House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Kentucky) announced on Wednesday that he will lead an investigation of the Biden administration’s handling of the catastrophic Maui wildfire.
Many people in Maui feel the federal government did not do enough to help them after the fire. President Biden took a lot of flack for the delayed reaction.
The death toll from the catastrophe is now up to over 110, and rescue operations are still ongoing.
Comer said on Wednesday that Americans, especially those affected by this tragedy, want answers to the many concerns raised by the federal, state, and local government’s response to the horrific wildfire in Maui.
The House Oversight Committee monitors the spending of relief funds to ensure they are being used appropriately and efficiently.
Comer stated that the Oversight Committee would investigate the federal response on Maui for signs of fraud, waste, or misuse of taxpayer funds and coordinate with other committees to guarantee accountability.
White House officials denied allegations that the federal response to Maui had been delayed or inadequate.
It was cited that the governor of Hawaii had publicly thanked Biden for the federal aid in a statement. Lahaina’s mayor, Richard Bissen, found reason for hope in President Biden’s visit to Maui.
White House spokesman Andre Bates told Fox News Digital that Hawaii’s governor, congressional delegation, and local authorities have made evident the Biden Administration responded at remarkable speed to rapidly mobilize more than 1,000 workers on the ground to provide almost $15 million in FEMA aid to families to support the people of Maui. If congressional Republicans, who have voted to cut the budget for responding to wildfires and defended the Trump administration’s disastrous response efforts in Puerto Rico, are now willing to support new funds for disaster relief and stop denying the existence of the climate crisis that is a national security threat and taking lives in red and blue states, the White House would welcome an about-face.
Biden was criticized for his lack of response to the fire earlier this month when he was on vacation in Delaware. He told a reporter he had “no comment” on the increasing death toll.
More than a week later, on August 21st, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden finally made it to the island. Another blunder he made was likening the disastrous wildfire to a fire in his home’s kitchen.
“I don’t want to compare difficulties, but we have a little sense, Jill and I, of what it was like to lose a home,” Biden said during his visit.
“15 years ago, I was in Washington doing ‘Meet the Press’ when lightning struck on a little lake outside my home, hitting a wire, and came up underneath our house, into the air condition ducts.”
“To make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my ’67 Corvette, and my cat,” he said.
Residents also felt that FEMA was slow to respond. But the White House claims it worked with Hawaii’s governor, Josh Green, to provide any assistance required throughout the crisis.