fema holds disaster preparedness funds hostage

I have been associated with emergency management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) since 1984, which is shortly after the formation of FEMA. There have been ups and downs throughout those three decades that included working with FEMA. Never has something like this come out from that federal agency. See these two stories, From Reuters, US agency halts emergency funds, demands state population data reflecting deportations and then a longer article from the Seattle Times, FEMA Withholds $300 Million in Grants Until States Account for Deportations

Unprecedented, is an overused term for how the Trump Administration is operating. Instead, we could substitute words like, weird; unusual; unconventional; unlawful; unhinged; untethered to reality; … add your own term.

Withholding disaster preparedness funds called EMPG does not help states and local communities become better prepared for the next disaster. While the dollars in question for this grant program is $300M, the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) was worth billions of dollars in mitigation funding, and it too has been eliminated.  

All of the above is not building up a more disaster resilient America. Is this how you want your federal administration to operate? Clearly, building up our local and state capabilities to resist the impacts of disasters is not the priority.