DC Emergency Declared for Obama Inauguration

[mkrishnan]

This news story is so odd that it gives me a headache. :o

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/13/bush-frees-inauguration-emergency-funds/

President Bush on Tuesday declared the District of Columbia to be a federal emergency area so the city can access federal funds to help pay for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.

"An emergency exists in the District of Columbia," said the statement from White House press secretary Dana Perino.

City planners have said they expect a few million people to come from all over the country and even the world to see Mr. Obama's swearing in one week from today.

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has said previously he needs $75 million, which is significantly more than the $15 million appropriated by Congress to pay for security and other logistical preparations.

The presidential declaration will give the city access, from Jan. 17-21, to federal coffers for "emergency protective measures that are undertaken to save lives and protect public health and safety," the White House order said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency named Donald L. Keldsen as "federal coordinating officer for federal recovery operations" in the city.

So FEMA is failing out the Obama inauguration? Wow. Just wow. I mean, not in a partisan sort of way, not in a reactionary way, just wow. Who'dve thought that the presidential inauguration would require emergency funding?

[Rodimus Prime]

I am not surprised buy the huge extra cost to the city.

This was the right move for Bush to do. He going to get flamed for it but if he did not do it people would say he allowing much needed funding for the city.

A lot more people are going to show up than for a normally. We have evidence of that by how Campaign and voter turn out this year being hirer than normal.


It is still pocket change compared to the amount of money Obama spent on Campaigning. Hell I think it should come out of his campaign funds. he spent over 600 mil which goes to show you how much money is WASTED on campaigning.

[mkrishnan]

Wasted is all a relative concept... arguably Obama took money that would languish in your bank account and used it to pay low-wage underlings, and jack-booted thugs, buy airplane tickets, hire people to make video segments, hire people to create mailers, etc, etc. All generating more economic turns from your money than the bank would have. So arguably he did a great service to the economy. ;) As perhaps will Bush with this move.

(P.S. I agree that it was generally the right thing to do on Bush's part, which is the most headache inspiring aspect of all)

[nbs2]

It is still pocket change compared to the amount of money Obama spent on Campaigning. Hell I think it should come out of his campaign funds. he spent over 600 mil which goes to show you how much money is WASTED on campaigning.

Well, Obama could have raised the money in follow-up fundraising - that was what was done in the past. It would have only taken $1+ from each person that voted for him. Instead, we are going to have even more deficit spending to pay for the pomp and circumstance that accompanies these things.

With so many idiot tourists taking over the metro area and what I expect to be a multitude of failures by the local governments and agencies involved, I am so glad to be getting out of town.

[Thanatoast]

Awesome that the only way we can pay for our ceremony is to turn on the "security" spigot. Neat little re-enforcement of a broken paradigm, there...

[nbs2]

Awesome that the only way we can pay for our ceremony is to turn on the "security" spigot. Neat little re-enforcement of a broken paradigm, there...

The other option would be for the PEOTUS to either a) limit activities and participation to $15m worth or b) fund the rest.

Also, it appears that Bush may be paying for this after the concern expressed (http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/01/20/media_on_inauguration) about his lavish '05 ceremony.

[mkrishnan]

The other option would be for the PEOTUS to either a) limit activities and participation to $15m worth or b) fund the rest.

As I understood it, the money actually goes for crowd management, etc, for the city of Washington, DC. That is, for people out partying on the street and so on. There is the problem that the crowd outside the invited events (which, like Obama's Election Day rally at Grant Park here, is forecast to be ginormous) is not really under his control.