The Federal Emergency Management Agency is implementing immediate needs funding for a recent slate of disasters — and putting the pressure on Congress to approve a disaster supplemental as their coffers run the risk of drying in less than a month.
During a White House press briefing Tuesday, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said the agency will focus on prioritizing available funding toward Hurricane Idalia, the Maui, Hawaii, wildfires, and “any other extreme weather events that may come our way without interruption.”That means the agency will conserve funds to respond to the most critical needs of disaster survivors, but other ongoing recovery and resilience efforts will await congressional action until the fund is replenished.
“I want to stress that while immediate needs funding will ensure we can continue to respond to disasters, it is not a permanent solution,” Criswell said. “Congress must work with us on the supplemental request that the administration has made on behalf of FEMA.” It’s been a record-breaking year for expensive disasters, with the federal government tallying 15 confirmed weather disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each in 2023, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In August, the Biden administration submitted a request for $40 billion in new emergency spending, allocating $12 billion to replenish FEMA’s drying funds, more than $24 billion in aid to Ukraine, and $4 billion to address issues at the southern border.Criswell stated Tuesday that FEMA’s disaster relief fund has a balance of $3.
Despite having bipartisan support in the Senate, House conservatives have signaled that they would block any “blank check to Ukraine,” and with FEMA’s disaster funding attached to the Ukraine supplemental, this could set up an arduous spending battle in the coming weeks. And if the disaster funding isn’t replenished soon, lack of money could hamper the agency’s response to other disasters and delay long-term recovery efforts in Maui.
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