Officials Defend FEMA but Concede Problems With Aid

The Bush Administration on Sunday defended the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response to Hurricane Andrew against charges of slowness in writing checks to victims, but conceded that overall federal financial aid to the stricken areas should move faster.

Marilyn Quayle, wife of Vice President Dan Quayle and a member of FEMA’s board of directors, said the agency by law cannot give out checks until it has proof that damage has occurred “to make sure that there isn’t fraud involved.” Private insurers, in contrast, have proof that a property exists before insuring it, she said.

FEMA is also barred by law from giving money to people who are privately insured, she told the CNN interview program “Newsmaker Sunday.” About 60% of Andrew’s victims have private insurance and cannot be aided until their insurer fails to provide help, she said.

In addition, she said: “We’ve expedited the process so people who need individual and family grants can get them within a two- or three-day period.”

Richard G. Darman, director of the Office of Management and the Budget, admitted that more can be done to bring relief to the region, including reducing red tape.

“We’re trying to make special efforts to get the IRS in the field down there, to get other agencies that are necessary to cut through the paper,” he said on the ABC program “This Week With David Brinkley.”

FEMA and the Small Business Administration have begun writing checks to victims, Darman said. “But we’ve got to do this much more quickly, and the President directed that it be done more quickly,” he said.