Schumer: When FEMA Said They Would Send New York $5 Million For Blackout Expenses, I Didn't Know Whether to Laugh or Cry
SCHUMER: WHEN FEMA SAID THEY WOULD SEND NEW YORK $5 MILLION FOR BLACKOUT EXPENSES, I DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER TO LAUGH OR CRY
Schumer had asked for federal funds to help pay for blackout disaster recovery but says funds approved this weekend don't begin to come close to what is needed.Blackout costs in New York City alone exceeded one billion dollars In response to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's announcement this morning that they will send New York government agencies up to five million reimburse costs from last week's blackouts, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today said:
"When I saw FEMA's announcement that they would reimburse New York State, New York City, and all of the cities, towns and villages across the state five million dollars for their expenses during the blackout last week, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This was an emergency just like hurricanes and forest fires are emergencies, and to say that all of New York State will get a total of five million dollars is really so inadequate that one doesn't know what to say.
"The President helped us in New York after 9/11 and I hope he will continue to act in that direction, but this announcement doesn't come close to what we need. I am hopeful that this is just the first allocation of dollars, but the FEMA release doesn't say that.
"We're not going to let Washington get away with just reimbursing New York State for the emergency we suffered when they are quick to give tens of millions or hundreds of millions to western states with forest fires and southern states with hurricanes. The hundreds of millions of dollars that New York City, Upstate, Long Island, Westchester, and the state itself spent for extra police and extra firefighters have to be reimbursed just like any other disaster or any other emergency.
"The glimmer of good news is that Washington recognized the blackout was an emergency, but the overwhelming bad news is that $5 million isn't going to come close to reimbursing us fairly for our expenses. I'll be fighting as hard as I can in Washington as I did after 9/11 to see that New York gets its fair share."