June 4th - Subject: FEMA needs to plan better for future disasters

    It would make county Republican Committeewoman for District 36 Cathy Rogers even more thankful for the efforts that all of our representatives are doing to change the new FEMA flood maps. After all, it was a Republican Congress that voted in 2004 to require FEMA to reevaluate the flood maps around the country. It was our own President Bush who highly supported these efforts. Congressman Frank Pallone could have stood before the 2004 Congress and talked until he was blue in the face and nothing would have transpired from it, for he would have been drowned in Republican votes against him. Even funding, which was voted for this past year for flood conditions in Leonardo, was vetoed by our current president.
    If it were not for a Democratic Congress and president, there would not be a flood control system built back in the early 1970s. The residents now being protected by this system would be living elsewhere. It is only because the federal government needs additional funding to pay for the mistakes of FEMA during past disasters like Katrina that these maps were reconfigured. We all know that the current system has worked for over 30 years and that is just as strong now.
    Instead of pointing fingers as Assemblywoman Amy Handlin and Ms. Rogers are doing, there is a need for everyone to rise up to change the way that these maps are configured. We all need to tell FEMA to plan better to prevent future disasters so that they don't need to ask homeowners to foot their bill, especially homeowners that do not require flood insurance. I am encouraged to see our representatives at all levels of government - especially in Washington - taking action to prevent this abuse of FEMA control.

Marilyn Tuohy
Port Monmouth section of
Middletown