StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Virginia State Government - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Although the largest natural disasters, like Hurricane Katrina, receive most of our attention, smaller disaster occur quite frequently, and the state of Virginia is a regular recipient of funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
FEMA can be applied for by any…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.9% of users find it useful
Virginia State Government
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Virginia State Government"

and Number Due Regular Recipient of FEMA Funds Although the largest natural disasters, like Hurricane Katrina, receive most of our attention, smaller disaster occur quite frequently, and the state of Virginia is a regular recipient of funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA can be applied for by any state, as it is a federal program; however, the state of Virginia makes application, and receives services, on a pretty regular basis. In September 1999, Hurricane Floyd hit Virginia.

According to the Virginia Disaster Recovery newsletter, President Bill Clinton declared a state of emergency on Sept. 18, making monies available for “grants to pay for temporary housing, minor home repairs and other serious disaster-related expenses” (1). There is little argument that these services were needed, but the number of requests in the years to come might speak volumes. In June 2004, aid was given to Virginia once again. The “Federal Disaster Aid Authorized for Virginia Storms” press release read that funds were requested for a “series of severe storms” (para. 1). Most of the money went to southwestern Virginia to help residential families and small businesses affected by flooding from rainstorms, and damage done by tornadoes.

In December 2006, the state of Virginia made application to FEMA once again for damage done by Tropical Storm Ernesto. This time, however, the state was denied FEMA help. In “FEMA Denies Richmond’s Housing-Money Request,” Michael Martz writes that the city was denied “more than $198,000 … spent to house people in hotels and apartments after their North Side neighborhoods were flooded Sept. 1” (para. 2). Even with the rejection, Martz reported that Virginia officials still planned to apply for $35 million to fix a collapsed sewer line, and to take preventive measures against further flooding in the city’s Battery Park.

Later that year, a news story titled “Blame the Weather” appeared in Economist. Although Virginia was not named specifically, the main idea of the article was that “bad weather and bad government may be related” (para. 1). The story read that the large influxes of cash provided by FEMA made it easy for government officials to skim money off the top by inflating the actual amount of damage done, demanding kickbacks from contractors hired to rebuild, etc. It was revealed that if FEMA were defunct, government corruption would be “cut by more than 20% in the average state” (para. 4). That is based on the idea of each state’s resident being cheated out of only $1.

This revelation did not stop Virginia from filing for FEMA cash again the following year. In “FEMA Gives $158,979 to Brookneal Fire Department,” Dave Thompson wrote that FEMA “awarded $547,092 to fire departments across Virginia” (para. 1). Brookneal Fire Chief Dean Guthrie was careful not to waste any of its allotment. In his interview with Thompson he stated that he didn’t use any of the money on buying new vehicles, or even basic repairs. Instead, he purchased “personal equipment for the firefighters, most notably including self-contained breathing apparatuses” (para. 3). He also purchased items like goggles, helmets, and gloves, items he said the firemen had desperately needed for a long time.

No one is accusing the state of Virginia of any wrongdoing. State officials claim they just want to make sure that residents are taken care of when a disaster occurs. Apparently, the powers that be feel that applying for FEMA money, and often, is the best way to ensure that Virginians have what they need, and that the state can receive adequate reimbursement whenever possible.Works Cited“Blame the Weather.” Economist 380.8493 (02 Sep. 2006): 28. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Retrieved 20 Mar. 2008.“Federal Disaster Aid Authorized for Virginia Storms.

” (15 Jun. 2004). http://www.fema.gov.news/newsrelease.fema?id=12533“Floyd Hits Virginia.” Virginia Disaster Recovery 1 (02 Oct. 1999): 1-8.Martz, Michael. “FEMA Denies Richmond’s Housing-Money Request.” Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA) (08 Dec. 2006). Newspaper Source. EBSCO. Retrieved 21 Mar. 2008.Thompson, Dave. “FEMA Gives $158, 979 to Brookneal Fire Department.” News & Advance, The (Lynchburg, VA) (24 Nov. 2007). Newspaper Source. EBSCO. Retrieved 21 Mar. 2008.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Virginia State Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1”, n.d.)
Virginia State Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1545238-virginia-state-government
(Virginia State Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words - 1)
Virginia State Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words - 1. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1545238-virginia-state-government.
“Virginia State Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words - 1”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1545238-virginia-state-government.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Virginia State Government

Legislators in Manassas, Virginia

He stated further that the local government is really a prerequisite for serving in the General Assembly.... Herring stated that the reason why he had voted against the original transportation package because it shifted most of the responsibility off of the state legislature and onto the local governments.... Chris Petersen, one of virginia's most able legislators, was a patron of the Senate bill that repealed abusive driver fees.... Herring believes in a good and quality education for the young people of virginia....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Virginia State and Local Government

In the essay "virginia state and Local Government" the author looks at Virginia, the city that is plagued with the problem of transportation.... The General Assembly, which is the state's elected body, has been tiring to frame laws and making policies to ease this issue.... hellip; The author states that these problems are especially prevalent in the northern region of the state.... A number of bills have been passed and a number of such activities have been scheduled, in order to reach out to this problem that stands tall in the state....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Virginia State Local Government

iven the existence of inequity between northern and southern counties, an obvious solution to the problem would actually be for the government to strive to make state of things equal, given the injustices and unfairness present in Virginia nowadays.... Current news events over the Internet show that there is a widening rift among the residents of both the northern and southernmost counties of the state of Virginia.... For one, Virginians on both sides of the so-called Virginia Divide, saw the people on the other part of the state as almost like foreigners with a very different culture....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Virginia Local and State Government

The Virginia government was framed in a manner that would make it accountable to the people living in the region and would serve the public with utmost dedication and loyalty.... Due to the expanse of the activities that the government has come about to handle, this has been slightly difficult over the years.... hellip; Here is a proposal for change in the government. The Constitution of Virginia lays down the system of 'term limits'....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

George Washimgton

George Washington, the first and one among the best presidents of the United States of America was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, virginia.... Washington was the “eldest son of Augustine Washington and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington, who were prosperous virginia gentry of English descent (Ameslab.... Lawrence had married to the great Fairfax family in virginia and Lawrence's care and moral support provided inspiration to young Washington's life....
4 Pages (1000 words) Annotated Bibliography

Compare and Contrast the Virginia and New Jersey Plans Presented at the Constitutional Convention

nbsp;… According to the study, while the two plans agree on the number of branches of government, i.... the Legislature, the Judiciary and the Executive, the composition and the jurisdiction of the three arms of government differ in the two plans.... The Virginia plan supports the creation of national branches of government, with national jurisdiction.... Firstly, while the two plans agree on the number of branches of government, i....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

West Virginia: A Review of the Budgeting Process

Local council budgets are therefore bound to follow the same trends as the state government in preparation of their budgets.... hellip; This analytical report takes to account the budget analysis of West Virginia as a local government to the people that resides in it.... nbsp; This discussion stresses that the budget planning process takes to account three issues; consideration of the long range issues (infrastructure), the actual overview (process description) and the important aspect of the human resource in the government....
5 Pages (1250 words) Term Paper

Virginias 21-Day Rule

The state should ensure that no innocent could be executed.... The state should adopt a new law to prevent the killings of innocent persons in the name of justice.... They think that the rule's repealing would only weaken the state's trials and lessen the death penalty's fear.... The paper "virginia's 21-Day Rule" tells that virginia's 21-Day Rule is the death penalty reforms of virginia's judicial system....
8 Pages (2000 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us