While the East Coast was battered by one of the worst storms in centuries, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan’s preference for privatizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) became the focus of attention.

Common Dreams accused the Romney/Ryan ticket of wanting to dismantle FEMA, citing the Republicans’ previous remarks regarding funding for disaster relief.

At Think Progress, a liberal watchdog group, Scott Keyes wrote: “At least three times, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have publicly demanded that the federal government only disburse disaster relief funding if Congress agreed to offsetting budget cuts elsewhere. This would hold desperately-needed disaster relief funding hostage unless Congress agreed to cuts elsewhere in the budget, an extraordinarily difficult prospect even in normal circumstances.”

As for actually privatizing FEMA, Common Dreams pointed out that during the GOP primary, Romney said some duties handled by the federal government should be “sent back to the states,” if not the private sector.

Similarly, the Huffington Post reported that Romney, during the third presidential debate, said “absolutely” to the idea of shuttering FEMA and putting the states in charge of disaster relief.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

Romney-Ryan: Send FEMA "Back to the Private Sector" (Common Dreams)

How Romney And Ryan Would Severely Impair Disaster Relief Efforts (by Scott Keyes, Think Progress)

Vast Hurricane Sandy Packs a Wallop for Millions Along East Coast and Beyond (by Joel Achenbach and Colum Lynch, Washington Post)

Federal Emergency Management Agency (AllGov)