Welch promotes FEMA revamp in Barre today

By Guy Page

The good news is that you won’t need sandbags on Thursday July 10. 

After two straight years of 7/10 flooding, the forecast calls for no rain (except a 7 PM shower) on the day known as Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, Don’t Step on a Bee Day, Global Energy Independence Day, International Nikola Tesla Day, National Kitten Day, National Pina Colada Day , Pick Blueberries Day, Statehood Day in Wyoming, Teddy Bears’ Picnic Day and U.S. Energy Independence Day

It is also Clerihew Day. If like me you didn’t know, a Clerihew is a four line rhyme about a famous person, for example:

Senator Peter Welch

Thinks no-one should squelch

The funding for FEMA

’Let’s makes it better,’ says the dreamuh

This morning, Monday July 7, in Barre, Welch plans to listen to flood survivors, local officials, and emergency responders share their frustrations with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and long delays in receiving critical recovery assistance. He will unveil new federal legislation aimed at reforming the federal disaster response system. The Disaster Assistance Improvement and Decentralization (AID) Act seeks to cut red tape, empower state and local governments, and deliver disaster aid more efficiently to small towns and flood-impacted communities.

“We saw firsthand how FEMA’s one-size-fits-all approach failed to meet the needs of Vermont communities,” Welch said in a press statement. “The Disaster AID Act is about putting decision-making power back where it belongs: in the hands of local leaders who know their communities best.”

A statement from Welch’s office said legislation would:

• Streamline FEMA processes for individuals and municipalities;
  
• Empower state and local governments with more authority in managing disaster recovery;
  
• Ensure smaller communities are not left behind during national disasters;
  
• “Prevent the White House from delaying or withholding critical disaster funds for political reasons.”

In a New York Times op-ed earlier this year, Welch warned: “Don’t Kill FEMA. Fix It.” “We can agree FEMA needs reform,” he said in the press statement, “but eliminating it or turning disaster relief into a political football is not the answer.”

The Disaster AID Act is supported by leaders across Vermont, including Governor Phil Scott, and Kristin Atwood, Barton Town Clerk; Ted Brady, Executive Director of the Vermont League of Cities and Towns; Michele Braun, Executive Director of the Friends of the Winooski River; Chris Campany, Executive Director of the Windham Regional Commission, and Chair of the VAPDA Emergency Management Committee; Jon Copans, Executive Director, Montpelier Commission for Recovery and Resilience; Ben Doyle, Executive Director of the Preservation Trust of Vermont; Peter Gregory, Executive Director of the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission (TRORC); Thom Lauzon, Mayor of Barre City; Kristen Leahy, Zoning and Floodplain Administrator and Resilience & Adaption Coordinator for Hardwick; Jim Linville, Selectboard Vice Chair and Recovery Director of Weston; Julie Moore, Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources; Stephanie Smith, Vermont Hazard Mitigation Officer; Justin Smith, Municipal Administrator for the Town of Lyndon; and Beverley Wemple, Director of the University of Vermont’s Water Resources Institute.

His recent efforts also include helping craft a $100.4 billion disaster aid package passed in December 2024. That law delivered support to Vermont’s flooded farms, small businesses, and municipalities — many of whom continue to rebuild.

Welch’s tour began last week in Killington, Ludlow, and Weston, and will continue in the coming weeks with visits to Hardwick, Lyndon, Barton, and Burke.

Click here for a section-by-section summary of the legislation.

It should be noted that while July 10 looks more-or-less rain free, Friday July 11 will be on-and-off rainy all day. And it will rain heavily Saturday. 

Of course.

Cover photo of 2023 flooding in Barre.