Senator James Lankford (R-OK) introduced a bill Thursday afternoon that would expressly prohibit disaster aid from being denied to anyone based on politics.
Lankford introduced the “Stopping Political Discrimination in Disaster Assistance Act,” which would “prohibit discrimination based on political affiliation in granting disaster assistance.” The bill comes after The Daily Wire reported earlier this month that a FEMA supervisor in Florida ordered relief workers to “avoid homes advertising Trump.”
“Discrimination based on political affiliation has no place in federal disaster relief,” Lankford told The Daily Wire. “The Stafford Act already requires that disaster assistance be provided impartially, without discrimination based on race, religion, or other factors. Adding political affiliation to this list ensures that relief is given fairly, regardless of a person’s beliefs.”
The Stafford Act is the measure that guides the federal government’s response to natural disasters. Lankford’s proposal would amend the act to clarify that people cannot be discriminated against based on “political affiliation.”
Lankford’s measure already has bipartisan support including co-sponsors Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Ted Budd (R-NC), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Roger Marshall (R-KS), and Gary Peters (D-MI).
“No one would have contemplated a need for a bill like this until President Biden’s FEMA intentionally withheld assistance from disaster victims that were Trump supporters. This bill will stop political discrimination forever,” Lankford added.
Lankford was referring to now-fired FEMA supervisor Marn’i Washington instructing relief workers in Lake Placid to skip homes with Trump flags or yard signs. Whistleblowers told The Daily Wire that at least 20 homes were skipped because of the directive.
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FEMA supervisor Deanne Criswell testified this week before Congress on the guidance, saying she believed it to be an isolated incident and not indicative of any larger problem. Criswell announced that Washington was fired one day after The Daily Wire first reported on the incident.
Lawmakers are still probing the situation and have demanded that the Inspector General conduct an independent investigation. Nineteen Republican senators, including Lankford, sent a letter to Criswell earlier this week asking her to provide the total number of houses FEMA has skipped across all declared disaster zones and the listed reason for bypassing the homes.
“The idea that citizens, whose tax dollars fund FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) and pay FEMA officials’ salaries, may be purposely excluded from vitally needed aid is chilling and further erodes many people’s already tenuous trust in this administration,” they wrote.