President Bush has declared an emergency in the District of Columbia for the inauguration of his successor — an unprecedented move that will allow federal funds and disaster resources to flow more freely to local agencies, according to a FEMA spokesman.
The declaration was requested by D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty who warns that inauguration crowds could overwhelm area hospitals and emergency responders.
Terry Monrad, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said similar declarations have only ever been pre-approved for natural disasters like hurricanes.
When reviewing Fenty’s request for extra federal aid, the agency looked at “if D.C. [on its own] would have the capabilities and resources to meet critical emergency protective requirements,” said FEMA spokeswoman Alexandra Kirin, and judged that it would not.
Requests from Maryland and Virginia for similar funds have been submitted and are currently under review, Kirin said. Neither state has requested inaugural reimbursements in the past.
Fenty’s request “estimated 1.5 million to 2 million people in town for the inauguration, and the associated stresses on the city’s capacity, particularly the medical community,” said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel.
Fenty had once predicted crowds as large as 5 million would descend on the city, but now in his plea for federal assistance, says that even a crowd of less than half the size would overwhelm the District.
The declaration permits FEMA “to provide the additional requested support to ensure not only safety and security, but health and well-being,” Stanzel said.
The funds will be available from Saturday, Jan. 17, until Wednesday, Jan. 21, Kirin said, and will cover expenses above the $15 million allotted yearly by Congress to D.C. for federal events.
FEMA officials stressed that the declaration “doesn’t mean we’re expecting an event to occur, but it’s preparation.”
District officials expect Barack Obama’s inauguration to cost more than $47 million, according to a plea for money sent earlier this month to Congressional representatives by Fenty along with Maryland and Virginia governors Martin O’Malley and Tim Kaine.
The total cost anticipated by the National Capital Region is more than $75 million, according to the same letter.
At a press conference Tuesday morning, both O’Malley and Kaine said they had received sympathetic responses from Congressional leadership with regard to reimbursements, but had won no hard guarantees.
Maryland expects to pay about $12 million and VIrginia is prepared to spend more than $16 million for inaugural costs if FEMA or other federal funds don’t come through.
“It’s safe to say [federal officials] were somewhat taken aback that there had not been a provision made in the federal budget for the inauguration, as there was for the Republican and Democratic national conventions,” O’Malley said. “And I think they understand that needs to be addressed, but the likelihood of addressing it before the inauguration is probably pretty slim.”
O’Malley spokesman Rick Abbruzzese said the D.C. emergency declaration made later in the afternoon offered Maryland a bit of hope.
[email protected]
Related: Official White House press release announcing the emergency allocation.
