President Joe Biden is requesting nearly $100 billion in emergency disaster aid after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and other natural disasters, telling lawmakers that the money is “urgently needed.”
The letter Monday to House Speaker Mike Johnson comes as lawmakers meet during a lame-duck session to finish key priorities before making way for a new Congress and the incoming Trump administration.
Biden said he has met firsthand with those harmed by the storms and he heard what residents and businesses needed from the federal government.
“Additional resources are critical to continue to support these communities,” Biden said.
Federal lawmakers from North Carolina repeatedly urged Biden to send Congress a request for more money for the victims of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, and U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards led a bipartisan group of members of Congress in sending a letter to Biden this week.
The group – made up of lawmakers from Virginia, Georgia, and North Carolina – requested that the Office of Management and Budget immediately send a supplemental appropriation request to Congress to support the communities they represent, which were devastated after Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
The group previously asked for the president to send Congress the request for supplemental appropriations, which is money that can be spent outside federal budgets and is usually allocated after the fiscal year has begun. Such requests typically arise in response to unanticipated needs, such as natural disasters.
“Both storms devastated our states, leaving hundreds dead and causing billions of dollars of damage. Across the Southeastern United States, Hurricane Helene is estimated to have caused $250 billion in damages and Hurricane Milton is expected to have caused $50 billion in damages,” the letter reads.
The largest share of Biden’s request, about $40 billion, would go to the main disaster relief fund at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The fund helps with debris removal, repairing public infrastructure and providing financial assistance to survivors.
Biden said the fund would face a shortfall this budget year without additional money. He said that would not only affect the agency’s ability to provide lifesaving assistance to survivors but also would slow recovery efforts from prior disasters.
An additional $24 billion would help farmers who have experienced crop or livestock losses, and $12 billion would go toward helping communities recover through block grants administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Some $8 billion more would help rebuild and repair highways and bridges in more than 40 states and territories. The administration is also seeking $4 billion for long-term water system upgrades to mitigate future damage from natural disasters.
The Small Business Administration has run out of money for a program that provides low-interest loans for businesses, nonprofits and homeowners trying to rebuild after a disaster. Biden is seeking $2 billion for that program. Several other agencies would also receive emergency funds if Congress agrees to the full request.
With many Republicans campaigning on reducing federal spending, there could be some debate about portions of Biden’s request. The federal government doesn’t help with every disaster. It generally gets involved only if the needs are above the ability of a community or state to handle.
U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said he opposes the aid package requested by the president because it’s not offset with spending cuts elsewhere.
“This is a spending spree,” Norman said.
Tillis, however, called the president’s request a “good start.” He said residents of Asheville, until recently, were still under an advisory to boil their water, “and that’s not the worst thing happening there.”
“We need to get a signal to them that we’re going to support them,” Tillis said.
The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to hear Wednesday from the heads of several of the government agencies that would receive funding through Biden’s request. It’s possible that emergency aid could be attached to any spending bill designed to keep federal agencies operating after current funding expires Dec. 20.
Biden noted that Congress had provided more than $90 billion in aid after Hurricane Katrina nearly two decades ago, and more than $50 billion after Hurricane Sandy in 2013. He urged Congress to take “immediate action.”
Last month, the Biden administration announced it has provided more than $4.3 billion in federal aid to the states affected by the storms.
“This number not only includes direct assistance to survivors and communities, but also encompasses broader response and recovery efforts such as mission assignments for Urban Search and Rescue and Army Corps of Engineers for debris removal, as well as Disaster Recovery Center set up and maintenance,” stated an Oct. 21 press release.
According to the White House, FEMA has approved over $1.2 billion in assistance for communities. This includes $746 million in assistance for individuals and families, along with more than $524 million for debris removal and efforts to protect public health and safety.
FEMA has also approved over $130 million in housing and other types of assistance for over 89,500 households.
The letter points out that after several natural disasters, the OMB sent requests to Congress within a quicker time frame.
“In 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall on August 25 and OMB sent a supplemental request to Congress only one week later,” the letter stated. “Again in 2017, Hurricane Irma made landfall on September 6th and OMB sent a supplemental request to Congress less than a month later”
“Now, seven weeks have passed since the first of these hurricanes made landfall and OMB still has not transmitted a request to Congress.”
The group wrote that they “stand ready to work with you and our Congressional colleagues to pass significant disaster relief so that the road to long term recovery can begin. Our constituents do not have the luxury of waiting any longer. They need help now.”
On October 1, South Florida Congressman Jared Moskowitz, (D-FL), filed a bill for $15 billion in supplemental appropriations for disaster relief from Congress. The bill has not moved from the House Committee on Appropriations since it was filed.
