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Posted by: thepinetree on 12/03/2021 03:11 PM
Updated by: thepinetree on 12/03/2021 03:11 PM
Expires: 01/01/2026 12:00 AM
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Mr. President: Keep Your Promise to Caldor Fire Victims By Congressman Tom McClintock
South Lake Tahoe, CA...The Caldor Fire raged in the Sierra Nevada of California for 68 days last summer, consuming more than 221,000 acres of forestland, making it the 15th largest and 16th most destructive fire in the history of California. It literally wiped out the Gold Rush-era town of Grizzly Flats and for days threatened the City of South Lake Tahoe. It destroyed nearly 800 homes, leaving hundreds of families homeless and destitute.
On September 13th, President Biden visited the scene. On that occasion, officials from El Dorado County and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services apprised him of the need to assist these displaced families. He said, “we’re going to take care of them…there’s a lot that we can do, and it starts off being a federal responsibility, in my view.”
The President was absolutely correct in that assessment. The fire exploded in the El Dorado National Forest that was catastrophically overgrown due to federal environmental laws that have made removal of excess timber all but impossible. According to local officials, the excessive use of back-fires by the Forest Service also appears to have needlessly exacerbated the fire.
This fire is indeed a federal responsibility, and the federal government owes to every one of the fire’s victims the full resources available to get them back on their feet.
And yet, despite multiple appeals, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has refused to approve Individual Assistance for the victims of the Caldor Fire.
The FEMA denial is a stunning double standard when compared with the assistance granted in other fires that did far less damage. For example, the California Office of Emergency Services identified nine other Individual Assistance grants that FEMA approved in 2021 for fires that cumulatively destroyed fewer homes than those destroyed by the Caldor Fire alone.
Survivors hoping to rebuild their homes face an insurance deficit of $200,000 or more. Many survivors are uninsured, and nearly all of them are underinsured due to the severity of recent wildfire seasons.
Moreover, residents of Grizzly Flats – the town completely wiped out by the fire –are disproportionately low-income, elderly, and socioeconomically vulnerable. Their homes and their belongings were all they had, and now they have nothing.
Even those who did not lose their businesses to the fire lost many months of income as evacuations shut everything down. The regional economy will continue to suffer if survivors are not able to rebuild. Critical infrastructure has been either damaged or completely destroyed, including schools, fire stations, and the Grizzly Flats Post Office. While local officials, residents and organizations are doing everything they can to provide support to one another and rebuild, they will not be able to recover without the federal assistance that they desperately need and deserve.
Last year, FEMA denied the request for Individual Assistance for the Creek Fire in Fresno and Madera Counties. When I appealed to President Trump to correct this injustice, he immediately reversed FEMA’s decision and granted Individual Assistance to these homeowners.
President Biden made a solemn promise to the victims of the Caldor Fire to help them to rebuild. He personally saw the damage and heartbreak caused by the fire. He has the authority to reverse FEMA’s denial and fulfil his promise. I have now written three letters to him drawing this to his attention and making this request.
So far, I have not even received the courtesy of a response.
“We’re going to take care of them (and) there’s a lot that we can do.” Those were the President’s words spoken to these families in September.
They have now passed their first Thanksgiving without their homes and many without their livelihoods that were taken from them by this federal fire. They are approaching a dismal Christmas, waiting and praying for the President to fulfill his promise.
The President has a moral obligation to keep his promise to the victims of the Caldor Fire. As President Trump did for the victims of the Creek Fire, he should reverse FEMA’s outrageous decision without further delay and release the funds these families are depending upon to rebuild their lives and their communities.
Congressman Tom McClintock represents California’s 4th Congressional District
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No Subject
Posted on: 2021-12-03 15:49:45
By: Anonymous
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Tom voted against a bill that would fund forest management. He did vote for the insurrection. Is he an American or a foreign actor?
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Posted on: 2021-12-03 22:02:32
By: Anonymous
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I know one thing. He's a dick.
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Posted on: 2021-12-04 07:31:30
By: Anonymous
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At least he has a dick, sniveler...
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Posted on: 2021-12-04 07:32:41
By: Anonymous
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Repeated Profanity from this IP Address
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Re: keeping your promises
Posted on: 2021-12-04 09:36:49
By: Anonymous
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That's right Tom. You keep your promises to not raise taxes, complain about infrastructure spending, and protecting a criminal President.
I can't believe the voters of his district can't see through this flim flam man.
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Posted on: 2021-12-05 06:18:25
By: Anonymous
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McClintock it a washed up joke. Put him out to pasture with the rest of the useless GOP idiots.
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Posted on: 2021-12-05 06:22:34
By: Anonymous
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To the fool who runs this site: are you going to allow these jerks with their endless links to oblivion to continue to hold your precious site hostage with pure crap? I mean, enough is enough and even a jerk like you ought to see it. Unless you are just another of the trash that posts here.
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Posted on: 2021-12-12 23:16:57
By: Anonymous
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Mr. McClintock is irresponsible in these comments since he did not support more proactive forest management pressing legislation before fire season even began.
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No Subject
Posted on: 2021-12-03 15:50:44
By: Anonymous
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“If” you believe this president has our best interest, you better check your bank account. All democrats, I repeat, all democrats have caused all Americans to go broke just buying essential goods to survive. Thank you very much!!!!
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Posted on: 2021-12-03 17:28:16
By: Anonymous
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It called all those tariffs your Dump ass “ex” president put on all our essential goods a few years ago. Time catches up to you. I guess your like the rest you have a short memory of who did what and when.
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Posted on: 2021-12-03 17:58:31
By: Anonymous
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Your boy put the tariffs in place and sat on the pandemic for nearly two months, allowing it to explode. The sitting president is dealing with Trump's ineptitude. But we don't expect Trumpsters to understand how economics work and it takes some time to turn around what came before.
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Posted on: 2021-12-08 06:00:17
By: Anonymous
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You are literally the ONLY one who believes tariffs are responsible for the outrageous inflation. NOBODY else. At least, in keeping with leftist tradition, your uncalibrated blame finger jumped right in for the assist. What would the democratic party do if they couldn't count on their gullible base using lies and misplaced blame to distract voters from the nightmare on The Hill?
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Posted on: 2021-12-03 22:03:10
By: Anonymous
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STFU SRS
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No Subject
Posted on: 2021-12-03 15:58:37
By: Anonymous
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McClintock has never kept a promise yet.
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Posted on: 2021-12-03 16:39:37
By: Anonymous
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To the new residents here, do not believe 90% of the trash you read here! Once out and about, most locals are from the 101 cordor. Flatlanders are most of us and, love it here. Welcome to the mountains. 40 year resident.
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Posted on: 2021-12-03 17:04:09
By: Anonymous
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Huh? What? Guess you have to come from the 101 cordor to understand. 4th generation and people like you screwed up a nice place to live.
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Posted on: 2021-12-03 17:13:17
By: Anonymous
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Huh? What? Get a job or, respect all the good people here. Four generations tells a lot about this generation! Get it???
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Posted on: 2021-12-03 17:42:39
By: Anonymous
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I have a job. I have money and I show respect when it is warranted. Do you? 40 years living here and you're a spokesperson? Learn RESPECT. You obviously didn't find it where you came from and now you spread it like a disease.
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Posted on: 2021-12-03 17:59:28
By: Anonymous
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Does anyone else understand what this individual is trying to say?
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Posted on: 2021-12-03 19:25:02
By: Anonymous
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Under the influence. Just a professional opinion .
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Posted on: 2021-12-04 08:17:51
By: Anonymous
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"Once out and about, most locals are from the 101 cordor."
Says the drunken drugged fool who hangs out at all the drunken/drugged tourist spots designed to at least reap monetary value from Citidiots. What are you running from? No past friends or family want to be around you? Yeah, coming here to meet new people? Actually you come here to hide from your past.
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No Subject
Posted on: 2021-12-03 17:52:54
By: Anonymous
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Finally McClintock is saying something that is meaningful. But that does not mean I will vote for him!
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No Subject
Posted on: 2021-12-03 17:56:42
By: Anonymous
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Tom voted AGAINST more funding for federal firefighting, much of the land in the Sierras. Funny how you didn't hear much from him on this issue during Trump's tenure.
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Posted on: 2021-12-03 18:00:34
By: Anonymous
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^ This. He is so transparent one could almost call him "Caspar."
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Posted on: 2021-12-03 21:28:23
By: Anonymous
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Listen up you *bleep*s, he is more Cognitive than 90% of the Democrats supposedly running our Govt. right now...including Brain Dead Joe & Camel Toe!!
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Posted on: 2021-12-03 21:32:03
By: Anonymous
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Including all you Snow Flake (AKA Progressives) posting on this site
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