'We Know What It Mean When Red Tape Holds Up Rescue': Louisana Governor Jeff Landry Pans Growth Of FEMA Bureaucracy

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During a public meeting of the FEMA Review Council, Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA) spoke about the agency and hurdles to providing emergency assistance.

Transcript

00:00today, sir. Thank you. Well, thank you, Governor Bryant. Thank you for being such a great friend

00:03and such a great ally for Mississippi. I want to thank virtually Secretary Hecksmith and

00:08Secretary Noem for their leadership that they've been exhibiting. I know I have all the confidence

00:17in the world. And also, before I begin, I want to take a moment to extend our prayers to the

00:22people of Texas. The state of Louisiana has sent dozens of assets and rescue

00:29water rescue teams to the state of Texas, just like Texas and Mississippi and other

00:36southern states have done for each other during times of natural disasters. That is one of the

00:41functions that I think work very well inside of the FEMA realm is how states work with each other

00:48to be able to share those assets and those experiences. We did that again last year during

00:54the storms that ravaged North Carolina and East Coast. But what's happening in Texas today

01:01is exactly why this FEMA review consul matters. Again, like I said earlier, I have all the confidence

01:09in Secretary Noem, Secretary Hecksmith, President Trump, that Texas will get what they need to address

01:20the tragedy that has befallen them. As Secretary Noem mentioned, New Mexico is having some flooding as

01:27well. And I'm completely confident that the people there are in good hands knowing that Secretary Noem

01:32and President Trump's administration will be there to help them as well. The reason that I can say that

01:40I have confidence is that I have had experience with President Trump's dedication to addressing

01:47national natural disasters. Because before he was president, in 2016, Louisiana experienced a

01:55thousand-year flood event. And one of the people who came to our aides, besides faith-based groups

02:04and our sister states, was President Trump. While others golfed, he was on the ground bringing much

02:12needed supplies to the state of Louisiana before he was even elected. Time and time again, we know that

02:20Louisiana has been impacted by major hurricanes. And time and time again, when President Trump was in

02:27office, he has been on the ground helping us. This is not political theater. The president has tasked

02:35Secretary Noem and Secretary Hexeth and his counsel with addressing emergency response. Because like me,

02:44he believes, and they believe, that disaster response must be fast, it must be smart, and it must be closer

02:53to the ground. I don't believe that it's a coincidence that I welcome you all to New Orleans

02:59to discuss the very agency that, along with the Corps of Engineers,

03:03failed this city some 20 years ago. When Hurricane Katrina struck our state and the city.

03:11And since then, 10 storms have ravaged us. Since Katrina, over 10 storms have affected Louisiana.

03:2110 times has the state of Louisiana had to deal with FEMA. As a resident of this state,

03:28I grew up on the coast. And I, and now as governor, I can bring those experiences to bear. I know all too

03:36well the importance of having strong, reliable emergency and disaster response systems in place.

03:43My first experience with a major hurricane was Hurricane Andrew. In 1992, I was a sheriff's deputy

03:52and a National Guardsman. I spent two weeks responding to that hurricane without electricity for two weeks.

04:01I spent without electricity. It's why I have a generator at my home from here on out.

04:07Because hurricane season is normally in the summer. And not having electricity certainly impacts those,

04:14because the heat is something that is critical. It can be devastating to those communities.

04:23I remember that at that time, which was interesting, the federal response seemed to be simple.

04:30They let locals leave. I remember that because our farmers,

04:34farmers who had just experienced a devastation of their crops were put to work utilizing equipment

04:41that would have set idle otherwise. That equipment could not be used to harvest their crops,

04:50because their crops were devastated. So instead, we put those farmers and their implements to work,

04:56clearing our streets, clearing our ditches, helping each other out.

05:00Since that time, the bureaucracy of FEMA has only grown, in my opinion, to the point of dysfunction.

05:09We have regulated ourselves into paralysis with a patchwork of solutions that leave many communities

05:16suffering for years. As I said, since that time, I've lived through disaster after disaster.

05:24Katrina, Rita, Ike, Gustav, Laura, and so many other storms that have upended the lives of the people

05:33of Louisiana and have destroyed many of our communities. This state and this city knows firsthand

05:42what it means to wait too long for federal support. We know what it means when red tape holds up

05:49rescue, recovery, and rebuilding. That's why this council being here in New Orleans today is so

05:59critical, meaningful, and hopefully special. My hope today is that we take serious

06:05the issues that help communities mitigate and avoid emergency

06:12and avoid the emergency part of natural disasters. That we recognize what flaws this system has

06:23from the top to the bottom. That we address things like giving our states more authority

06:28for building levies so that the bureaucracy doesn't stall the needed protection that only costs

06:37our taxpayers and other taxpayers millions of dollars. I'll give you an example, like in Grand Isle,

06:44where the federal government since Katrina has spent over $135 million. And yet today, when we have

06:53financially secured the means to protect that community, the Corps of Engineers today is dragging its

07:01feet on the ability for us to finish the projects needed to save federal taxpayers money and lives and

07:13property in Grand Isle. And yet so we go through another hurricane season where that island is exposed,

07:21where the federal government would have to step in, and we will have to spend money that needlessly

07:25should be mitigated. Like risk rating 2.0, which is driving our flood insurance to unaffordable limits,

07:35making long-standing communities unlivable. These decisions made here won't just affect policy.

07:47They will determine how quickly a mother in Lake Charles gets a roof over her head.

07:53How soon a small business in Homer, Louisiana can reopen their doors. Or how prepared the city of New

08:03Orleans will be for the next major hurricane. Again, I would like to thank and commend President Trump

08:10for his leadership. Finally, someone is taking control of the bureaucracy. I would like to thank

08:19Secretary Noem, who was on the ground here in January when this city experienced a terrorist attack.

08:26I want to thank Secretary Hexeth for being here today. His participation is extremely important

08:33because the Corps of Engineers has a vital function in natural disasters, and they sometimes fail.

08:40And everyone else in this council, I want to thank you for holding this second public meeting here in

08:48Louisiana. Our state just doesn't need FEMA to do better. It needs FEMA to be fixed, and it needs a system

08:56that is simplified. I know President Trump and his council understand that speed and transparency are

09:02essential to keeping our cities prepared and our people safe in the face of natural disasters.

09:09While we are hoping and praying for a very passive hurricane season this year, I hope that we're all

09:17committed to working closely with each other to strengthen our disaster response system. Thank you.

09:23Governor.

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