'Remains pending': Texas says Trump is stalling long-term aid after disaster

Notus reports President Donald Trump is still holding back on pivotal mitigation funds to prevent future disaster in Texas, even as the state's body count continues to rise from its latest calamity.

Trump quickly granted federal disaster assistance to the Texas region recently hit by deadly floods, but his approval for a key mitigation element was still missing, according to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

“A request from Texas to authorize additional FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program resources statewide remains pending,” Abbott said in a press release.

READ MORE: Trump demands Republicans be 'absorbed into the Borg' or face purge from the GOP: conservative

Hazard mitigation funds are not used in the immediate aftermath of recovery, but over the course of years to avert further catastrophe.

They are “typically used to build infrastructure like storm shelters and warning systems, and to bolster flood-prone riverbanks,” reports Notus. “In the case of Kerr County, Texas, where a search and rescue operation is still underway, such funds could be used to pay for efforts like evacuation plans and shelters for the summer camps along the flood-prone Guadalupe River, or a flash-flood early-warning system.”

Local Kerr County officials failed multiple attempts to build a more substantial flood warning system due to budget constraints.

Prior to Trump, Notus reports it was standard practice for presidents to grant hazard mitigation funds, in addition to public assistance and individual assistance—within the same declaration. But Trump changed all that. The White House has been leaving out assistance for preventative measures, and it has outright rejected hazard mitigation aid for storm recovery across the country, including in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Missouri and Oklahoma.

Following that pattern, Notus reports Trump has approved other parts of Texas’ disaster request “while leaving the hazard mitigation under review.”

READ MORE: There's only one way to stop Trump

But that review frequently turns up nothing. Since Trump returned to the White House, many of those states were ultimately denied, according to Notus, including requests from Michigan, Oregon and Indiana, which have requests dating back to May.

Read the full Notus report at this link.