Speaker Johnson says Congress has provided funds for Helene response
Source: The Independent
10/01/24 6:30 PM ET
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Tuesday said Congress has already authorized the disaster relief funds needed for the immediate response to Helene, the storm that has ravaged multiple states from Florida up through western North Carolina and Tennessee.
Speaking at the New York Stock Exchange before delivering remarks on his economic agenda, Johnson noted a replenishment of the Federal Emergency Management Agencys (FEMA) disaster relief fund was included in a three-month stopgap government funding bill that Congress passed, and that President Biden signed into law, last week.
Congress has previously provided the funds it [FEMA] needs to respond, so we will make sure that those resources are appropriately allocated, Johnson said.
Johnsons comments come a day after President Biden said that he may request that Congress return from recess to pass a supplemental relief bill, saying his expectation is to ask for more money to fund Helene relief efforts. That is something I may have to request, but no decisions are made yet, Biden said Monday when asked if he would ask Congress to return to pass the bill.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4910535-mike-johnson-helene-funds/
SunSeeker
(54,063 posts)FEMAs disaster relief fund is staring down a nearly $2 billion deficit at the end of the month, and the agency has been in immediate-needs mode for weeks, having to hold back billions of dollars that could go to rebuilding projects in order to support more urgent life-saving work.
The CR approved Wednesday would extend FEMAs current funding level through Dec. 20, and would allow the agency to more quickly draw from that funding to meet current needs. But the agencys latest monthly report projects that money from the CR will last only through January and that the fund will still face a $3 billion deficit by February.
Preliminary estimates of total damages and economic loss from Helene could reach $110 Billion. https://fortune.com/2024/09/29/hurricane-helene-total-damage-economic-impact-estimate-110-billion/
littlemissmartypants
(25,905 posts)With President Biden and the rest of the Democrats.
MJ's flight to righteousness on his fruitless quest for the moral high ground is not unlike the one Icarus is famous for that resulted in his crashing burning.
And yes, it's personal.
Thanks, SunSeeker.
❤️