GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson Really, Really Doesn't Want To Help Hurricane Victims 🌪 [View all]

[appalachiablue]

Daily Kos, Oct. 11, 2024. Ed.

When asked if he would reconvene the House to vote on additional FEMA aid for Hurricane Helene victims across the southeast U.S. and Hurricane Milton victims and Hurricane Milton victims in Fla, Speaker Mike Johnson declined—for the 2nd time this week. “To be clear: Congress will act again upon its return in Nov. to address funding needs and ensure those impacted receive the necessary resources,” Athina Lawson, a spokesman for Johnson, said in a statement to POLITICO on Thursday.

Talk about hypocrisy. 🥾

Johnson visited Helene disaster sites in North Carolina, and had the audacity to attack FEMA, all while refusing to bring the House back together for a vote for more aid. On Thursday, he posted on X: “Congress is fully prepared to provide additional disaster relief funding as soon as states submit their damage assessments. Our prayers and support are with every American community across the broad swath of these historic storms.”

U.S. military deliveries of emergency supplies in Western North Carolina’s “unreachable areas” are still being dropped by air to isolated residents due to unusable roads, lack of water supply, and power outages.

FEMA has spent $9 billion already, nearly half of its allocated $20 billion budget in just 8 days.

More than 60 House Democrats wrote a letter urging Johnson to reconsider reconvening Congress:
- Recent legislation has provided initial relief funds, yet these provisions fall critically short of what will be necessary to address the scale of destruction and the recovery needs for Fiscal Year 2025. We, therefore, urge you to immediately reconvene the US House of Representatives so that it can pass robust disaster relief funding. The funds previously allocated were a necessary first step, allowing for an initial response to the immediate aftermath of these disasters. However, as recovery efforts continue, it is abundantly clear that these funds will not suffice. -

This comes after President Joe Biden sent a letter last Friday formally asking Congress for more funding and to reconvene in the wake of the natural disaster...
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/10/11/2276034/-GOP-House-speaker-really-really-doesn-t-want-to-help-hurricane-victims