House Republicans to investigate FEMA for being resourceful

Republicans to disaster victims: Sorry we can't find the funds for disaster relief,
but we have to save up to investigate disaster relief. (Marilee Caliendo/FEMA)

Republicans to disaster victims: Sorry we can't find the funds for disaster relief,
but we have to save up to investigate disaster relief. (Marilee Caliendo/FEMA)

Truly unbelievable:

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said his committee is examining why the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) suddenly changed its estimation of the amount of money it needed to deal with several natural disasters over the summer.

"I'm disappointed … that the agency has apparently been playing games with the numbers, and my committee is closely examining why FEMA's estimates changed at the eleventh hour," Rogers said on the House floor.

You may recall that last month, Republicans were gleefully poised to shut down the government rather than fund FEMA to provide aid to disaster victims. Because telling disaster victims to go fuck themselves is the Republican way.

Except that, as Joan McCarter explained, a last-minute deal was reached to avoid a shutdown "by FEMA pinching enough pennies of already appropriated funds—and rationing aid—to make it through the rest of this week, and thus the rest of this fiscal year."

So because FEMA stepped up to the plate and denied Republicans their shut down, Rep. Rogers is so disappointed that he wants to investigate FEMA. Because we couldn't scrape together enough money to fund the disaster relief agency, but we can afford to investigate it for being resourceful.