As search and rescue efforts continue after the terrible floods that hit Texas Hill Country over the July 4th weekend, killing at least 120 people, including many children, a clear difference has appeared between help from other countries and the U.S. government’s emergency response. While Mexican rescue teams quickly arrived to help search for missing people, reports show that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) faced major delays because of new federal spending rules.
In the middle of this tragedy, new details have come out showing that FEMA’s response was slowed down by a strict rule put in place by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. According to CNN, this rule says she must personally approve every contract or grant over $100,000, which took away much of FEMA’s ability to act quickly when it was needed most.
