Hurricane Irene’s rumble through the East Coast over the weekend is another natural disaster for FEMA deal with this year. At least 30 people have died, and that number may rise as flodding continues to cause problems in Vermont and upstate New York. Previously this year, the Mississippi River’s had record-breaking floods and tornadoes ravaged through hundreds of miles of land, across numerous states. Already, FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund is running seriously low, with only $800 million to $1 billion left. John Copenhaver, former FEMA regional director for the southeast U.S. under President Bill Clinton, and Jordan Fabian, political editor at Univision, on why Congress hasn’t allocated more money for FEMA’s emergency relief fund.
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