Nov. 20, 2024, 8:06 p.m.
Following a wave of hurricanes, wildfires, and other catastrophes across the country, lawmakers this week appeared eager to pass a natural disaster supplemental package before the end of the year. If they succeed, it would result in a rare bipartisan victory in a Congress known for its lack of productivity.
The effort comes as the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief Fund begins to run dry. So too is another source of emergency assistance: the Small Business Administration Disaster Loan Program.
Key administration officials appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee Wednesday to discuss the need for more funding for communities still recovering from a wide array of storms and disasters. They urged lawmakers to consider the nearly $100 billion request President Biden sent to Congress earlier this week.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told senators, “The present reality is that our department will soon lack the funding to address additional needs resulting from the recent hurricanes and other prior disasters, as well as needs from future storms or other disasters.”
The White House request includes $40 billion for FEMA’s disaster fund, $2 billion for the SBA program, and $8 billion for the Transportation Department to use for bridge and road repair, among other requests.
The panel on Wednesday featured Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia, whose two respective states were heavily hit by Hurricane Helene, a massive storm that pummeled the Southeast in late September.
The senators described widespread devastation to their communities, choking up as they testified about shattered neighborhoods to their colleagues.
“A hundred and two lives lost. A hundred and fifty one homes [were] destroyed. Five hundred thousand businesses affected in disaster declared areas,” Tillis said, growing emotional during his opening statement. “This is North Carolina’s statistics, ladies and gentlemen.
“We've got to react differently to storms. This may be the first, but it won't be the last, like we've seen in North Carolina. And we owe it to the American people to be ready to do better,” Tillis continued, noting that the administration’s request is only a down payment to pay for the recovery.
Last week, Tillis went to the floor in an attempt to pass legislation to give the SBA disaster-loan program $500 million, but GOP Sen. Rand Paul blocked that effort.
The last time Congress approved a comprehensive disaster package was in December 2022 as part of that year’s funding package.
Several Senate aides told National Journal they expect a disaster-funds supplemental to be an end-of-year item Congress addresses, but how it is processed remains to be seen. Some noted it could be tacked onto an end-of-year omnibus—if that comes to fruition—or a continuing resolution, which more Republicans are pushing ahead so they can be in charge of spending decisions when the GOP gains control of the White House and both chambers of Congress in January.
That would give lawmakers a timeline of about one month to achieve that ambitious goal—the CR they passed in September expires on Dec. 20.
The September CR allowed FEMA to spend existing appropriations at a faster rate to carry out response efforts, but it did not include any additional emergency funding.
Since the 2022 package, the nation has been rocked by catastrophic wildfires in Maui, a bridge collapse in Baltimore, tornadoes touching down in the South, and several hurricanes, including Helene and Milton, that decimated rural communities in the Southeast.
The Biden administration has made several requests for additional disaster aid since 2022 with little success.
Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Patty Murray said in her opening statement on Wednesday that “this is one of the longest times in my memory that we have gone without Congress providing disaster funding."
“That’s unacceptable. It is well past time we get aid out to the many people in need after the many disasters we have faced over the past two years,” she said.
Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young said in a memo issued Monday, “Since then, numerous deadly storms and disasters have struck communities across the country and Americans are still picking up the pieces.”
Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii told National Journal, “I think there's a recognition that we'd better get it done, not just for Hawaii, but for all the other states. And it's a bipartisan concern. So I think we're going to get it done.”
Biden’s request also includes covering the cost of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed in March after it was struck by a cargo ship. The White House has called upon Congress to fully fund the reconstruction of the Baltimore bridge by year’s end.
Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland told National Journal he believes there is not only “bipartisan support for disaster relief” but also support “in regards to the bridge replacement.”
“A lot of my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, say the perfect vehicle for that would be a supplemental disaste-relief package. So I think there's a strong interest in getting this done.”
The swelling interest in getting something done in the Senate goes nowhere without the House: Some are looking to the lower chamber to see how the GOP majority will cooperate.
House Speaker Mike Johnson last month resisted calls to bring Congress back from its pre-election recess early to pass a supplemental package shortly after Hurricane Helene bore down, saying the administration had the funds it needed to address the disaster.
Biden penned a letter to Johnson on Monday, saying, “With the Congress now back in session, I write to request urgently needed emergency funding to provide for an expeditious and meaningful Federal response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters.
“This request of supplemental funds is focused on the accounts that are most critical to aiding disaster survivors and impacted communities,” Biden wrote.
House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole said Wednesday that his “guess is we're probably not going to be moving until December at some point” on a disaster-funds supplemental.
Johnson said at a press conference on Tuesday, “Now that we are back in session, we are going to continue to provide for the American people with the resources that are desperately needed.
“These communities can be rebuilt responsibly, and Congress has a role to play,” he said. “We’ll be looking at all of that.”
FEMA officials also withstood GOP furor in House committees this week over an employee’s political bias, which has added a layer of difficulty to the administration’s request for more funding.
During the hearings, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell faced some tough questioning from Republicans over allegations regarding an agency employee directing other employees to “avoid homes advertising Trump” as they performed field work in the wake of Hurricane Milton.
Criswell said Wednesday the employee’s alleged actions were “completely at odds” with FEMA standards and told senators the individual was fired.
A group of Senate Republicans, led by Tillis, fellow North Carolinian Sen. Ted Budd, and Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, wrote a letter Wednesday to Criswell, saying, “For a FEMA employee to withhold aid or support from a household due to political affiliation is unacceptable and frankly reprehensible.”
The incident has—so far—not moved Republican senators away from supporting a fund package, National Journal was told.
Murray, in urging her colleagues to support a disaster supplemental, said, “People are desperate for answers, desperate for help, desperate for hope. And they are looking to Congress for action. We cannot let them down—not now, not ever. That’s why it is so important we come together to pass a bipartisan supplemental that meets these challenges.”
