U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover), the chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee and member of the House Oversight Committee, criticized the Department of Homeland Security under the Biden administration for its response to Hurricane Helene.
Despite being a few hundred miles inland, the mountains of Western North Carolina took the brunt of the storm, which has left many residents stranded.
During an appearance on Mobile radio FM Talk 106.5's "The Jeff Poor Show," Palmer said the response would have been different had the hurricane hit a Democrat stronghold.
"Well, I hate to make it sound like politics, but I think it's politics," he said. "And if it hit Charlotte, one of their strongholds, or Philadelphia or the New Jersey Coast, like it did in 2012, they would have been all over it. There are other things going on that just demand an explanation. And that's why I urged the chairman to bring in these people from FEMA, to bring in people from the Government Accountability Office. One of the things about holding money the way they're holding money is it just is ripe for fraud and misuse. And we're already sending out over almost $250 billion a year in improper payments."
"And we can't come up with the money?" he continued. "And like I said, I don't know if I mentioned this, but Biden-Harris, Harris-Biden, whatever you want to call it, the Biden administration is sending $153 million to Lebanon. That's ridiculous. And they're only sending $100 million into Western North Carolina. We ought to be mobilizing troops. We need engineering companies. I don't mean private companies. I'm talking about using our military engineers to get in there and start repairing the infrastructure."
Jeff Poor is the editor in chief of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
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