when i came to fema, i asked why fema did housing. hud has housing in their name. we have worked closely. fema does do temporary housing to get people into something immediately. we work hand in hand. with the tennessee floods a couple of years ago, we were looking at houses lost. a lot of people were being displaced. our great partners from hud got in there immediately with us. we were able to move people from one section 8 housing to another. they never had to go into fema housing. they did not have to move from place to place or program to program. we are able to move them into what would be their permanent homes. moving forward by that and focusing on what needs to be done as we're looking at a housing and challenges as we move forward. next we have infrastructure systems. i am not sure if anyone was able to join us from the corps of engineers. great. it is great to see you. çwe know the corps of engineers goes around the world building things and looking at roads systems, utility systems. it is not just the corps of engineers. it is looking at things we need

fema can take credit where credit is due. over the last several years we have been expanding especially in catastrophic planning with our partners from the greater bay area in catastrophic earthquake response plans we developed in 2008 and 2009 -- excuseç me, 2010. i wanted to set the stage about what we're here today to keep in the back of our minds. the type of event we're talking about could literally provide çdamages inñr theç scope ofç e kinds of implications. 1000 bridges totally destroyedç networks disrupted or dysfunctional for two yearsç, maritime prison for weeks or months. çthe transport of 41 key intersection of highways, taking those 335,000 cars, making it almost impossible for them to move aroundñr, then the restoration of water facilities for millions of people in the area, up to 60 days to try to get back online. then the recovery of the refineries and economic redevelopment and slowing of moving 50 million tons of debris you get the picture. this is why we're here. this is why the city of san

does, for example, fema has not done so. the new authorization includes incentives for local communities to use cost estimating by allowing them to rebuild according to today's needs and eliminating the delays in the recovery process caused by cost disputes. moreover this provision allows fema and the applicant to mutually agree on an expert to the prepare a cost estimate to be relied upon by fema instead of using an adversarial process, madam speaker. where each a dispute as to whi ch i am pleased to state that this bill includes a three-year dispute resolution pilot program for fema, the draft procedures in order to expedite project closure and decreased recovery costs caused by project delays. madam speaker, i strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from california. mr. denham: madam speaker, i wish to yield five minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania, the new chairman

they're already being recorded on a computer in fema. it is not an undo burden to make that information transparent. i just flew back in from kansas, as did many of my colleagues, from the district, and last week i did four town hall meetings in additional to 140 in the last two years, and my constituents look at this spending and our trillion dollar deficit, they want to know where all the money goes, not just over a million dollars, and this amendment would take one step to providing transparency and accountability. so i ask this committee add the amendment, and i'd also file two amendments that would have needed waivers. these seek to ensure that local governments are not violating the second amendment right office law abiding citizens. and then number 60 would require certification by the secretary of homeland security that no recipients were receiving funds if they were agent acting actinn contravention to the law preventing gun con confiscation. when guns were improperly confiscated after hurricane katrina, congress passed a law to

i have the pleasure of working for administrator fuget in fema headquarters. fema's role is to coordinate response between state and local governments and his focus, his direction to us really comes down it 3 things. he asks us to always plan for the worst case, the maximum of the maximums and it's go to see the department of defense is incorporating this within the catastrophe policy that was spoken about a little earlier. no. 2, he asked us to sppbld and are able to stabilize an incident within 72 hours. his mantra is think big, go big, go fast but not fast. 3, he asks us to do this within a whole community approach, not only it make sure we utilize the whole community in the response because there's much more responders past the federal-state responders. there's the public being responders and there's many others, private industry need to be in that so we try to integrate that into a whole community concept. and also to make sure when we respond we respond to take into account the whole community. not everybody looks like me and you but we need to be able t

the house has already approved changing fema regulations to speed up the disaster relief process. later this morning, president obama will deliver a series of concrete proposals to bring gun violence under control. in response to the horrific sandy hook school shooting, vice president joe biden has met with the nra, healthcare professionals, gun control groups and a rep from walmart, the nation's largest gun seller. the president will lay out the measures created from those meetings. likely on the list: a push for an assault weapons ban and better background checks. the president speaks at 11:45 eastern. children who wrote letters expressing concerns about gun violence in schools will join him. a new york city school bus driver strike starts today, affecting 152,000 students. more than 8,000 drivers and support workers are walking off the job to protest a lack of job protections. new york city mayor michael bloomberg has proposed a competetive bid process for school bus contracts in order to save money. the union is upset it may impact current drivers. this strike is the first suc

the fema i.g. found that they received $830,000 following a recent flood and the town in question spent all the grant money and requested reimbursement money. among the inappropriate expenditures had nothing to do with equipment and come tuters, telephones and lamps and a microwave. fema rejected the claim finding these outside the scope of the flood as well as outside the terms of the grant. while i commend fema for catching this attempted fraud, the volume of grants that will come as a result of sandy requires maximum transparency in the beginning of the process. let me give you one other example. d.h.s. report, i quote, following hurricanes katrina and rita and other disasters up to december 31, 2010, fema distributed $8 billion some of which were later determined to be inappropriately paid to individuals who were ineligible. fema relaxed its internal controls to provide expeditededlyry of grants. the relaxed internal controls involved improper payment of as much as $621 million to 167,488 recip

there is a fema mantra from day one. if you are a fema employee, you understand that all disasters are local. the people hit first suffer the longest and tend to be the last to truly recover. that is where the impact film lines. enough -- impact zone lies. these things cross state lines. they cross county and parish lines. they are national. these are the sort of things that demand national attention, action, and legislation. with a realization that the money, funds, and help need to filter down to those who need it most and also who know most how to spend it. in each disaster we have had since the 1920's, there has been an issue of who is in charge. the local mayor, the state governor, i need federal funds. the feds come in and tell you we are establishing a partnership. but who really has the big stick? it is the guy with the money. a good friend of mine in louisiana was the adjunct general during katrina. he periodically re-advises my law school and public health classes. you have got the feds and the money, you have

fema citing the constitutional separation of church and state. plus, we have for you something missing from this picture, a recent oval office meeting, no women, where are they? we will discuss the two stories and the double standards within both of them within this company today. this is the company. look at this, gerri willis is here, monica crowley is here and nicole always on the floor of the new york stock exchange. to the big board, it is a pretty flat market despite a pretty flat unemployment report, rather weak economy it shows. 16 points up for the dow, 13,400. that's where we are this friday morning. fema says houses of worship can only get loans to cover damages from hurricane sandy, citing separation of church and state. father jonathan morris is with us right now this friday morning. welcome to the program. >> thank you very much. stuart: now what do you make of this? fema says we will give you loans for the damage to houses of worship and for what you doled out this time of emergency, but we're not going to give you grants like othe

the fema process, we've talked to people from fema on the set here. they have been very, very aggressive about wanting to get out there in the field and take caref things. but governor christie held town meeting just a few days ago in which, for the first time, and the governor has had a remarkable relationship with the people of his state ever since this storm hit. he was out on the field. the pictures have become part of the legend of chris christie in this state about his empathy and sympathy for those around him. what we're start to go see now in town meetings that some people are standing up and saying we expected this to work out this way. we had these numbers we were supposed to call. but suddenly, you know what? we're getting the runaround, because fema says we can't do it way. weave to talk to somebody el. our insurance companies say no you have to talk to fema. there are some people out there who are just a little and with some justification we might add if you're out of your home as long as they have been, they're getting a little bit frust

earlier, i wrote to fema about losing a car. one of my cars wasn't covered under the insurance. fema turned to me and said, why do you need three cars? hello, the american dream is that i'm entitled to buy what i want in the middle class. >> sean: last word. what do you want to say to the president tonight in light of all of this? >> mr. president, i want you to come back to my address on staten island, with my president and any other politician and tell me to my face why you're putting this pork in this bill and not helping us, the victims, and the middle class of sandy. if this was some other area, a low class area they'd be helping them, but it's the middle class, working people, that keep getting the finger here. mr. president, you know my address. i welcome you and any other politician to come to my home, tell me face-to-face that why this pork is in there, why, and what you're doing to help the victims of sandy. don't go through the media. don't go through anybody else. come to my house on staten island and you come face-t

the buses, fema said they couldn't buy new buses. the had to buy a used losses of roughly the same age to replace those buses. so these agencies were put in the position of scouring the country trying to find someone who would sell them old bosses but with mitigation funding, we can pay for a new bus to replace the old one. and the same principle applies to the rail transit. it was badly flooded, and this act of service after weeks after the storm. should we put that station back together with the same exact former devotee to flooding or should we rebuilt in a way that would prevent such an extensive flood damage in the future? of course we should be built to protect against future storms. it seems it is not only common sense, but for my friends who are fiscal hawks, the reality is it is far more fiscally irresponsible to ultimately ensure that we don't have repetitive loss. that we don't have economic consequences, and we don't have human consequences as a result of just simply going back to that which was. with a smart investment,

the fema process, we've talked to people from fema on the set here. they have been very, very aggressive about wanting to get out there in the field and take care of things. but governor christie held a town meeting just a few days ago in which, for the first time, and the governor has had a remarkable relationship with the people of his state ever since this storm hit. he was out on the field. the pictures have become part of the legend of chris christie in this state about his empathy and sympathy for those around him. what we're start to go see now in town meetings that some pele are staing and saying we expected this to work out this way. we had these numbers we were supposed to call. but suddenly, you know what? we're getting the runaround, because fema says we can't do it way. we have to talk to somebody else. our insurance companies say no you have to talk to fema. there are some people out there who are just a little and with some justification we might add if you're out of your home as long as they have been, they're getting a little bit frus

>> fema will be pretty quick. over $3 billion has been distributed already to individuals and governments. not in terms of the amount of damage, but fema has been quick in its distribution. the law limits what it can do. i was in long beach, a community of 35,000 people, and the average home experienced more than $100,000 of damage. if you lost your bottom floor, electric system, boiler, it is hard to rebuild that home and make a better with mitigation for $31,900. the money that would go to homeowners and business, they do not have any money. their cupboard is bare. >> does that affect your plans for pursuing a tax relief bill? >> no, we have always had tax relief bills after major storms. irene, a similar one we put in as sandy, that still has not passed. that still is part of the next tax measure. we can now go to the subject. >> can you talk about your plans for gun-control background checks? >> several of us are working with vice president biden on some reasonable measures. we want to preserve the constitutio

the fema process, we've talked to people from fema on the set here. they have been very, very aggressive about wanting to get out there in the field and take care of things. but governor christie held a town meeting just a few days ago in which, for the first time, and the governor has had a remarkable relationship with the people of his state ever since this storm hit. he was out on the field. the pictures have become part of the legend of chris christie in this state about his empathy and sympathy for those around him. what we're start to go see now in town meetings that some people are standing up and saying we expected this to work out this way. we had these numbers we were supposed to call. but suddenly, you know what? we're getting the runaround, because fema says we can't do it way. we have to talk to somebody else. our insurance companies say no you have to talk to fema. there are some people out there who are just a little and with some justification we might add if you're out of your home as long as they have been, they're getting a little b

the fema process we've talked to people from fema on the set here. they have been very, very aggressionive about wanting to get out there in the field and take care of things but governor christie held a town meeting just a few days ago in which for the first time, and the governor has had a remarkable relationship with the people of his state ever since this storm hit. he was out on the field. the pictures have become part of the legend of chris christie in this state about his empathy and sympathy for those arnold him. what we're start to go see now in town meetings that some people are standing up and saying we expected this to work out this way. we had these numbers we were supposed to call. suddenly you know what? we're getting the run-around because fema says we can't do it way. we have to talk to somebody he will. our insurance companies say no you have to talk to fema. there are some people out there who are just a little and with some justification we might add if you're out of your home as long as they have been, they're getting a little bi

>> fema does have an -- and has said that. he's right on that. as hal rogers knows, better than probably anybody else, he was for a $27 billion bill, his committee, which dealt with a lot of other agencies, not just way beyond fema, in terms of helping communities rebuild, and helping small businesses recoup their losses and try to get back into business, helping families directly. so while the statements that fema has said it has money through march is true, there are billions and billions and billions of dollars that are necessary right now coming from other agencies. so while what mr. rogers says is true, he knows full well that that's not enough. furthermore, i was shocked last night and deeply saddened that we didn't put the relief bill that was passed through the united states senate in a very strong bipartisan vote on the floor last night as it was represented to me, the day before and the night of last night, it would be the majority -- >> mr. hoyer. >> yes, sir. >> why didn't it happen? that's what everyone is wondering. you said you wer

some officials point out that fema is currently funded. has money to disburse, but this package goes beyond fema and there hurt feelings and a sense of being left in the cold literally. we are not sure how it will play out with the governor of new jersey and his position within the republican party coming out to speak. the president weighing in and so many members of congress. will there be a break? we are not sure, but everyone is talking about it. >> lots of passion. >> you have to wonder if everyone is on the same page. didn't representative kantor say he was 99.9% sure this was going to be brought to a vote and if it didn't happen, was it because of all the other stuff added in? there was like $150 million for fisheries and $2 million for a new roof? is that the hold up? >> there was a wariness when there big spending bills that are titled under very real, very necessary concerns like an emergency and a disaster. what happened overtime is very often those are the bills that other things get stuck to. it may be spending that the governm

that's the money you need, not the fema money. yes, that's needed, but that's what you need in time of disaster. that's why in the bill, $33 million documented down to the last money. hal rogers can suck um if he wants to, but then raise your money down in kentucky. >> will you vote to have speaker of the house for the next session? >> i'm going to -- every vote that you cast from now on, i'm going to wait until the last minute to decide, how it would affect my region. my obligation is to my constituents, not to any individual or party. it's my country and my constituents. >> would it be fair to interpret that as you have not yet decided if you will vote to elect john boehner as how speaker? >> farce i'm concerned, my world turned upsidedown last night, so i'm holding every vote in abbian for now. >> have you spoken to the speaker's office -- >> i was chasing him all over the house last night. he said wait until the vote is over. wait until the fiscal cliff vote is over, everything will be taken care of, and then he was gone. he y

the work and continue to have robust exchanges among ourselves and the key agencies and cal-ema and fema and others providing resources post disaster so thank you. >> thank you very much. that was very informative. thank you. i would like to ask now john boseman to come join me who is the government affairs manager for boma and the mayor mentioned it early ye today. i think john has a one minute film he's going to show and he's also going to be -- as you know in each of the agenda's we ask a community partner to come up and do a brief presentation so we know what they're up to so john i turn it over to you. >> thank you. i appreciate it. happy friday afternoon. it's an honor to be here with so many distinguished city leaders. i am humbled and admiral thank you for your good work. it's an honor to be in the same room. who knows what this is? good. that sames me time. i'm here to talk about the importance of this room and building and the good work that we do, the building managers and downtown rises in downtown san francisco. i can't stress enough how our members feel the value this room

>> you mentioned fema. what is fema doing besides that? what's the city doing to make sure that the folks there don't freeze? >> reporter: well, fema is paying for any sandy storm victims that don't have heat in their homes, they can't live in their homes. they're putting them up in hotels. they're making sure, especially on this frigid day, to go door to door, they say. we hope to be seeing them later today, to make sure that people are aware that they have this option. there's also a program under way where more than 2,300 people haven't had it yet but they're trying to get basic repairs done for them, to at least get the heat and power turned back on so they can get through the winter. randi? >> susan candiotti for us. susan, thank you very much. >>> from the bitter cold to a bitter fight. after being banned for years, women will finally be allowed in combat, but some critics say that puts the lives of u.s. troops in danger. we'll hear from both sides. that's not much you think. except it's 2% every year. does that make a difference? se

that is from fema. it also doesn't cover earthquake damage and that is something very important in the bay area. you want to make sure what your homeowners covers. find out what policies complement each other. >> and i was thinking about the horrible situation in san bruno. how could that be covered by insurance. >> it's one of those things that insurers will take a look at typical risk do. all the math and they come up what is and isn't covered. an explosion is covered. you have pg&e who is responsible for that whole process going through and finding where the money is going to come to rebuild those homes. >> cheryl: renters, there are millions of renters and not that manyle t people think to get res insurance? >> they assume, i don't have that much. i don't need insurance. when you start adding up all your contents, your belongings you realize how much money is in those contents. so one of the things you want to do is look into renter's insurance, you are looking at about $12 a mow for $30,000 policy.

why are you not getting the assistance that you were promised by fema? >> we are dealing with the rapid repair trying to get a boiler and hot water heater. it's not working so well. cheryl: are you in contact with them? and calling you? does anyone come to check on you? know you were displaced in an apartment now. the cost of setting up. are you getting in the reach of all? >> we signed up with them on the 15th of november. they came on dec. third, that the boiler and hot water heater and left and we have not seen until last week. cheryl: with the decision last week? >> last week they came and drop the boiler and hot water heater off and put it. it's still not in yet. it's still not finished. there are still waiting on parts. leaks. it's just a fiasco. you get very frustrated. you try calling people. no one gets back to you. all numbers people call you from and those numbers a disconnected . you try to get a lot of the contractors to call you, they don't get back to you prodigiously you hanging. before i got on the phone with you guys went to the house.

you want to have a discussion about flood insurance or what fema does, how it does it, how effectively it does it, that's fine. but you don't do it when have you thousands of people in desperate need. you don't hold those people hostage in a sense to your ideological predispositions, that's an ugly, thuggish way to do business. >> barney, he is saying when the house is on fire, put the water on it and then sort this out. >> that's not entirely fair. the reason the house broken up the sandy relief bill to three different parts, they want a $33 billion appropriation to go toward future daiser mitigation projects. i don't know how that $33 billion is supposed to grease the skids of washington. i guess i can think of a couple of different ways, but, again, we can't keep adding money to the debt that we don't have. we can't keep borrowing money from china to pay for it. >> is there something wrong with disaster mitigation? future disaster mitigation? i think that would probably be a good idea given what happened in hurricane sandy. >> how building levees five years in the future in new york

barack obama promulgo la ley para atender a las víctimas del huracán sandy, supera a la organizacion fema que estaba a punto de quedarse sin fondos. >> con la llegada del nuevo año se fortalecen las nuevas noticias, presidente barack obama dice que se trataria este año la reforma migratoria, con la elección de nuevos congresistan, el mayor número de latinos en el congresos podría dar la chance de que pase. >> y los inmigrantes sin autorizacion podrían recibir licencias de conducir aquellos que recibieron el beneficio de la acción diferida. >> solo faltan 4 días para que en venezuela se lleve a cabo la toma de posesion de chavez, la opocision y el oficialismo pelean entre cuál seria la toma de poder, osmari hernandez nos aomplia. >> la cercania del 10 de enero que esta en la constitucion venenzolana genera nerviosimo. >> necesita un parte médico. >> no

fema is well represented and we have several defense coordinating officers here over the past couple of days. certainly the california national guard is represented heavily here. obviously they are going to be the first guys to respond to a disaster and they have several interesting roles not only from a state perspective but as they get federalized or with the dual status commander managing federal response and federal authorities of military authorities flowing in. and most significantly, we're represented today with the commander of northern command, general jackoby. as you know, defense report to civil authorities is not a primary mission area for the department of defense. we have codified it in policy over the years and certainly things have advanced since 9/11 and hurricane katrina, but there has been a real gap in detailed preplanning for emergency response, particularly as it works its way down the chain into the tactical forces that would respond, most specifically i think those on active duty. this is an area that we don't tend to pay a lot of attention to and very often w

fema covers $30,000, a little more. this flood insurance money is absolutely vital for those who have flood insurance but relatively few families have that insurance so we need the rest of the money, the cdbg money, to begin to rebuild homes. we need the money for roads and businesses and sewage system and infrastructure, we need that money to flow so cities can rebuild and we need to make sure businesses have a small amount of money to rebuild what's been left and so that's really what the families are waiting for. they look to us in washington to say can they come together, can they get this work done, can they find those core common values to be able to offer some amount of help at a time when it is so desperately needed so i was very grateful that the house passed the first $9 billion. it makes a difference we were able to do it unanimously here but as senator schumer said, this is just a small first step in the direction of meeting the real needs these states are undergoing. new york has always stood by every other

congress has to interact with all sorts of agents, not just fema, the small business administration, corps of engineers to figure out how to allocate that $60 billion within a month and a half period. if the idea now is we should just take $60 billion which i must say is an almost incomprehensible amount of money. stuart: that is a huge amount of money. would since hurricane andrew's bills $7 billion? $60 billion for sandy? >> the annual budget is $43 billion. stuart: the annual budget of the state of new jersey's $30 billion. what is going on? >> it is not only difficult but there is some responsibility in making sure that if you're going to spend $60 billion you are not just dropping out of planes are bringing it to new jersey and trucks that there is some effort made to figure out how it is spent. stuart: if i am the victim of a natural disaster i lose my house and all the positions therein is it right to ask the taxpayers of the united states to build me a new house and make sure i am made whole? >> i think there are aspects of these disasters in which there is enormous personal