Lawmakers are speaking out against a new Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) policy that will require states to address climate change as part of their disaster planning and preparedness before they can receive federal disaster mitigation grant funding.
The new regulations were issued last month as part of a FEMA State Mitigation Plan Review Guide, and say that states "must consider how future risk and vulnerability may be affected by future conditions, development patterns, and population demographics ... including the effects of long-term changes in weather patterns and climate on the identified hazard."
Under the new guidelines, if state governors want to receive disaster-preparedness funds, they must first approve hazard-mitigation plans that address climate change.
The rules don't take effect until March 6, 2016, but some lawmakers are insisting that FEMA explain the reasoning behind the rules, citing "gaps in the scientific understanding around climate change," reported The Hill.
In a letter to FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, the lawmakers voice concern that the agency's decision could introduce "unnecessary, ideological-based red tape into the disaster preparedness process."
"When it comes to the relationship between climate change and extreme weather events, there remains to be any indication or trend to show there have been increases in their occurrence or intensity," the seven senators wrote.
The letter was co-authored by U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment Public Works, along with Sens. David Vitter, R-La., John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Thad Cochran, R-Miss., Deb Fischer, R-Neb., Bill Cassidy, R-La., and James Lankford, R-Okla.
"We are concerned FEMA's recent decision to require States to address climate change in their mitigation strategies injects unnecessary, ideological-based red tape into the disaster preparedness process. Planning and preparing for disasters should be focused on strengthening and protecting local communities from inevitable weather events and not about falling in line with the president's political agenda," they wrote, reported The Hill.
"As you know, disaster mitigation grants are awarded to state and local governments after a presidential major disaster declaration," the letter says. "These funds are crucial in helping disaster-stricken communities prepare for future emergencies."
The lawmakers also asked FEMA to explain which statutory authority the agency is basing its decision on.
