After Vice President Kamala Harris claimed that disaster relief for Hurricane Ian will be allocated based on equality, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency fought back against the Biden White House this week.
Kamala on Hurricane Ian relief:
The Biden administration will focus on “giving resources based on equity” by directing funds to “communities of color” pic.twitter.com/uixPpyQWdU
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 30, 2022
In response, Senator Rick Scott, a Republican from Florida, issued a request for the White House and FEMA to approach relief efforts in a "colorblind" manner.
According to Scott, the statements made by the vice president were about if you have a different skin color you're going to receive relief, and he called the vice president's comments inappropriate.
The head of FEMA strongly disagreed with the assessment.
When asked about Harris's remarks on Sunday, Deanne Criswell told CBS News, We're going to support all communities. Harris had made such remarks. I pledged that to the governor, and I commit to you right here that all Floridians are going to be able to obtain the help that is available to them through our programs, she said. I commit to you right here that this will happen.
Criswell reported that she had been on the ground in Florida inspecting the damage caused by Hurricane Ian. Based on her observations, she anticipated that a lot of individuals that are going to require assistance as a result of this.
These are the individuals who are going to have access to the assistance that we make available, and they are the ones who are in greatest need of it. I am aware that the vice president and the president hold the same ideals, she continued. They are a team. Everyone who is in need of assistance may count on us to be there to support them.
While responding to VP Harris’s comments about equity and equality with disaster relief, FEMA head Deanne Criswell acknowledges there are people who have a “hard time” and encounter “barriers” accessing aid, but “our programs support everybody.” pic.twitter.com/pfCW9mn3x4
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 2, 2022
On Friday, Harris asserted that "equity" should play a part in determining how resources are dispersed in the world.
On Friday, at the Democratic National Committee's Women's Leadership Forum, Harris brought up the fact that the government should be mindful of how natural catastrophes affect "communities of color" and added, We have to approach this in a way that is about distributing resources based on equity, realizing that we fight for equality, but we equally need to fight for equity.
On Monday, the White House issued a statement defending Harris's remarks.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Headline Wealth.