Aurelia Butler

(Reuters) -Hurricanes Milton and Helene are putting new pressure on the federal government’s emergency response agency FEMA, which is already short of money, hit by a politics-fueled disinformation campaign and burdened by its past failures in handling massive storms.Hurricane Milton was expanding on Tuesday as it chugged past Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula en route to Florida’s densely populated Tampa Bay area, still reeling from the devastating Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago.WHAT IS FEMA?The Federal Emergency Management Agency is the U.S. government agency whose mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, including hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes and floods.Its reputation was battered by its poor handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the agency has struggled to recover.FEMA has a workforce of 20,000 people that can swell to more than 50,000 active members during major disasters, according to its website. It has 10 regional offices and the capacity to coordinate resources from across the federal government.Officially created in 1979, it became part of the Department of Homeland Security in 2004.FEMA STAFFINGFEMA says it is currently supporting 111 major disasters and 16 emergency declarations. According to its daily operations briefing, only 9% of its disaster-response workforce is available for Milton.FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said on Tuesday the agency was prepared to meet the needs of people in Milton’s path. FEMA has staffing options, including reassigning people from its longer-term recovery offices, to support immediate needs, she said.The agency can also tap into DHS “surge capacity” that allows it to utilize people from agencies within the department, Criswell said. “We have these layers of staffing models because we know that we are going to have to face multiple events at once, just like this,” she told CNN.FEMA FUNDINGHomeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters on Oct. 2 that FEMA did not have enough funding for the remainder of the hurricane season, which lasts from June to November. A group of senators from U.S. states in the paths of the hurricanes sent a letter to Senate leaders last week noting the need for additional money for FEMA by the end of this year. Speaker Mike Johnson would not commit to bringing the Republican-controlled House of Representatives back to augment emergency-relief funding before the Nov. 5 election.FEMA is providing aid to hurricane victims from a disaster-relief fund that received $20.3 billion from Congress for the current fiscal year. However, at the request of the Biden administration, the agency is allowed to spend that money faster than anticipated because of the severity of recent disasters. DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGNIn addition to real-life disasters, the agency has battled a slew of false rumors about how its funds have been used. Former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have said President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for president, had used federal emergency money to help people who were in the country illegally. U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene went as far as to say officials control the weather.FEMA has been the target of so many falsehoods it has set up a rumor response page on its website to tamp them down. One entry addresses the diversion concerns:”Rumor: Funding for FEMA disaster response was diverted to support international efforts or border-related issues.”Fact: This is false. No money is being diverted from disaster-response needs. FEMA’s disaster-response efforts and individual assistance is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, which is a dedicated fund for disaster efforts. Disaster Relief Fund money has not been diverted to other, non-disaster related efforts.”FEMA FAILURESThe U.S. disaster agency has been much-maligned over emergency responses to hurricanes that fell short, including in Puerto Rico in 2017 when it was hit by Hurricane Maria. Residents accused then-President Trump of being slow to dispatch aid after Maria and clumsy in his public remarks once it was clear the U.S. territory had been devastated.     In 2005, Hurricane Katrina battered New Orleans and flooded parts of the city as residents crowded into ill-prepared shelters. Katrina devastated the Gulf of Mexico coast and caused more than 1,800 deaths. It also shattered the reputation of FEMA, which was sharply criticized for its response. More

BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil’s Senate on Tuesday approved President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s nominee to lead the central bank, Gabriel Galipolo, who emphasized to lawmakers that the leftist leader was emphatic and clear in guaranteeing him freedom in decision-making.Regarded as a heterodox economist with direct access to Lula, Galipolo is currently the central bank’s director of monetary policy. He has sought to ease market concerns about his potential for leniency on inflation if pressured by the president.Speaking at a Senate committee hearing, where his nomination to lead the bank starting next year was approved unanimously, Galipolo reiterated commitment to pursuing a 3% inflation target and noted that policymakers were concerned about unanchored expectations for consumer prices. “It is up to the central bank to pursue this goal unequivocally by maintaining interest rates at a restrictive level for as long as necessary to achieve it,” he said.Later on Tuesday, Galipolo’s nomination was approved by the full Senate with a vote of 66 to 5.During the hearing, Galipolo acknowledged that Brazil’s annual core inflation is on par with that of more stable countries like the U.S, while noting that Latin America’s largest economy is not decelerating, which is why disinflation should be slower and more costly.Galipolo said that while current data such as inflation and labor market figures are important, the central bank’s focus is on a longer-term horizon.”There is unanchoring (of inflation) in the relevant horizon that bothers us,” he said, referring to a variable that economists view as indicative of a potential acceleration in the pace of interest rate hikes.Galipolo, along with the entire rate-setting board Copom, voted last month to kick off a tightening cycle, raising interest rates by 25 basis points to 10.75%. Before the decision, when his nomination was already public, Lula said of policymakers: “If they need to hike interest rates, then they need to hike interest rates.”The remark was viewed as a shift following ongoing calls for lower borrowing costs to support the economy and investment.Brazil’s annual inflation in mid-September reached 4.12%, while expectations of private economists surveyed weekly by the central bank are for inflation to hit 4.38% this year, 3.97% next year and 3.60% in 2026, all above the official target.MARKET SKEPTICISMGalipolo’s connection to Lula, with whom he was in Mexico last week for President Claudia Sheinbaum’s inauguration, has raised skepticism among many market participants since he was first tapped for a central bank position last year.Galipolo previously served as the Finance Ministry’s executive secretary under Lula, and has been the bank’s monetary policy director since July 2023.Markets initially voiced concern about his perceived lack of technical expertise and views on issues such as the need for state intervention to prioritize social needs and the suggestion that the central bank could act across the entire yield curve.Galipolo has since overcome initial resistance to succeed current Governor Roberto Campos Neto, appointed by former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro. Neto has faced vocal criticism from Lula since the president took office in January 2023. Jefferson Laatus, chief strategist at the Laatus group, said market worries will not cease immediately. “We will only know for sure about it in January, at the first meeting that will actually take place with him as governor,” he said.Asked about financial autonomy of the central bank, a proposal opposed by the Lula administration but supported by Campos Neto, Galipolo said the current discussion marks a “significant advance.” More