WASHINGTON — Sen. Tom Coburn said Tuesday he wants the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reveal why it denied individual assistance to Oklahomans affected by January's ice storms.
Coburn, R-Muskogee, sent a letter to FEMA Director David Paulison questioning what criteria were used by the federal agency in assessing the state's request for individual assistance. The senator said he wants to see all of the data used to determine eligibility for the assistance.
"I have traveled all across Oklahoma, received hundreds of letters, e-mails and phone calls, and I can tell you that confidence in FEMA has been shaken,” Coburn said in his letter. "In your own travels across the nation, I am certain you are encountering many of the same concerns. Only through complete transparency, and a willingness to explain all decisions in detail, will public confidence be restored.”
Coburn noted that he was the top Republican on the Federal Financial Management subcommittee and pledged that he would seek "aggressive oversight” of government agencies that fail to explain their decisions in detail.
FEMA did not immediately respond Tuesday afternoon to a request for comment.
FEMA granted public assistance to more than 40 counties that sustained damage from the storms but denied the individual assistance. Public assistance is money given to government entities to make repairs and clean up after a disaster. Individual assistance is given to individual residents.
