Elon Musk says 'serious reforms' are needed after federal govt allegedly blocks American citizens from helping hurricane victims

Tech tycoon and humanitarian Elon Musk said Thursday that significant government reforms are needed after seeing a report from a volunteer citizen relief workers who said that the federal government has been blocking citizens from delivering aid to hurricane victims because the donations were not from companies on the government's "preferred vendors" list.

Instead of allowing American citizens to lend a helping hand out of their own goodwill, the US government, the volunteer relief workers said, has prioritized companies that won hefty contract bids to aid natural disaster victims, which reportedly allows state and federal governments to get kickbacks from the companies. The General Services Administration has a contract award process for "vendors offering relief supplies." 

Vendors must register with the system for "award management" and are then able to use the contracts they have in place with the GSA to provide services during the time of need. This necessarily preludes other vendors from supplying those same services. FEMA also has an "authorized equipment list" for all sorts of goods and services and these are what are authorized to be used in case of emergency, again precluding the agency from working with anyone else, regardless of need or accessibility. 

Ryan Tyre, an American citizen who has been assisting natural disaster victims for several years, revealed the matter in a post on X. He explained that FEMA and federal law enforcement have actively prevented himself and others from delivering relief to residents in impacted communities because they are not preferred vendors, even when the aforementioned residents have not yet been helped and had been begging for assistance.

Musk responded to Tyre's post on X and wrote: "Wow, sounds like serious government reform is needed."

Elon Musk has been tapped by 2024 GOP nominee Donald Trump to lead a government efficiency commission, where the SpaceX and Tesla owner would be tasked to cut wasteful government spending - if Trump wins back the White House in Nov.

Tyre explained in his post that "it's all about money," and added that the government "would rather let people suffer so they can get their kickbacks."

Hurricane Helene was the deadliest and most catastrophic natural disaster to hit the US in recent years. Residents in the southeastern part of the United States have been left stranded without food and power for numerous days, and the death toll continues to rise.

The Biden administration faced backlash on Wednesday after Vice President Harris announced FEMA would be offering impacted residents $750 in financial assistance. American citizens criticized the low amount and pointed to the billions of taxpayer dollars sent to foreign countries in recent years, as well as the millions given to support networks for illegal immigrants.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters during a press brief that FEMA doesn't have enough funds to make it through hurricane season after diverting $641 million to illegal immigrants.