Biden Turns Down Disaster Assistance Request For Ohio’s Train Derailment

Just days after an Associated Press story circulated about ‘Biden’s empathy shaping his policy decisions’ Ohio residents are left with little more than platitudes.

It took more than a week for anyone in the administration to address the issue which had required a community to evacuate the area as toxic chemicals were released from train cars and set on fire. That reponse was left to the lesser lights like, as some from South Bend have called him, ‘Pothole Pete’ Buttigieg.

Senator JD Vance took a run at Pete, telling the DoT to stop blaming a President who has been out of office for three years for the way things are being run today.

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Vance, who hasn’t been getting clear guidance about safe levels of toxicity from the CDC also blasted the EPA minister with an Erin Brokovich reference, “I think if the EPA administrator wants to stand here and tell people that the tap water is safe, by all means, they should be willing to drink it.”

The closest Biden came to addressing Ohio’s concerns must have seemed like a dark attempt at parody by the people living through it.

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While it’s still a little early to play the ‘it’s this President’s Katrina’ game, residents were already NOT happy. And that was BEFORE the federal government declined Ohio’s request for disaster assistance.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) told Ohio’s state government that it was not eligible for disaster assistance to help the community recover from the toxic spill, Dan Tierney, a spokesperson for DeWine, told Fox News Digital on Thursday. Tierney explained that FEMA believed the incident didn’t qualify as a traditional disaster, such as a tornado or hurricane, for which it usually provides assistance.
“The DeWine Administration has been in daily contact with FEMA to discuss the need for federal support, however FEMA continues to tell Governor DeWine that Ohio is not eligible for assistance at this time,” DeWine’s office said in a statement earlier in the day. “Governor DeWine will continue working with FEMA to determine what assistance can be provided.” -FoxNews

The best the feds could offer was a little bit of assistance in health care costs related to the incident.

Here’s a question the residents of Ohio might want to ask:

How is it that their situation doesn’t qualify as a ‘traditional disaster’ worthy of assistance, and yet THIS entirely man-made disaster somehow DID qualify for special FEMA assistance?

Would it be handled differently if Ohio’s Governor were a Democrat?

Sources:
FoxNews
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-admin-turns-down-ohios-request-disaster-assistance-toxic-derailment