Amid Finger-Pointing Hurricane Relief Lags

In an article written March 9, 2012 by Becca Aaronson from the Texas Tribune, Texas is not only plagued by tornadoes and drought but it is entering hurricane season, and although forecasters are expecting fewer hurricanes this year it is still a concern, especially for those living in coastal areas.  According to the Houston Chronicle hurricane forecasters are expecting fewer storms than normal this year. Although predicting exactly where storms will make landfall in the U.S. is difficult.

Changes in weather patterns determine how many hurricanes will form and how strong the storms are.  When storms hit areas of Texas a disaster relief fund helps those in need of assistance. Once a disaster strikes the local governments are aided by HB 1998, which provides temporary housing and emergency shelters.  Not only does the state and local government step in, but often times the community joins together to provide help for each other. A timeline cannot be laid out because each disaster is different and will require different agencies for different situations. Texas Governor said that Texas has developed one of the most effective and efficient emergency response teams in the nation, and recently, the team was put to the test again when a severe storm system, hailing 17 tornados, ripped through North Texas and damaged more than 650 homes.

Unfortunately the aid meant to help those in need comes too slow to help them rebuild.  Hurricanes Ike and Dolly made landfall in 2008 and none of the 4,000 plus homes expected to be rebuilt with the federal money allotted in Houston were completed.  Texas has only spent 10 percent of the money designated for the recovery process. Texas was “the worst-performing state in the country on expenditure of funds and disaster money,” said Mercedes Márquez, the assistant secretary at HUD, which administers the program on the federal level. She said the way the money was managed was a mistake. http://www.texastribune.org/texas-local-news/hurricane-ike/amid-finger-pointing-hurricane-relief-lags/.  She blamed the states micromanaging of the recovery efforts. 

Citizens of Texas are told they will have state and federal aid whenever a natural disaster arises.  It is up to the state to comply with the federal governments regulations so that the individual can receive the aid without problems.  Governor Perry has assured residents that the states role in overseeing the process would have worked if the local governments had complied with the federal requirements. According to the Texas Tribune “As HUD noted in monitoring reports, the state did not enact standard procedures for how local governments should process applications and write contracts for projects — the result was bureaucratic chaos.  Perry’s office blamed HUD.”

Contraceptive coverage controversy

In my classmate's blog, "Humanly Correct" an article was written discussing the requirements for birth control coverage by insurance companies in Texas.  My classmate examines the blog written by Eileen Smith and discusses her concerns regarding our states plans to change the coverage women receive from their insurance companies.  The conflict in Texas is that the religious based insurance companies have strong beliefs that do not comply with women's use of birth control.

If a woman is employed through a religious institution that uses their own private insurance company for employee benefits, she should not be limited to proper coverage that would be received by any other insurance company.  Just because a certain institution has a particular religious belief, does not mean that the employees should have to abide by their religion's guidelines.  Religion should not affect the healthcare of women.

The new standards require coverage of the full range of contraceptive methods approved by the Food and Drug Administration, as well as sterilization procedures.  Among the drugs and devices that must be covered are emergency contraceptives including pills known as ella and Plan B.  This requirement would go a long way to remove costs that serve as a barrier to birth control for many women in Texas.  Providing coverage would save countless dollars and lives.  Too many women have unplanned pregnancies and cannot do anything about it.  They then end not being able to afford to raise them and end up on state assistance.  It costs taxpayers more than if the pregnancy was prevented in the first place.

Full range of contraceptive methods should be covered including emergency contraceptives such as ella and Plan B.  In addition to contraceptive services for women, the government should require to cover screenings for H.I.V, AIDS, cervical cancer, and screenings for gestational diabetes and counseling and equipment to promote breast-feeding.

There should not be stipulations on birth control due to religion or age. I think that birth control should be available to any woman at any age to prevent pregnancy.  I also think the morning after pill should be available after a consultation.  That won't eliminate all women from abusing it but maybe limits on the use per woman would prevent any injuries.  Ultimately, it is up to parents to teach children birth control.  If the family has religious reasons then it is up to the family to accept or decline precentative measures.  It is not up to an organization to make those decisions.