Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (IA-01) today questioned President Biden’s U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General, Dr. Joseph V. Cuffari, on the Biden Administration’s potential plan to shift medical personnel from the US Department of Veterans Affairs to the border to provide medical services to illegal immigrants. Hinson also asked Dr. Cuffari about efforts to improve the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) response to natural disasters.
On reports that the Administration will shift medical personnel from the VA to the border: “I am appalled that this would even be considered by the Administration. Have you heard of any reports and are you aware of any plans by the Administration to shuffle personnel from the VA to deal with our crisis at the Southern Border?”
On improving FEMA: “FEMA, they obviously were on the ground, they worked a lot to help with local recovery efforts, and they did help a lot of people, but there were several Iowans that contacted my office that struggled to receive assistance in a timely manner and my understanding is that in several cases the bureaucratic red tape there was the real culprit – and that’s obviously something that Iowans can’t wait on in many cases. My question is do you have any guidance based on past actions and oversight of FEMA to ask how can FEMA be more efficient in its mission, and be more responsive to my constituents who need help?”
