The reason the debit card plan was scrapped is FEMA ran out of debit cards

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=69012

Thousands Jam New Help Centers

Volunteers at three new Red Cross mega centers in Metro Atlanta were met with mega lines Friday as thousands of evacuees filed in for long-awaited help.

The centers were set up to ease the burden at smaller Red Cross centers, which ran out of debit cards after helping 14,000 families that have come to Georgia from the central Gulf Coast.



http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0509/10/ltm.01.html

<snip>BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We understand FEMA scrapped the cards because they just simply don't have the staff for it. There were hundreds of tables set up yesterday inside Reliant Arena so that people could come through and get those cards. But they can't do that at every single shelter and there are thousands of evacuees who need this assistance.

Now we understand FEMA gave out 4,200 debit cards yesterday but they've run out of them. They have physically run out of stock. No more debit cards here. There are signs all over here at Reliant Park saying no debit card distribution.

I want to show you the first page of "The Houston Chronicle." It also says the debit card plan is scrapped. So FEMA basically saying what it said pretty much all week long, that this was something they were going to do here in Houston, but nationwide, they're going back to the old system. And now, apparently, in Houston, they're also going back to the old system, which is direct deposit and mailing out checks -- Miles?

M. O'BRIEN: Well, that's too bad. It seemed like such a good idea.

[rodeodance]

1. i feel bad for these people. what a mess (another)

[supernova]

2. Another supremely stupid act.

I heard the other day that they were rolling out a pilot program with these cards and they were to start with the people staying in the Huston Astrodome. If that went well, FEMA was going to roll it out to other places where suvivors were staying.

Wow! Do you think that in a day when:

*You get there a day late and a dollar short
*Your "leader" is a fucking joke
*Your entire organization is in disaray
*This is the biggest disaster to hit the US perhaps in 100 years.

That this is the time to be rolling out "pilot" programs? Geez, it would seem just getting the basics down would be a better start. But who am I?

Anyway, all this is to say, it isn't surprising they ran out of card stock.

[Why Syzygy]

3. They ran out of the CARDS? or

The money to back them up?

Have you heard of George FUBAR Bush?

[donco6]

4. To get direct deposit, you have to have a voided check.

Wonder how many people have their checkbook with 'em?

[Child_Of_Isis]

5. mailing out checks

Where are these folks supposed to get mail boxes? Theirs are under water.

[OregonBlue]

6. How many people left in Astrodome now? Wasn't the point to

get them out of there? Give them the $$ to leave? They have a game there next week.

[CascadeTide]

10. who plays there now?

high schools and colleges?

[OregonBlue]

12. ?? Maybe not there but CNN was saying that there was a game

scheduled and they were wondering how much revenue they would lose.

[Spinzonner]

7. I'm sure that Houston business are going to LOVE

taking all kinds of checks, just because the people are from Louiiana.

[ComerPerro]

8. Talk about a potential to boil over into a rage

Dang, this could get ugly.

[Angry Girl]

9. That's total BS! Like they didn't KNOW how many cards they had?

You don't think they can get cards made as fast as a hotel chain can get new door key cards? Puhleeze!

[tsuki]

11. They didn't run out of them in Florida in 2004. Opps, I forgot.

Election year.