not fema? >> good politics but unfortunately from my experience the red cross was inhabited by fema. think of the difference between how the evacuation occurred in new york after 9/11, thousands of people with the opposite of katrina because fema had control. giving up on individuals helping neighbors, local government, that is a serious problem and why we are bankrupt. all the money that will go out, there is no money in the paint and -- bank so they will just borrow and print and centralize the power to be in washington dc part of that is bureaucratic and insufficient. john: thank you for all you have done to wake people up. but i fear we will not have much convince -- succe convincing people we don't need fema. even though government fails part instinct leads us to assume washington has the best. they don't. they fail all the time. fema fails constantly. after hurricane hugo one senator called it bureaucratic jackasses to get the hell out of the way. they said prove it but after hurricane an

not fema? >> good politics but unfortunately from my experience the red cross was inhabited by fema. think of the difference between how the evacuation occurred in new york after 9/11, thousands of people with the opposite of katrina because fema had control. giving up on individuals helping neighbors, local government, that is a serious problem and why we are bankrupt. all the money that will go out, there is no money in the paint and -- bank so they willust borrow and print and centralize the power to be in washington dc part of that is bureaucratic and in sufficient. john: thank you for all you have done to wake people up. but i fear we will not have much convince -- success convincing people we don't need fema. even though government fails part instinct leads us to assume washington has the best. they don't. they fail all the time. fema fails constantly. after hurricane hugo one senator called it bureaucratic jackasses to get the hell out of the way. they said prove it but after hurricane a

fema is not the organization. give it to the local states, they're the people who can make these decisions and spend the money wisely. >> neil: i don't dismiss the role of a federal presence disasters like these,ut when bottled water can't arrive to a site and folks supposed to weather the storm close, at antithesis of what you're supposed to adopt and send e-mails to people who don't have powers and texts to phone to people who don't have phone service, you can't make this stuff up. >> that's the problem with bureaucracy and not letting states handle this. if anybody can more money, go out to staten island right now. i have friends out there. that place is devastated. >> it's tragic that the president hasn't gone out there yet. staten island has been destroyed. >> neil: mayor bloomberg-- >> he wanted to have the marathon, but i am telling you that this is a really bad place, go to staten island right now. there are schools that are used as morgues and the bodies are piling up. >> it doesn't feel like america, whe

fema has been fantastic. and also responsive. >> there was criticism of the mountbatten hurricane katrina days and now we hear good things about the matter. neil: you can say we are on top of something. but generally, itimplies you're telling the truth. so if you're going to make a speech to say things are good, well, things better be good. because otherwise, you are lying. doesn't that ring true for ths staten island resident who joins usn the phone. marianne, how are things going? >> things are not any better, neil. still the same in staten island. we were abandoned yesterday. with that nor'easter came in, fema closes their doors due to weather conditions. over a week since the storm. neil: what is the relief center supposed to do? >> are you talking about fema? neil: the fema center. >> it gives people in staten island to go there and talk to representatives and people. there is a gn on the door that says that fema is close to the weatherford really? that's what they're telling people? these are people tha

when you could see fema officials, what are they doing? they had to close today and of the relief centers but what do they do? >>guest: honestly the only time i have seen a fema official he was knocking on the door to get evaluation of a louse and they are only sitting one or two houses on the block, they have certain addresses to go to and then they are out of here. i have not seen a fema official to be honest other than that. >>neil: is there confusion, now, with the nor'easter and the snow it left, it has made the mess more messy. what is it like there now? >>guest: well, other than the regular mess we have snow on top of it. it is starting to go away a little bit but it is extremely cold. we are having a hard time staying in the house and i am sure the let of the neighbors are, too, it is not pretty, not pretty. >>neil: just so you can keep on top of this, you and others can help you anyway they can, does this sound like a heck of a job brownie thing all over? who better to ask that michael brown? what do you say? >>guest: well, first

you have a contract with fema.all do, to take kay of discuss protect us if a hall disaster like this. if they do not come through, which they have not in a month for many people as we have seen you can sue for breach of contract, gross negligence. >> two words: sovereign immunity you cannot sue a federal government or the agencies unless they give up a waiver. there is an exception of the gross negligence and willful conduct but that is not what he was saying, they have 475,000 people to need. for us be able to manage the catastrophe, the storm of a century, it is impossible for us to get there and give them the help they need under the immediate circumstances. >>lis: we are talking a month. >>guest: right now we have to do a look and see. >>lis: look and see? look and see? >>guest: it is 30 days. i was personally affected, too, so i feel for those individuals. my babysitter is in that circumstance but frankly it is a problematic. many of the katrina cases and you studied those that were successful but many were no

the translation is oh, you like fema? i like fema, too. oh, you don't like fema?ma's terrible. that's the translation. >> richard, he seems to be talking about getting money directly to first responders. that would be a sudden interest on mitt romney's part in getting federal money for firefighters and for local police officers, the kind of thing that president obama has done. >> he's describing the status quo. but he's also lost his moral -- deep, deep moral concerns about the nature of debt. because that extra funding that these natural disasters cost, we have to go borrow that money. let's face it. and before, when he was running for the nomination, that was a deep, deep concern to him as a question of values because debt as a question of values is more important than helping people in need. by the way, it only took him 48 hours to come up with a statement. you would hope that as president he could respond to a disaster a little quicker than that. >> and actually, i found myself in the middle of it getting lost as i was reading it. it was not exactly the cleare

how about $12 billion more for fema? the congressman who wants that. after this.wings. [ man ] ring ring... progresso this reduced sodium soup says it mahelp lower cholesterol, how does it work? you just he to eat it as part of your heart healthy diet. step 1. eat the soup. all those veggies and beans, that's what may help lower your cholesterol and -- well that'easy [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. governor of getting it done. you know how to dance... with a deadline. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choo any car in the aisle... and go. you can even take a full-size or above, and still pay the mid-size price. this is awesome. [ male announcer ] yes, it is, business pro. yes, it is. go natiol. go like a pro. >> neil: as the rescue efforts and rebuilding efforts continue along the east coast, northeast coast, more to the point, along atlantic city, and, right through staten island, where damage is in the tense of billions of dollars, to the guy who says fema, to the rescue and fema needs more money to rescue, and,

that romney is not interested in getting rid of fema. do you buy it? >> no, not necessarily. i mean, again, the problem with romney is we don't know which position from which time is actually his position. there have certainly been cuts in the republican congress to relief efforts. and i think this story really does remind us that the federal government has a role to play. the federal government can play a positive role in our lives. one of the reasons katrina was such a big scandal is for years, particularly under clinton, who really did a good job of reforming fema, we said, yeah, this is one of the things the federal government does well. and when states get into trouble like this, yes, they can do things for themselves, and they do a lot of stuff for themselves. but they've got to have the fed. so i think right now, he has no choice but to say, well, whatever i said before, i'm going to keep fema. >> e.j. dionne, are we going to be looking back on this campaign if romney losing saying it was the 47% tsunami, that it really was that t

he does not mention fema, but i'm going to. yesterday we talked about the federal emergency response administration missteps in the past, the slow response to hurricane katrina, the formaldehyde ligand trailers purchased for katrina victims to live in. and now it is becoming more and more clear hurricane sandy may well banother example of the government blowing it. it's a staten island resident had a same complaints residents of new orleans had seven years ago. where is fema when we need them. other problems ththat liberal bureaucracy huggers like to ignore. according to a new analysis from the heritage foundation, fema dollars after all taxpayer dollars look more and more like a goody bag, honeypot for presidents to raise. think of them as a political porkbarrel spending agency because that is unfortunately what it has become. the disaster declarations are on the rise. reagan had 28 per year on average. under nine under bill clinton. obama, 153. he takes the cake. heritage foundation rates to put this in perspective in somewhe

fema is just hitting today.'re frustrated because they should have been here r already. >> as new york tried to show the world they could pick up by going on with the world's biggest marathon this weekend, people like scott and kelly will be homeless. we went to see the house they would have moved into today. the landlord said they already paid their deposit. outside pieces of lives on hold. books, computer disks, even money. >> we need more on the ground. we need to city of new york to realize that this is our katrina. >> the obama administration responded to complaints that fema was late on the scene and amounted the deputy administrator will be there tomorrow and fema wants everyone who needs assistance to call. 1- 800-621-fema or disasterassistance.gov. >>> president obama was back on the campaign trail in wisconsin, but still focused on storm recovery back east. the trail. >> in new jersey yesterday and saw the devastation and you really get a sense of how difficult this is going to be for a lot of people.

fema is on the ground today? >> fema was on the ground today, sir, we saw them at the shelter, but it's three days since the storm and everyone told us they were just getting there today. why did it take three days? >> well, generally in three days, we went from a storm that was making landfall at 8:00 three nights ago, search and rescue was the first priority. getting the assistance turned on was next and then getting the teams. back and look for the missing and account for all of the recoveries and that will take time as they want to be thorough and get those done and make sure we can identify and hopefully find that people that are missing just haven't been accounted for, but that will continue until they have accounted for all the missing. this is again, we're day three. search and rescue. get to the injured and trapped. now looking for those that are missing. getting power and critical facilities in there and getting assistance to the survivors. >> let me ask you how much higher you think the death toll may

>>guest: because fema here is a different fema than in katrina.e saw a different fema in irene a year ago and it hit the atlantic coast. judgments should be made whether we are trying to be responsive. >>neil: clearly this woman is saying no. i'm not saying -- i am saying we are quit to seize on what happened in 2005 with katrina which was a disaster on many levels but i see in the media the same zeal to be fair. >>guest: you saw in katrina thousands and thousands of impoverished people stuck at the stadium in new orleans who could not be rescued. news shows standing if line for gasoline with no power to fire up. >>neil: do you think there is a double standard applied to president obama? >>guest: no, no, no. >>neil: you say there is no double standard? >>guest: there is a different fema with this president. >>neil: okay. i don't know why you say that. >>guest: i don't think there is a double standard. governor chris credit i don't think believes there is a double standard. >>neil: okay. more after this. [ male announce] when was the last time some

the real major point here is, for instance, look at fema again, there are two tasks to fema.rs. but the other they have neglected since clinton is to mitigate, to reduce the risk in the first place. and fema has been gutted from that task. and now we see the effects. >> this is stats that come from a political science journal article, disaster spending since 1988, the amount of money that the u.s. spent on disaster relief has increased 13 times while the amount of spending on disaster preparedness has been flat. >> or reduced. >> or reduced. what we have is the perverse political incentive, what happens politically if there's a politician and there's a disaster, you're on the news every day doing disaster relief and that's when all the incentives to turn on the spigots and make the money flow, i'm not saying that's a bad thing. we don't have the same incentives to prevent the disaster from happening in the first place because what's the political gain from that? >> you are more cynical than i am. >> we need to place it in context as well, let's remember over the last several

fema is on the ground today? >> fema was on the ground today, sir, we saw them at the shelter, but it's three days since the storm and everyone told us they were just getting there today. why did it take three days? >> well, generally in three days, we went from a storm that was making landfall at 8:00 three nights ago, search and rescue was the first priority. getting the assistance turned on was next and then getting the teams. there's always assistance being made, but we haven't reached everybody. until we do, we're not stopping. so yeah, we're at day three. it's going to continue until we get to the people that are at this hardest hit areas. >> some of the areas we've been in in hoboken, they're wealthier and where we were today, it was the exact opposite. they were the very people who hadn't gotten the help in time. if you're wealthy, you got more help more quickly than the rest of the people. >> well, our assistance is based upon need and those that generally have more resources, insurance, are going to get

we're coordinating with fema, thank you mr. gate for being here and the input he's had to make our operation better. >> we will examine fema's heck of a job next on "now." [ man ] ring ring... progresso this reduced sodium soup says it may help lower cholesterol, how does it work? you just have to eat it as part of your heart healthy diet. step 1. eat the soup. all those veggies and beans, that's what may help lower your cholesterol and -- well that's easy [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. to start her own interior design business. she's got a growing list of clients she keeps in touch with using e-mail marketing from constantcontact.com. constantcontact is easy and affordable. it lets her send out updates and photos that showcase her expertise and inspire her customers for only $15 a month. [ dog barking ] her dream -- to be the area's hottest interior design office. [ children laughing ] right now, she just dreams of an office. get a free trial at constantcontact.com. >>> remember this guy. >> >> brownf

the question for you this morning, is fema necessary? fema fever, it's back!body has caught it, including new jersey governor, chris christie, who toured the damage along with fema administrator craig fugate and president obama. one man, iowa congressman, steve king, thinks fema has a fever. >> i want to get them the resources that are necessary to lift them out of this water and this sand and the ashes and the death that's over there in the east coast and especially in the northeast. but not one big shot that just opens up the checkbook, because they spent it on gucci bags and massage parlors and everything you can think of in addition to what was necessary. >> congressman king, who is up for re-election, seems to be echoing the sentiments of some of his republican, including senator lynndie graham who said, quote, we can't borrow money every time something goes wropg in america and ron paul who asks, quote, why should people like myself, who not too long ago had a house on a gulf coast, it's expensive, risky and dirngous. why should somebody from the central

and they use the mitt romney fema did when the when this was done vote for the george w. bush administration before the dr who actually did care this was not done by some faceless bureaucrat in washington these were done by the people will turn everything about a mormon church we should turn over i would give the mormon church a much better credit than the united states government for taking care of our citizens absolutely you know i'm not one myself but i get a lot of respect so then your agreement with with with the republicans who say fema should not be in this business you're disagreeing with francesca well as i agree with actually what i said i would just want to make the point that i did not say that i was specifically addressing your comment about republicans not being willing to come together with democrats in times of need now when it comes to you know the private sector taking better care of it i personally don't think that we should get rid of fema that's my personal opinion and i don't think that that's what mitt romney thinks either which is how this topic sp

fema has been coordinating the major disaster relief the. there have been phone calls every day for the new york delegation about how they are responding. there is a great need for food and water in lower manhattan. when you go below 37 street, it is a total blackout. there are no traffic lights or phones. no way to communicate. when you are down there you can not send an e-mail or make a phone call. people are helping each other and directing traffic. the small businesses are afraid that some of them will go out of business because they operate on a fragile business line. their produce, they're derry, their stock in restaurants and small stores, it is just going bad. the food is going bad. they are losing their total revenue. we have been talking about coming in and setting up a satellite office for bridge loans and other ways to help these small businesses. fema and others are coming in. the national guard is coming in to some areas. particularly seniors in these high rises where there are elevators. so, all in all, it is the wrost storm i

fema will have to step in with a huge infusion of money.ommune likecommunity like that from the ground up. >> the cycle, a year two years four years will it take a decade. >> eliot: i hate to raise this metaphor 9/11, and how many years later we see the freedom tower is approaching conclusion, those things take a long, long time. the political cycle as you pointed out the political patience is shorter. coming back, will the public tomorrow begin to get more edgy? the mayor seems to have maintained the public support. will that continue? >> he has. we'll see. it will be put to a big test tomorrow because it's impossible to get into lower manhattan. the mayor is imposing something that he has not done very often but he is now requiring high occupancy vehicles meaning you have to have three people in your car or you may not cross anany of the tolls or bridges. >> eliot: it will be a sign of renewal and rejuvenation, but it comes across the 59th street bridge. that's why gridlock midtown was crazy. will they have it. >> people will be complaini

i didn't get it, fema went and got it. that's what fema is for. fema allows the city to refrp out beyond its limited resources to the rest of the country. if you think this is a good response i i invite you to go to staten island and breezy point and go to long island and northern new jersey. ten people died. ten people died in midland beach and people are still out of their homes and this is unacceptable. >> i agree with you on that. >> staten island always has felt like it's been the forgotten borough, that manhattan sort of, you know, thumbs its nose at it and snubs it. doesn't this just really seem to underline that fact that there were some terrible oversights in the first few days regarding the residents of staten island. >> the fact is staten island is always so far away. >> i went out of my way to make staten island feel loved because i wouldn't be mayor of new york city without stat een island, a they voted me 58-15 and i was in love with staten island. i was there all of the time. i tried to make -- in fact, the day i got elected staten

that means fema's coffers are full. there's $7 billion congress appropriated for disaster fund, plus another billion left over from 2012. that should last fema through the end of the year, but with sandy expected to cost upwards of $60 billion, the odds are that congress is going to have to allocate more this winter. plus, if washington doesn't strike a deal to avoid the sequester cuts january 1st, that fiscal cliff thing, fema will take a $900 million hit. so what does all this mean? nbc's mike viqueira is back at the white house. any word from the white house on this? >> reporter: well, i mean, the short answer to your question, steve, is we don't know. and this may not surprise anybody, but it depends on who the occupant of this building is going to be come january 21st. i mean, there are a couple competing different plans out there. remember, the fiscal year, as you pointed out, always started october the 1st. congress, before leaving town very early to get on the campaign trail, extended one of these continuing res