'A Whole Lot Quicker Without Waiting Around For The Federal Government': Greg Abbott Urges FEMA Reform

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) was asked about FEMA's role in flood response during a press briefing.

Transcript

00:00Yes, so one thing I think most say governors,

00:12most state officials as well as the federal government could agree upon and

00:16that is we needed improvements in FEMA and it needed to be what I call right sized.

00:24So that it would be more nimble quicker in the response.

00:28But also understanding that it's the locals who know what is best in responding to a disaster.

00:34And local is defined by these local communities, whether it be Leander or Travis County or Williamson County, whatever the case may be.

00:42They're the ones on the ground and they know their communities far better than anybody else and

00:46they know how to respond to their communities and it's the state and

00:50federal government that work to provide them the additional resources they need to accomplish their goal.

00:55So here's the point, but by working on the reforms that we will work with FEMA and

01:00with the presidential team on, we're going to work to find ways to streamline the process,

01:05cut through all the red tape to ensure that even when we do that,

01:09the monetary resources that we are receiving now that are much needed for

01:13things like having the emergency first responders or debris removal or search and rescue operations.

01:20Those will still be funded, but we will have the ability to do it a whole lot faster,

01:26a whole lot quicker without waiting around for the federal government.

01:29Last question.

01:29Governor.