According to the nonprofit that published the letter, some FEMA employees were given leave after signing an open letter of disapproval of the agency’s leadership.
The employees, who were outraged over budget cuts, personnel decisions, and other changes enacted under President Donald Trump, were given administrative leave on Tuesday after signing an open letter the day before, which they claimed could recreate the circumstances that caused the widely criticized FEMA response to the hurricane in 2005.
Stand Up for Science, a non-profit organization, announced in a statement on Tuesday that “we can confirm that several FEMA employees who publicly signed the Katrina Declaration have been taken administrative leave.”
The development is likely to stoke concerns that the administration of US President Donald Trump will tolerate dissention. 139 US employees signed a letter criticizing Trump’s policies and were given administrative leave by the agency in July.
As of Tuesday night, the letter was signed by more than 190 signatories, the majority of whom opted not to speak out in secret because they were concerned about reprisals.
According to The New York Times on Tuesday evening, “Around 30” employees were fired because of their email review.
According to Stand Up for Science, “once more, we are seeing the federal government retaliate against our civil servants for whistleblowing,” which is both a grave betrayal of the most devoted of all.
Virginia Case, a supervisory management and program analyst, informed CNN that she had been given a paid leave notice on Tuesday evening.
According to the US outlet, Case said, “I’m disappointed but not surprised.”
Regardless of what it might mean for our jobs, I’m also proud of those of us who stepped up. If this keeps going, the public should be aware of what is happening.
According to The Washington Post, the employees who have been suspended will continue to receive benefits and pay.
The Trump administration “has made accountability and reform a priority,” according to FEMA’s press secretary on Monday, adding that the agency has been burdened by red tape and inefficiencies.
Trump has stated that he wants to end FEMA and allow states to “take care of their own problems” since making a brief appearance in the White House in January.
This year, roughly 2, 000 FEMA employees, or a third of its workforce, have been fired, bought out, or taken out of early retirement.
More than 1,800 people died in New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina’s catastrophic flooding. The ineffectiveness of the US response to it contributed to its reputation as one of the worst natural disasters in US history. The Post-Katrina Emergency Reform Act was passed by Congress in 2006.
Source: Aljazeera
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