Yarnell wildfire federal aid 'snub': Did Obama-Texas-Arizona feud play a role?
The Obama administration said Friday that federal taxpayers won鈥檛 help to rebuild in the wake of the Yarnell Valley fire in Arizona. Gov. Jan Brewer鈥檚 reaction? 'I鈥檓 deeply troubled.'
A "19 Heroes" patch is attached to a flagpole at the site where 19 firefighters died battling a wildfire in Yarnell, Arizona, June 30, 2013.
Matt York/AP
ATLANTA
It鈥檚 happened again: President Obama鈥檚 administration has turned down a post-disaster emergency request from a political adversary, in this case Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, who had pleaded with Washington for rebuilding help for last month鈥檚 Yarnell Hill wildfire, which claimed the lives of 19 鈥渉otshot鈥� firefighters.
Two years ago, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) turned down parts of a similar request from another political combatant, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, after a record wildfire season in the Lone Star State destroyed thousands of homes. (Obama subsequently reversed the decision, allowing more counties to apply for federal help than originally approved.) And earlier this year, FEMA turned down a request of assistance from the town of West, Texas, where a fertilizer explosion killed 13 people, mostly firefighters.
FEMA announced the Yarnell decision Friday, three days after Obama spoke in the state about housing and the economy. An approval would have meant federal help for people who didn鈥檛 have sufficient insurance, as well as the dispatching of a federal team to do flood prevention work in the county.
Obama, Brewer and Perry have had nasty political rows in the past.
Brewer said Obama had a few choice words on a tarmac last year over criticisms in her book, 鈥淪corpions for Breakfast,鈥� after which she was seen wagging her finger at the President. When Perry during his 2012 presidential campaign criticized Obama for never having worn a military uniform, Obama shot back that the Texas governor should 鈥渂e a little more careful about what you say.鈥�
Moreover, Obama鈥檚 Department of Justice has sued Arizona over its tough new immigration laws, and stopped Texas from implementing a new voter ID law, riling residents and leaders of both states.
To be sure, there are other explanations for the lack of an emergency declaration for the Yarnell fire, where the hotshot team was caught up in a fast-moving and unpredictable wall of blaze.
FEMA turns down dozens of requests a year, and Obama, in a spirit of cost control, seems to have made a concerted effort to take a harder look at what role federal taxpayers should play in individual disasters. Obama in 2011 granted a record 242 emergency declarations, but that number dropped to 112 in 2012. Nearly eight months into 2013, only 55 emergency declarations have been approved.
Yet for some observers, there鈥檚 evidence that politics, too, may be playing at least a marginal role in the push-and-pull over the division of power between Washington and the 50 state capitals. Some progressive critics scoff at the notion that leaders like Brewer and Perry, both of whom are strong states鈥� rights backers and often laud their states鈥� independent, conservative spirits, should complain when they can鈥檛 get help from Washington.
What鈥檚 more, the denials stand in stark contrast to federal help in the wake of hurricane Sandy, albeit a grander disaster, where a Republican, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, formed a friendly alliance with Obama that helped build support for a comprehensive aid package.
Some commentators in Texas have drawn a comparison between Mr. Christie鈥檚 response and the decision by several Texas lawmakers, including US Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn and US Rep. Bill Flores, who voted against the $17 billion aid package to Sandy victims.
鈥淭he harsh message [Texas Republicans] consistently send to the public is: If you鈥檙e the victim of a major disaster, that鈥檚 your tough luck. It鈥檚 not the federal government鈥檚 job to help you recover and rebuild. So it鈥檚 not surprising that [Perry鈥檚 request for aid for the Town of West] fell on deaf ears,鈥� Tod Robberson, an op-ed columnist for the Dallas Morning News, wrote in June. 鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 excuse FEMA for its callous response. I say: A pox on both your houses. When people are suffering, it鈥檚 time to put politics aside.鈥�