beyond that fema doesn't do squad. fema does not rescue people. people find that. get it out of your head. when they dial 911 it goes to local fire or police station. if it is a really big crisis i guarantee you that local fire station and police department will be overwhelmed within 12 hours. mutual aid kick in and -- i want you to remember this. three hundred million people. who will come to save you? you have to be your own personal firefighter and search and rescue team member. you are on your own. lower expectations and at the same time the inverse effect is make people realize you have a personal responsibility and that responsibility is not just to your family and neighbors but also to those firefighters that will eventually show up. you are not ready. if you haven't done what you need to do to take care of yourself and that firefighter gets hurt or killed taking care of you then shame on you. >> how many employees does fema have? is a all-around country or just here? >> 4,000 is the current number. 3500 or so when i was there. it is down to 4,000. four thou

i have had more calls on fema being upset with fema than all other agencies put together. when we had katrina going into new orleans, they needed ice. so fema ordered ice from the northeast. and they ordered 211 million pounds of ice. it traveled for two weeks. and they finally ended up in nebraska. and they never got it. but that's a typical way of how fema works. so if you want efficiency, why don't we look at how things were handled before we had fema. now it's the department of -- homeland security. they don't have a good record. go ahead. i do have another bigger gripe. >> let me just say, i reported extensively on the failings of fema during katrina, the trailers, the ice. but i mean, they also had body recovery teams on the ground very quickly before other people. and that was a fema response. i mean, they do have expertise in some areas that some states don't. i mean, if you'd left everything up to louisiana officials during katrina, probably more people would have died. >> well, that remains to be seen. there's no proof of that. >> louisiana officials certainly we

way before fema was around. in galveston which is part of your district, i think, wasn't it, it was fema who rebuilt it. they needed fema. there wasn't a seawall in galveston before the storm. and it wasn't, they needed to rebuild because locals there decided it was too expensive for them to cover all that on their own using local funds. and because they didn't, 6,000 people died in that storm. if fema were abolished, wouldn't you be setting the stage for life or death conditions in poor areas of the country? >> i pointed out in 1900, galveston, which is in my district, they survived without fema and they did rebuild the city and it was mostly local funds. probably some state funds. >> but there was not a seawall there because they decided to gamble because it was too expensive. if you had a federal government who was involved, wouldn't that be -- >> anderson, anderson, wait a minute. the seawall you a built shortly there after. fema didn't build in it 1979. that has been around a long, long time. you didn't nee

way before fema was around. in galveston which is part of your district, i think, wasn't it, it was fema who rebuilt it. they needed fema. there wasn't a seawall in galveston before the storm. and it wasn't, they needed to rebuild because locals there decided it was too expensive for them to cover all that on their own using local funds. and because they didn't, 6,000 people died in that storm. if fema were abolished, wouldn't you be setting the stage for life or death conditions in poor areas of the country? >> i pointed out in 1900, galveston, which is in my district, they survived without fema and they did rebuild the city and it was mostly local funds. probably some state funds. >> but there was not a seawall there because they decided to gamble because it was too expensive. if you had a federal government who was involved, wouldn't that be -- >> anderson, anderson, wait a minute. the seawall you a built shortly there after. fema didn't build in it 1979. that has been around a long, long time. you didn't nee

before fema, the people built the city and built a seawall and survived without fema.ld be like 1940 and 1960. people have lack of confidence in how free markets work, and how neighbors should take care of themselves. it should be coordinate voluntarily with the states. >> it's true that fema is relatively new. it was created in 1979 and has a way of consolidated all the things the federal government did for the local agencies. ron paul believes they don't need outside coordinations in times of disaster. they reduced the capacity of local authorities to act, and that's the advantage of something like fema. and it's not as if the federal government was not helping before fema existed. for example, if we are talking about hurricanes to hit the new york area, there have not been many, the works progress administration, the wpa was vital during the hurricane that hit long island. >> in three days, the workers have been shifted to storm duty. manpower turning from regular public improvements and services into the breech in time of dire needs. where tracks were mentd to carr

let's say fema needs $1 billion just for round numbers. 42 cents of every dollar they give to fema will have to be borrowed, bill. so we have to start making these choices. >> we don't have any money, but we got money for wars. in fact, we got $900 billion a week for what the hell is going on over in afghanistan. of course, who is brownie, anyway? i don't think most americans know what he's doing right now. 3 million americans are still without power. there's millions in damage and floodwaters are rising all along the eastern seaboard. they're worried about deficits, they're worried about budgets, they're not worried about people. with the republicans in the time of disaster, it's all about the money, isn't it? there were 700 boat rescues in the state of new jersey today. at this hour, about 1,000 families in wallington, new jersey have been evacuated because the river is scheduled to reach its crest. those folks, you know what they need? they need some help, and they're worried about what their home will be like because, you see, i guess the storm is their fault. they don't need cuts.

there is no magic about fema. >> chris: you upon would do away with fema and all of the things it is doing to help people in the east coast? >> guest: you read the reports that came out of new orleans and all of the wonderful things they did. giving check to people who didn't live there and hundreds of millions of trailers because they didn't meet fema standards. it is a system of burrcrats with a policy that is deeply flawed. you don't get rid of it in one day. i have had the position for a long time and i have a coastal district. but i also suggested that there is different way to finance it. fema is in big financially. it is 20 billion in debt. it is deeply flawed and i refused to vote for the bailout money. we didn't have the money. i proposed that we save a billion from overseas warmongering and put it against the deficit and tide people over until we come to our senses and realize fema is got one of the worst reputation for bureaucracy ever. i win elections because i fight for the constitients to over come the bureaucracy. you can't imagine of how many calls we get because fema

fema can assess right on the spot, and still ron paul says there is no need for fema.e care of themselves and people are perfectly capable of taking responsibility for their homes. insurance anyone? is ron paul right about fema? is it necessary? facebook.com/carolcnn. i will read your responses later this hour. >>> before the storm even hit, trains and buses were parked and planes were grounded and hundreds of thousands of passengers were left stranded. joining us to talk by phone is the spokesman for the port authority of new york and new jersey. ron, first of all, is everything back up and running in your area? >> well, it's back up and running, but it will take time for it to ramp up back to normal. laguardia airport opened for arrivals and departures at 7:00 a.m. this morning, newark and kennedy airports took arrivals beginning at 6:00 a.m., and just a few minutes ago started taking departures as well. >> are we seeing massive delays? >> no. matter fact, faa is reporting delays of 15 minutes or less at all three of the major airports. >> that's not so bad there. i

, that fema is unnecessary.u're sitting now, is fema necessary? >> well, fema is the only agency i know that comes in during disasters and provides relief and support to families of distre distress. you pick a condition by which it was considered to be extreme and what other agencies do we have that can go in there and provide that support? until there's a better response, a better answer to something like fema, fema is the best game in town and i'll stick with it. >> mayor jones, thanks so much for joining us. i know you're busy. we appreciate it. >> thank you. have a good day. >>> time now for today's romans numeral. >> it's back. >> we're bringing it back. it's a number that gives you a little more clarity about a story, makes you think, boils it down into that wonky numbers way we like to do. companies sitting on piles of cash and at the same time, using the complicated american tax system to pay as little tax as humanly possible. as you know there's been a lot of talk recently about corporations pushing for

that's the purpose of fema. that's the purpose of the disaster relief fund. >> very kwukly, i want to ask you about the science situation. both governor shum len and senator leahy, vermont is experiencing some problems they've not experienced before. they think it's a possibility with climate change. how much does fema need to get involved in studying this so that you can be better prepared for flooding from what was not even a hurricane, a tropical storm by the time it hit vermont because of of changing weather patterns? >> chuck, that's right on target. i think that this was barely a category one storm when it hit. what if it was a category three or four storm? just like we learned in katrina the lessons there, we have to step back at look at the lessons we learned here. the storms are getting bigger, more ferocious. fema does need to be involved in what's happening with the climate regardless of the cause. and make sure that we adjust to that and provide the resources and engineering to help these cities and

. >> reporter: fema told us there is enough money for now. a fema region nine response center. in a major disaster strikes in california, nevada, or the pacific territories fema officials here will begin the nation's emergency response. but after ten national disaster's this year each costing more than a million dollars does fema have the money to pay for the response? >> we want to focus the remaining fund on the emergency needs that are very prevalent right now. >> reporter: it's estimated me fema has a million dollars or less. janet napolitano says emergencies come first. >> what does that means, all claims for individual assistance will be paid. >> reporter: but there could be delays in paying for longer term emergency infrastructure projects. in joplin, missouri scene of devastating tornadoes in may that killed four times as many people as hurricane irene residents are trying to rebuild with help from fema but worry money will come up short. fema says there are no funding issues here. >> i just looked at the list. i don't believe there are any here in the immediate bay are

. >> reporter: fema told us there is enough money for now. a fema region nine response center. in a major disaster strikes in california, nevada, or the pacific territories fema officials here will begin the nation's emergency response. but after ten national disaster's this year each costing more than a million dollars does fema have the money to pay for the response? >> we want to focus the remaining fund on the emergency needs that are very prevalent right now. >> reporter: it's estimated me fema has a million dollars or less. janet napolitano says emergencies come first. >> what does that means, all claims for individual assistance will be paid. >> reporter: but there could be delays in paying for longer term emergency infrastructure projects. in joplin, missouri scene of devastating tornadoes in may that killed four times as many people as hurricane irene residents are trying to rebuild with help from fema but worry money will come up short. fema says there are no funding issues here. >> i just looked at the list. i don't believe there are any here in the immediate bay are

. >> fema has taken heavy criticism in the past for handling natural disasters. but how is the federal agency dealing with the earthquake earlier in the week, the hurricane now? we have a live report from d.c., coming up. don't go away. >> we have seen fema not perform to the level from time to time. they can be low and bureaucratic. i being you need to have a great conversation. is there a better way to do it? is there a better way to cooperate with the state? @@ >> for the most part, the streets of new york just deserted at this point. power has startedded to go out in some areas. almost 8,000 people without power already and it's just starting to come down. the full impact is expected to come later this morning and into tomorrow for the city of new york. a rarity here in the city. the national weather service has also issued a tornado watch. >> fema in the past has taken heavy criticism for its handling of natural disasters. you remember katrina, for example. but how well is the agency dealing with this deadly hurricane? we go live to washington, d.c. for more

i want you to listen to what he said about fema, then we'll talk about it. >> fema is not a good friend of most people in texas because all they do is come in and tell you what to do and can't do, you can't get in your houses and they hinder the local people. and they hinder volunteers from going in. so there's no magic about fema and more people are starting to recognize that and they're a great contributor to financing. >> is he right about fema? >> he makes a number of points. what he didn't make there but is a valid one is about their insurance capacity. we should not be insuring irresponsibility. it is about rationalizing risk, he makes that point. he makes the larger point about the cost of fema, but most americans would say that disaster relief, recovery and rebuilding is a function of government. you could get economies of scale. does it break down on the ground? yes, it does. is it better when the local first responders and the state responders are working in collaboration with fema before and after and working into the future? we're still working with fema six years after the

the and the fema want to be prepared for this one. so the word right now is preparation, getting the coordination. president obama is being kept up to date overnight about irene throughout the night, from fema and his aides and during a meeting with fema, the president said, it's going to be a tough slog for the cities and states living in irene's fath path. he is certainly right about that. he visited fema's command center early on sunday to get a regional update on the plans for federal emergency response to irene. the president telling his staff at that time that fema was doing a very good job, but he still had some concerns. >> what we heard, the biggest concern right now is dealing with flooding and power. it sounds like that's going to be an enormous strain on a lot of states and that may take days, even lopinger nsome cases, todepending on what the track of the storm is going to do. so we are really going to have to stay on top of the recovery, and the response and recovery phase of this thing. >> fema is prepared to provide st

what's your opinion on how fema has responded to new jersey? >> i think the cooperation with fema, the state, the governor, local governments, is unbelievable. you mention you're from new orleans, i couldn't help think because of katrina and other hurricanes we've experienced, that when people were forewarned and said you have to take preparations and take this seriously, they did take it seriously. i think in part because they remembered katrina and what happened in new orleans and they believed this was real, but certainly the governor, the president, and the local mayors all reenforce that and made sure people got out and were evacuated so that we didn't have even more damage or loss of life than we had. >> well, certainly all of us in new orleans are happy to see that things are operating better at the federal level this time than they did in 2005, so democratic congressman frank pallone of new jersey, thank you so much for your time tonight. >> thank you, melissa. >>> there is one story that matters above all these days in america, jobs. a

so, our response continues, but i'm going to make sure that fema and the other agencies are doing everything in their power to help peel on the ground. >> and we have live pictures from the white house briefing room where any minute pres secretary jay carney is expected to be joined by craig fugate, and fema's relief as well as the cost that a lot of people are talking about the staggering amount of money to help those in need. and ron bloom is in brattleboro, vermont to, follow the flooding there. >> tamron, we are here where the water is spilling out of dams and reservoirs into trib towers -- tributaries. if you look at the fast-water rising you are seeing the mississippi last spring and seeing tires and pieces of refrigerators and propane tanks and enormous trees and tree trunks pushed down this river. now the governor of vermont was just in brattleboro a short time ago and he did confirm that there are multiple communities still isolated and still trying to get n because of the height of the flash flood yesterday afternoon, every road and highway in vermont was affected or closed. those

>> our federal partners, fema, have been extremely helpful in working this. not only by helping us by matching resources but also helping in the planning areas. we're resilient people here in vermont. we take pride in helping each other and helping ourselves. we're doing well in that along with our federal partnership. >> all right, commissioner. we're all watching this, commissioner, pretty much aghast as to what has happened to that great state. wishing we could do more and wishing you the very best. >>> if you've been watching we've already experienced more natural disasters this year than the average year and it's still august. and now the agency that helps in disasters is, as you can imagine, short of funds. that's forcing some tough choices. our report on this aspect of all the flooding from washington tonight, and nbc's tom costello. >> reporter: the latest estimates for rebuilding from irene, already $7 billion. as natural disasters go, 2011 is shaping up to be a bad year. catastrophic tornados in missouri and alabama, wildfires in arizona and texas a

the whole idea of fema is a gross distortion of insurance. fema creates many of our problems.ance because you can't buy it from a private company. which means there is a lot of danger. bill: that was fox news sunday. he went on from there. the former fema director michael brown, you remember him from the days of katrina. good morning to you. what about ron palms comment? fema creates many of our problems. >> he's partially right in the sense that the country is broke. there is only a limited amount of cash available to spend on these projects. what fema is done is something fema has done throughout its budget kri is, to say with an accounting mechanism we are not going to spend money on long-term projects that we might not have to write a check for for a year or two. but instead will write checks for things we have to pay today. but the problem is, dr. paul will get this directly. fema has these problems every single year. as long as we have the flood insurance program and continue to give out more and in more money through these disaster programs we'll continue to face these

before fema rebuilt the city, they built a sea wall and survived without fema. and fema is not a good friend of most people in texas, because all they do, come in and tell you what to do, can't do, can't get in your houses and hinder the local people and they hinder volunteers from going in. so there's no magic about fema. and more people are starting to recognize that, because they are a great country, with deficit and financing and quite frankly don't have a penny in the bank. >> i aired that audio on my radio program today. half the lines illuminated from hard core gop folks who bought in entirely to what ron paul was saying. i don't know that's the kind of message that helps you in the fall. >> i don't know if it's a message that helps us in the fall. who knows what that message is going to be. there is validity what ron paul is saying. there was a time, maybe question get back to some of that, where local communities helped themselves. people came together and they provided for their own welfare after devastations like this. now, again, times have changed.

so with that, i would like to personally thank craig fugate, the director of fema, and the entire fema team who have been leading this effort. so craig? >> thank you, mr. president and secretary. when you look at these disasters, a lot of times you try to find a place of damage that tells everybody the story about what's happened. but in this hurricane, that's hard to do because i'm pretty sure most of you forgot puerto rico and the virgin islands were first impacted, and we had people who lost their homes and are currently dealing with recovery in puerto rico. now we repeat that process in north carolina, virginia, and up the coast as flooding is still ongoing. when a disaster comes off the news and nobody's paying attention, we still don't go home. we're still working hard across this country from tornadoes and floods that have already struck this country as well as the new damages. that's part of the mission we have at fema to work with our state and local partners, to work with the private sector, volunteer and faith-based community but most of all as the secretary and president sa

they're only through fema. they're at fema's rates, at fema's terms, and it's pretty much take it or leave it. >> reporter: population and property values here are among the highest in the nation. according to fema, policy holders along the northeast coast are insured for more than $124 billion in flood protection. >> you don't look at market value. you look at what it is going to cost to rebuild these homes? and that's what property casualty insurers look at, and if there were to be a major storm to hit long island owing to its dense population and expensively built real estate, it could be a major event. >> reporter: it's water that causes the most damage in a hurricane, but just a fraction of northeast homeowners have proper flood coverage. according to the most recent survey, just 30% have flood insurance in high-risk areas. the numbers are even smaller for those who live on higher grounds. insurance adjusters expect irene to be expensive even if it arrives here as a tropical storm. and natural disasters ha

that was something -- >> getting fema prepared ahead of time. i want to talk about the polls you referred to a second ago about the president's leadership skills eroding. the pew research center poll shows percentage of americans say he's able to get things done has gone down. from may -- it was 55%, august, 44%. the percentage of americans who say he's a strong leader has gone down, and may it was 58%, august 49%. we have a minute left here. what is going on? is that this phenomenon that's going on? >> it's hard to look like a leader when you look like alibi ike. the character from a short story. he wasn't a good baseball player but it was never his fault. this president blamed george w. bush, the japanese tsunami, the euro, greece, the tea party and republicans and ultimately james madison for giving us separation of powers that does not reflect leadership. >> george was in rare form. i thought you were going to mention the media, you forgot that. truth is the president slipped in large part because he's lost some democrats. look at polls, he'

normally we hear from states, if fema's doing everything they can. do you have everything you need right now? >> yes, the support and response again we've been talking with the states, we have daily conference calls. one of the things we've been working on is trying to stay ahead of what they may need as we move from response to recovery and as you said in some parts of the area of impact we're very much still concerned about the flooding and what the weather service tells us may be another two, three days before some of these rivers will crest. >> but money is becoming an increasingly big problem for fema, you're telling us. you're running out of money in short, right? >> well, we reached a point where we felt it was prudent not to continue to fund new work and older disasters but to continue funding support for the survivors of previous disasters as well as being able to ensure that we could undertake this response to irene. >> how much money do you need now in order to really do what fema was created to do, given the tornadoes, earthquakes, hurric

i would like to say, get rid of fema. fema is no good. they come in after the storm and give us money to clean it up, and now we're being sued for the money back. in other words, you go to the beach, all of it was destroyed. i am not talking about 1 home left. it was all gone. we don't need fema. they have a big publicity out there, the world's best, they going to take care of you. they ain't going to do nothing. get rid of fema. thank you. host: "the washington post" has a story. "fema is temporarily suspending some payments to build roads, schools and other structures destroyed during spring tornadoes in joplin, missouri, and said the states and other natural disasters to pay for damage caused by hurricane irene. the obama administration will need to request a supplemental funding from congress, possibly provoking another fight over federal spending as the congressional super committee prepares to identified trillions of dollars in government spending cuts. last week, after a virginia earthquake that rattled much of the east coast, hous

this will bleed fema. the question is how quickly will it be bandaged up by congress and the white house and will they be able to eyer agree on the size of the bandage. host: thanks for spending ten minutes with us. very helpful information. thank you. back to your calls on federal spending on irene. how should bit paid for? we look at the baltimore sun's front page, maryland, especially the shore, ocean city very much hard hit. pennsylvania, chester, independent. caller: no. but jane still is. host: go ahead. where are you calling from? caller: cincinnati, ohio. i'm wondering don't the federal i'm wondering don't the federal government and whoever else you said that has money set aside for things like this, don't they have insurance on this stuff, too? or what? host: thanks for adding your voice another time there warrenton, pennsylvania there. caller: ok. i remember it was a flood in pennsylvania when we had hurricane hazel and they used that to start the state tax and they got their foot in the door and

but we still need fema.where in natural disasters, states, localities will be overwhelmed and that's the role of the federal government. so i just respectfully disagree with him on that. what we're seeing whether it's under the second phase of the bush administration or now under craig fugate in the obama administration, is they're taking what's the old fema and making it into the new fema. fema 2.0. you're seeing them embrace social media which they didn't do in the past. they've unleashed an android app. they're doing things like the old stafford act model reactivr, they would wait until after the storm came in and do an assessment and help. what mr. fugate is doing is prepositioning the assets before the storm hits and being there and we've heard this across the board, whether it's republican or democratic leaders across the states, thanking fema for being forward leaning. that's the right model. >> generally speaking it is interesting, because republicans and democrats can't agree on anything these days.

fema is a lean forward organization.re the storm happens and immediately prepare to start helping local governments. that was a big change that was directed by congress and i think we have a cultural change. what i think that hasn't changed is dealing with the enormous disaster and when people become isolated without power or water for several days. in this particular area we're looking at the projected area of this storm is going to hit and the population, i hope people have taken serious the evacuation warnings as given by local people and get out of the low-lying areas. >> you know, lots of people are watching this show, and tweeting me and they are concerned and anxious and they are saying, you know, you guys are whipping this up too much. there's hyperbole here. i don't think it is. if it does veer off course at the last moments that's great and everybody will have been warned and prepared. if there's a direct hit on somewhere like new york city, this is going very serious isn't it? >> absolutely. i think we have ha

the fema chief is touring the state today. what kind of help do you hope you're going to be getting? >> we did get a disaster declaration, verbally, from the obama administration. at this point, it's about a 75% aid from the feds. we'll have to kick in 25%. that's just to get us through the short-term. long-term, this is going to be difficult. we're resilient. you know, while we may wear different political stripes, we're in this together. so we're going to persevere. we'll make this work. it's going to be challenging at best. >> as i understand it, you went through a similar situation, maybe nothing of this magnitude, with spring flooding issues in vermont, and federal aid was needed this year. how do you think that's going to compare and contrast to what is actually happening there today? >> well, in may and april, we had some very severe conditions. it was -- again, very isolated in different communities. this is so widespread. that's the difference. maybe the severity may not be any greater than it was in the spring, early

help, fema groups on the ground. so we are preparing for the worst. >> we're showing some of the navy ships that are being taken out to sea there from norfolk naval station. they did that yesterday to prepare for what is coming their way to safer waters. but explain also, officials are warning there is the potential for tonights that could be spawned out of this in virginia. >> well, absolutely. any time there is land falling hurricane at the point of that landfall there is a potential for tonightrnadoes. the outer banks and the hampton roads area, eastern shore of north carolina, of virginia and maryland, we're on the lookout for tornadoes. that's one more element. it has been quite a week here with fires and earthquakes and now this. it is a lot for our people. but we have great folks, emergency personnel that are prepared very well. and i'll be -- this afternoon we'll be in norfolk, virginia beach and hamten to visit the emergency operation centers. they're up and running at the state headquarters in richmond and

we got flooded three times and fema mate as -- fema made us tear our house down. when they say that you live in an aria of you are getting flooded over and over again, they change to those lost in my time ago. if you are in a disaster area, they lower their premiums -- is that a political mess, but in my mind, most of the fraud is that the local and state level. host: nexus louisiana -- next is louisiana. dan is an independent there. caller: i have been looking at all of these disasters that happening, red states -- tornadoes, floods, fires in texas. it seems that those people keep don't believing in climate change, and they ought to take responsibility for their voting habits, and fix their own habits, especially republicans. accept responsibility and fix your own house, because you don't believe in climate change anyway. host: tina, what you think the federal government's role should be these days? caller: this is florida, but by name -- my name is phil. host: sorry about that, you are certainly not a tina. caller: we have an emergency going on with our financia

there's no magic about fema. more people are starting to recognize that. >> fema's director says if there is another disaster, the agency may have to ask for more federal money. but, presidential candidate, congresswoman michele bachmann says don't bother. she calls spending out of hand, laughingly saying washington won't take the hint. listen. >> washington, d.c., you would think by now they would get the message. an earthquake. a hurricane. [ [ laughter ] are you listening? the american people have done everything they possibly can. now it's time for an act of god. and we're getting it. >> as fema starts collecting the damage estimates from irene, you know, big question many of you have is there enough cash on hand. janet napolitano. good enough to join me live from the nation's capitol. madam secretary, thank you so much for coming on and sparing the time. let me ask you straight up. does the federal government have the money to respond to this storm? >> yes. let me be very clear about this. survivors of hurri

ask for federal funds to pay for relief and in the letter he sent to the disaster relief funds to fema to the executive branch didn't mention offsets anywhere surprise surprise and i mean for cheney it was hugely impacted i was flying out of the country i supposed to fly back i couldn't fly back on sunday because the airports were flooded. or under threat of being flooded so i don't know is there some it's his state. exactly it really makes no sense and not only are the republicans asking this particular set of disaster relief be offset by budget cuts elsewhere if you look at the appropriations bill that they passed out of the appropriations committee in july it actually cuts funding for hurricane monitoring this particular kind of hurricane monitoring is per planes military planes that actually fly into the hurricane and look around and get a better sense of exactly where the hurricane is going this particular organization see an estimated one hundred to one hundred fifty million dollars per storm their total budget is twenty nine million dollars and republicans are looking to cut it

seen fema not respond from time to time.can be slow. you need to have a great conversation, is there a better way to do it? is there a better way to coordinate with the states? >> perry isn't going as far as ron paul who said that the country could do without fema. >>> -- michele bachmann is going through florida. >> the radical environmentalists have locked up our resources and i will take that key it of the drawer an unlock it. we will use those energy resources here in the united states. >> she also blamed the media for not reporting that the u.s. is the number one country in the world for energy resources. >>> new this morning, militants struck across iraq. they were killed at a mosque. soldiers were injured in a separate attack. a bus carrying vacationing families collided head on with a car. 24 people died in the crash. >>> the number two man in al- qaida has been killed in a drone attack in pakistan. officials say that he was killed on monday. he was said to be in frequent contact with osama bin laden before the terro

. >> fema has apps now. >> the salvation army.ormation that was flooding in from twitter. people tweeting up pictures of the damage in their area, the conditions in their area. so the technology helped us prepare, in a much different way, quite honestly, and a better way. >> of course, fema itself has been upgraded, the director is doing a great job. they're trying to get certain things in place to help the public and to allow for the public to interface with them in such a way that it can enhance the preparedness experience so americans can be safer. >> let's not forget, looking at this power line that's down there are millions of people still without power right now. >> and they'll go without power for a while. this thing has been over such a wide area and the resources are not there. it will take a while to reboot. this is the self-reliance mode. it's preparedness and self reliance. people have to become self reliant now, because it will take a while -- >> it will take agencies a while to get in and help you. if you depend on y

he held that position until president obama asked him to lead fema. he is here to answer questions and give you an update on hurricane irene. what we have mr. -- why don't we have mr. fugate questions on irene and then i will take your questions on other issues. >> condolences to the families who lost loved ones. irene was a deadly storm. about 21, and we know that there are several people still missing. one of the things about these types of storms -- the death toll may go up in their corporate face. -- may go up during the recovery phase. use common sense, be cautious, don't drive flu flooded area -- through flooded areas. to the families who have lost loved ones, our condolences. tropical storm irene dissipated and moved into canada, but in its path as a hurricane, we started out in puerto rico but most of the damages in puerto rico -- are providing assistance there. prior to the arrival of hurricane irene, we had an incident management team, federal employees of fema who are trained to go in and bulink up with the state. we are prepared to support

fema has done a poor job, but you need somebody to help. would disagree. i agree with a lot of the things ron paul says. i think he's good. he's got a great voice, but on fema, i sort of disagree. on iran, i definitely disagree. >> steve: somebody's voice you've heard a couple of times on the phone, rick perry. >> he has called and we've had great conversations. he's doing really well. i'm sort of proud of him. he really is doing well. he's doing a good job. we'll see what happens. it's early yet. but he does have also a great voice. >> alisyn: can you share with us what you've talked about in those conversations? >> i think he likes my views on china. i think he likes what i'm saying about other companies, just countries just absolutely ripping this nation. i watch where obama will get yet another speech today or tomorrow about jobs. i'm so tired of hearing the speeches. we want action, not speeches. i think he and the other candidates, the reason they're all calling, we have resonated what's happening with our jobs, they're not in this co

and he praises fema. in other words, government works. >>> and vermont is experiencing hundred-year floods because of hurricane irene. stay with us. [ sponge ] time to tackle these greasy dishes. i'm gonna need my biggest player. a change in the lineup? [ female announcer ] one bottle of ultra dawn has the grease-cleaning power of two of this competing brand. [ sponge ] way to go, kid. [ female announcer ] dawn does more... [ sponge ] so it's not a chore. helps defends against occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating. with three strains of good bacteria to help balance your colon. you had me at "probiotic." [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health. [ grandpa ] relationships are the basis of everything. [ grandma ] relationships are life... if you don't have that thing that fills your heart and your soul, you're missing that part of your life that just fulfills you. ♪ [ male announcer ] for us at humana, relationships matter too. the better we know you, the better we can help you choose the r

fema is doing.ive a shout to the national hurricane center and the forecast for this. they were spot on since it's been out of the bahamas, we had the forecast, they had it right on the money. >> noaa too, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration. they've done an outstanding job with forecast. did you see the interview we did with katherine sullivan of noaa. she gave you a nice shout out. >> i did. i smiled at that. thank you. what a fabulous career there of a flying through a storm in a p-3. that would be quite a pinnacle to my career as well. >> something i'm not doing. chad, thanks very much. coming up next, we'll speak live to someone who tracks these storms for a living. stay with us. you're in the situation room. here at quicken loans, we're obsessed with giving our clients an amazing mortgage experience. [ joe ] we're the madonias from macomb township, michigan. we needed to upgrade. we needed a bigger house. i'm so glad we chose quicken loans for our mortgage. we did everything on

and he praises fema.her words, government works. >>> and vermont is experiencing hundred-year floods because of hurricane irene. stay with us. ♪ my subaru saved my life. i won't ever forget that. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru. the crib is already there. great. thank you so much. [ male announcer ] we provide great service, so you can stay you. holiday inn express. stay you. [ tv announcer ] today's trivia question -- what's the hardest play in baseball? the unassisted triple play. the unassisted triple play. [ male announcer ] stay smart and book smart. book early and save up to 20% at any holiday inn express. stay you. >>> welcome back to "the ed show." here's what republican governor chris christie had to say about the response of his state and the federal government to hurricane irene. >> we're coordinating well with the federal government, we have fema folks right here onsite in the operations and intelligence center you see here. working incredibly hard and providing things we need. our ow

what if fema runs dry? >> well, fema is wisely making some plans to prioritize. have to do that because they can't spend money they don't have. but they shouldn't be put in this position. the country shouldn't be put in this position of uncertainty and one region having to worry about whether they're traded off against another region, that's unacceptable. it's not the way we operated in the past. >> let me just -- >> they're doing a heroic job, as are the localities and the states. it's just unconscionable that the u.s. congress would somehow be the bottleneck in this process. >> to those who say that adding to the deficit would be unconscionable, what would you say to those people? >> i would say that we have a law in this country that provides for responsible budgeting, and that law provides in advance for emergency designations for genuine emergencies. so that's what we should do. it's very straightforward. >> all right. representative david price from north carolina, david, appreciate your time. thank you. >> thank you very much. >>> stay with us. coming up i