Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FEMA Readies For Hurricanes As Covid Occupies Staff
Politico: Death-Certificate Omissions Stymie FEMA Funeral Assistance Program
Thousands of Americans seeking federal funeral assistance for coronavirus victims can’t collect because their family members’ death certificates do not list Covid-19, according to two senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the situation. The Federal Emergency Management Agency rolled out the $2 billion pandemic funeral assistance program in April, modeling it on similar efforts it has run after major hurricanes, earthquakes and other natural disasters. The funding came from a $2.3 trillion spending package that former President Donald Trump signed in December 2020, making it the largest funeral assistance program FEMA has ever handled. (Banco, 5/24)
CNBC: Biden Doubles FEMA Spending On Extreme Weather Preparedness
resident Joe Biden on Monday announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would double the funding available to help cities and states prepare for extreme weather disasters, to $1 billion this year from $500 million in 2020. Biden also announced the launch of a new NASA initiative to more closely track how the climate is changing, and the impact of these changes on local communities, both in the near term and farther into the future. (Wilkie, 5/24)
The Hill: Biden Doubling FEMA Funds For Extreme Weather Preparations
The budget increase will go to the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, which provides support for local, state and tribal government preparation efforts. The increase, and the program in general, are part of an effort to “categorically shift the federal focus” from responding to individual disasters on a case-by-case basis to “research-supported, proactive investment in community resilience,” the White House said. “As climate change threatens to bring more extreme events like increased floods, sea level rise, and intensifying droughts and wildfires, it is our responsibility to better prepare and support communities, families, and businesses before disaster — not just after,” the administration said in a statement. “This includes investing in climate research to improve our understanding of these extreme weather events and our decision making on climate resilience, adaptation, and mitigation. It also means ensuring that communities have the resources they need to build resilience prior to these crises.” (Budryk, 5/24)
In other administration news —
CBS News: Biden Administration Scraps Plans To House "Tender Age" Migrant Children At Texas Army Base
The Biden administration is scrapping plans to house "tender age" migrant children at a military base in the Texas desert amid concerns about subpar conditions and prolonged stays there, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra confirmed to CBS News on Monday. As of May 13, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was planning to house up to 5,000 migrant children under the age of 12 at the Fort Bliss Army base, one of 13 sites the Biden administration has set to house unaccompanied minors, according to internal government documents obtained by CBS News. (Montoya-Galvez, 5/24)
