Respond to discussion

                The federal government, through a series of historical precedents, has an obligation to assist states when an incident “causes damage of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant major disaster assistance under the Stafford Act to supplement the efforts and available resources” (Sylves, 2015, p. 92) of already participating actors. However, the nature of presidential disaster declarations relies on loose delineations on its use, and many requests may be viewed as controversial and politically charged in choice. The fact that declarations are highly discretionary and subjective must not be forgotten, and it is important to consider each approval and denial of aid and its amount with a critical eye that not only takes in the human and economic loss of the disaster, but also the political forces behind each decision based on previous and future intergovernmental relations and status.