$386 MILLION FOR VENEZUELA. $20 MILLION FOR SHOCK GLOVES. BUT THE MIDWEST IS STILL ASKING FOR HELP?!

Baby...

MAKE. IT. MAKE. SENSE.

Because the more I looked into this story, the more irritated I got.

Families across Illinois and Indiana just got their lives turned upside down by severe storms, flooding and destructive winds.

Homes damaged.

Cars crushed.

Trees everywhere.

Food spoiled.

Businesses interrupted.

People displaced.

Hundreds of thousands initially without electricity.

And more than a week later, tens of thousands of people in Northwest Indiana were STILL without power. 

Meanwhile, the federal government can find:

UP TO $20 MILLION FOR ELECTRIC-SHOCK GLOVES FOR ICE.

And just weeks earlier, the Trump administration announced that the United States' total commitment to disaster and humanitarian assistance for Venezuela had surpassed $386 MILLION. 

Now hold on.

Because THAT needs some explaining.

🇻🇪 FIRST, THAT $386 MILLION WAS NOT HURRICANE RELIEF

I want to correct this before Facebook gets hold of it and we end up reporting the wrong thing.

The $386 million was connected to the devastating June 24 earthquakes in Venezuela, not a hurricane.

The Trump administration initially mobilized $150 million in humanitarian relief after the earthquakes. By July 8, the State Department said the total U.S. financial commitment resulting from the earthquakes had grown to more than $386 million.

That assistance included emergency humanitarian relief for people facing a legitimate catastrophe.

And let me make something VERY clear:

I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH HELPING PEOPLE IN VENEZUELA.

Those are human beings.

People lost homes.

People needed food, medical care, clean water and emergency assistance.

Help them.

BUT HELP US TOO.

That's my problem.

Because you cannot show Americans how quickly hundreds of millions of dollars can be mobilized when catastrophe strikes somewhere else and then act confused when Americans ask:

“WHERE IS THAT SAME URGENCY WHEN THE DISASTER IS IN OUR BACKYARD?”

⚡ BECAUSE NORTHWEST INDIANA IS STILL IN THE DARK

The August 11 storms hit Indiana HARD.

Winds reached 99 mph, trees and power lines came crashing down and roughly 300,000 customers initially lost electricity.

As of August 19, approximately 75,000 customers remained without power, including more than 20,000 in Gary.

Some Gary residents may not have electricity restored until approximately August 25 because crews have to replace around 300 utility poles and 44 transmission poles.

Seven deaths have also been reported since the storms began.

These aren't people complaining because the Wi-Fi went out.

People are trying to figure out:

How do I keep my medicine cold?

How do I replace all this spoiled food?

Where am I supposed to sleep?

How do I repair my house?

How do I pay for this?

And some families have been asking those questions for more than a WEEK.

🏚️ ILLINOIS GOT HIT TOO

Illinois wasn't watching this storm from across the street.

Communities throughout the state suffered tornadoes, flooding, damaging winds and widespread property damage.

Gov. JB Pritzker has now issued a disaster proclamation covering 15 Illinois counties, including Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and Will counties.

South suburban leaders have publicly called for additional federal assistance for communities devastated by the storms.

And here's where things get especially interesting.

INDIANA HAS RECEIVED A PRESIDENTIAL EMERGENCY DECLARATION.

President Trump approved Indiana's emergency declaration on August 15, allowing FEMA to provide federal assistance for emergency protective measures resulting from the storms beginning August 11.

That's important.

So I'm NOT going to sit here and tell y'all:

“Trump hasn't done anything for the Midwest.”

That wouldn't be true.

He approved federal emergency assistance for Indiana.

Indiana has also opened its own State Disaster Relief Fund, which can provide eligible households with up to $5,000 for certain immediate disaster-related needs.

But an emergency declaration is also not necessarily the same thing as comprehensive individual disaster assistance for every family who lost property, food, income or housing.

Indiana officials are pursuing additional disaster assistance as damage assessments continue.

And Illinois?

ILLINOIS IS STILL WAITING TO SEE WHAT FEDERAL HELP IT CAN GET FROM THIS DISASTER.

That's why people have questions.

✈️ AND WHERE IS WASHINGTON?

Here's another thing bothering me.

I have searched for evidence that President Trump personally traveled to these devastated Illinois or Indiana communities following the August storms, and as of August 20, I haven't found such a visit.

I also haven't found reporting showing a senior White House official personally touring the hardest-hit Illinois or Northwest Indiana neighborhoods yet.

That doesn't mean nobody from government is assessing the damage.

State and local officials are.

Pritzker has toured damaged Illinois communities.

And in Indiana, FEMA and state emergency officials are conducting joint damage assessments to determine what additional assistance may be warranted.

But here's my question:

WHERE IS THE PRESIDENT?

You don't have to personally stand next to every fallen tree to authorize disaster assistance.

I understand that.

But when Americans have died...

When neighborhoods have been flooded...

When people have spent more than a week without electricity...

When families are looking at destroyed homes...

COME SEE THEM.

Stand in Gary.

Stand in Lansing.

Talk to the people who threw away everything in their refrigerator.

Talk to the senior citizen sitting in a dark house.

Talk to the family whose roof is under a tree.

COME LOOK AT IT.

Because sometimes leadership isn't just signing something in Washington.

Sometimes leadership is:

“I'M HERE. SHOW ME WHAT YOU NEED.”

🧤⚡ BUT WE FOUND UP TO $20 MILLION FOR SHOCK GLOVES?!

And THIS is where my blood pressure needs somebody to come get it.

ICE plans to spend up to $20 million on thousands of G.L.O.V.E. devices, which stands for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter.

They're wearable devices capable of delivering an electrical shock through direct contact with a person's skin.

The Trump administration says they're intended as a less-lethal option that could help officers gain control of someone without resorting to deadlier force.

Okay.

That's their argument.

But I'm looking at the NUMBER.

$20,000,000.

And I'm looking at families sitting in the dark.

And I keep arriving at the same question:

HOW ABOUT SPEND $20 MILLION AND HELP THE PEOPLE?!

Help replace food.

Help with temporary housing.

Help people repair roofs.

Help families whose cars were destroyed.

Help seniors.

Help small businesses reopen.

Help communities remove debris.

Help people who don't have enough insurance.

Help the people who just watched Mother Nature rearrange their entire lives.

💰 AND THEN I LOOK BACK AT THAT $386 MILLION

Again, I am NOT saying:

“Don't help Venezuela.”

That's not my position.

I'm saying something much simpler:

IF AMERICA CAN MOBILIZE MORE THAN $386 MILLION TO HELP PEOPLE AFTER A DISASTER IN VENEZUELA, AMERICANS ARE NOT WRONG FOR EXPECTING THEIR GOVERNMENT TO MOVE WITH THAT SAME ENERGY WHEN DISASTER HITS AMERICAN SOIL.

The administration described its Venezuela response as “robust and rapid.” The United States deployed substantial humanitarian resources following the earthquakes.

You know what phrase I like?

ROBUST AND RAPID.

Let's get some of THAT over here.

Because Americans shouldn't have to watch their government demonstrate how quickly it can mobilize hundreds of millions overseas and then feel like they have to stand outside with a cardboard sign yelling:

“HEY! WE NEED HELP TOO!”

⚠️ NOW BEFORE SOMEBODY SAYS, “THAT'S NOT HOW GOVERNMENT MONEY WORKS...”

I know.

The $386 million in Venezuela assistance, the ICE procurement and domestic disaster relief come through different agencies, appropriations and legal authorities.

You cannot simply grab the ICE contract money and tell FEMA:

“Here, take this to Gary.”

Federal budgeting doesn't work that way.

But Congress and the administration make choices about what programs get funded, how much they receive and what receives urgency.

So this isn't an accounting argument.

IT'S A PRIORITIES ARGUMENT.

And taxpayers have every right to look at where federal resources are going and ask whether enough is being done for communities right here at home.

🔴 LADY RED SAYS...

I don't want somebody in Venezuela sitting underneath a collapsed house without help.

HELP THEM.

I don't want an ICE officer unnecessarily shooting somebody when a less-lethal option could prevent a death.

I UNDERSTAND THAT ARGUMENT TOO.

But I damn sure don't want Americans sitting in destroyed neighborhoods thinking:

“DOES ANYBODY IN WASHINGTON SEE US?”

Because we apparently know how to find money.

$386 MILLION? FOUND IT.

UP TO $20 MILLION FOR ELECTRIC GLOVES? FOUND IT.

Now find some serious money for the families looking at flooded homes, spoiled refrigerators, destroyed cars and weeks of repairs.

And don't just send a press release.

COME HERE.

Walk through the neighborhood.

Look at the damage.

Talk to the people.

Ask what they need.

Then take that information back to Washington and:

HELP. THE. PEOPLE.

Because right now we've got electricity going into gloves while Americans are waiting for electricity to come back into their houses.

We've demonstrated that we can mobilize hundreds of millions of dollars when disaster strikes abroad.

So don't tell the Midwest to just be patient.

BRING THAT “ROBUST AND RAPID” ENERGY HOME.

👀 730 BOOM FAMILY, HERE'S MY QUESTION

Can America continue helping people overseas AND do a better job taking care of Americans when disaster strikes here at home?

Because I don't believe this has to be:

Venezuela OR Illinois and Indiana.

We're the United States of America.

WHY CAN'T THE ANSWER BE BOTH?

Help people overseas when catastrophe strikes.

AFTERALL WE ARE A PART OF THE PHACKIN HOME TEAM.

AND WHEN YOUR OWN PEOPLE ARE STANDING IN THE DARK... SHOW UP AND HELP THEM TOO.

💥 BOOM!

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