Perry had requested a federal declaration of emergency for Texas as the wildfires began to rage across the entire state. The request has not been answered, although several federal agencies, including the National Park Service, are supplying firefighters to help the state's effort.
"They watch TV, they know what's going on here, they can recognize that there is going to be a request for assistance, a request for help," Perry said.
Two volunteer firefighters have died battling the Texas wildfires, which have destroyed more than 900 buildings or structures.
A federal major disaster declaration could reimburse Texas and local governments 75 percent of the cost of their response. Local departments and the Texas Forest Service have spent more than $60 million since September 1 responding to wildfires, forest service spokeswoman Linda Moon said.
In the past Perry has frequently charged that the Obama administration is punishing Texas. The Republican governor has been an outspoken opponent of the federal health reform law, and the state is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over a proposal to end Texas' independent air quality permitting program for factories and refineries.
Obama took a shot at Perry in an interview last week with the Dallas/Fort Worth TV station WFAA.
"Governor Perry helped balance his budget with about $6 billion worth of federal help - which he happily took - and then started blaming the members of Congress who had offered that help," Obama told WFAA, referring to 2009 federal stimulus funds.
Perry has some stones on him, I'll give him that much. This is a guy who complains as loudly as possible about how Texas doesn't need federal help, saying the state should opt out of Social Security, the state should opt out of Medicaid, and even opt out of the United States of America.
But now it's "we're not getting our federal handout fast enough because President Blackington Blackman The Black hates Texas." What an asshole.
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