Romney Has No Plans To Cut FEMA, His Campaign Says

6 months ago

Candidate’s primary debate remarks raise questions during Hurricane Sandy

With Hurricane Sandy bearing down on much of the Easy Coast, Mitt Romney’s campaign is clarifying the former Massachusetts governor’s position on federal agencies like FEMA. In the New Hampshire Republican presidential primary debate in June 2011, Romney addressed a FEMA and federal response to disasters: "Every time you have an occasion to take something from the federal government and send it back to the states, that's the right direction. And if you can go even further and send it back to the private sector, that's even better." On Monday, Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said the candidate was not implying he would get rid of FEMA. "Gov. Romney believes that states should be in charge of emergency management in responding to storms and other natural disasters in their jurisdictions…[but] this includes help from the federal government and FEMA," Henneberg said. The response was prompted by the liberal group Center for American Progress, which called attention to Romney’s FEMA remarks on Sunday. Romney has publicly support the House GOP budget authored by his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan, which calls for major cuts to federal disaster relief spending. (Yahoo! News)