognizes the difficulty that the state of California and affected local governments are facing," wrote Michael D. Brown, undersecretary for emergency preparedness and response.

"After a careful review of the information contained in your request, the authorities granted to and , and the resources they have already committed to the state, it has been determined that the federal assistance through FEMA is not warranted."

<snip>

If CA had voted Republican in 2000, they would have gotten the money...

[Hobarticus]

1. Seeds of revolt within the GOP...

From what I've read, CA's GOP reps in Congress are seriously torqued about this. With or without Arnold, 20-some lives lost and over 2000 homes destroyed is hard to swallow and still march lock-step behind Bush.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. You are corerct in that statement

if Cali had voted repuke it woudl have gotten the money.

There are days I wonder if Bush attended seminars in Mexico
City on how to screw up the oposition. The bag of tricks used by
bushCo are Classic PRI, circa 1990s, early 1990s, when the
oposition finally made major dents... that is when they became
that bloody obvious

[Flying_Pig]

3. Dems, though I have no doubt Bush was thinking, "Let it burn"

nowhere in the article, or anywhere else, did I find he actuually said that. You put that statment in quotation marks in the subject header, indicating Bush actually said that. In the cause of accuracy and honesty, you should correct that. We have plenty of quotes to screw Bush with, without putting them in his mouth.

[Dems Will Win]

9. I will not! Gerald Ford didn't tell New York City directly to "Drop Dead"

but the that was the headline in The Daily News in 1976 when Ford refused to bailout the bankrupt city. That decision hurt New York City for a decade.

And this was am emergency declared by Davis in March and the request for FEMA aid came in April and instead of immediately saying no, FEMA sat on it for 6 months!!

Then it said no. This was deliberate.

Not only did the Republicans, say "let it burn, California" on this $430 million dollars, THEY ALSO CUT BACK FOREST FIRE-FIGHTING FUNDING EARLIER A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO IN THE CONGRESS AND NEVER REPLACED IT.

SO DON'T YOU TELL ME I CAN'T SAY THAT THIS IS WHAT BUSH IS REALLY SAYING INSTEAD OF THE MUSH HE PUSHES ON TV. BECAUSE WHAT HE IS REALLY SAYING IS

LET IT BURN, CALIFORNIA!!!

[Emboldened Chimp]

4. link

:shrug:

[Fridays Child]

5. Here you go.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fema31oct31,1,4116024.story?coll=la-home-headlines

(I believe registration is required at the LA Times)

[farmbo]

6. Bush* was waiting for Arhnuld to be sworn in to shower the goodies...

... and now its too late.

:grr:

[Hobarticus]

7. I never made the connection

But it's probably not too far off.

[Jonte_1979]

8. Dupe

Please continue here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=192790

I'm locking this.

[Westegg]

10. Cali Fires

Yeah, well, I don' t think it was really Bush's FAULT, concerning these fires. I believe it was the planet, doing what the planet does. However, the Feds, and bureaucracy in general, are always way behind in terms of what's needed, and that's certainly in evidence here. The news item I read about the fire-control planes that couldn't take off in twilight, to stop the tiny fire that later became one of the major conflagrations, because it was "too late to fly" by government standards? That's a genuine tragedy. That's your government at work. Shame, shame.