U.S. Rep. Dale Strong and fellow Republican members of the House Committee on Homeland Security are working to hold DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) accountable for the organization’s responses to Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
In a recent letter sent to Mayorkas, Rep. Strong (R-Monrovia) the lawmakers called into question FEMA’s lack of financial support for the storm-affected areas.
“You stated to media reporters that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ‘does not have the funds, to make it through the [hurricane] season.’ If true, FEMA’s funding shortfall is extremely disconcerting as Americans impacted by Hurricane Helene and potentially by Hurricane Milton face dire circumstances while the Biden-Harris administration may have unwisely and irresponsibly focused funding requests for other FEMA activities.” wrote the legislators.
According to the group, DHS and FEMA may have used the funding needed to support storm victims to care for migrants and illegal aliens via its Shelter and Services Program.
“FEMA operates the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF), the federal government’s primary fund for disaster relief activities. Throughout the Biden-Harris administration, Congress consistently met or exceeded, through supplemental appropriations, the President’s budget requests for disaster relief. In fiscal year (FY) 2023 and FY2024, Congress appropriated approximately $61.2 billion for the DRF through a combination of both annual and supplemental appropriations. The Committee, however, is troubled that the Department and FEMA may not have properly appraised Congress of its need for additional disaster relief funds while simultaneously requesting large sums of monies to fund FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program (SSP), a grant program to fund nonfederal entities for shelter and services provided to migrants encountered by the Department, including illegal aliens.”
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The officials noted the monetary costs of the storms and emphasized that DHS should be solely focused on supporting Americans first.
“According to analysts, Hurricane Helene caused up to $47.5 billion in damages to Americans across 16 states. The recovery for these communities will take years and possibly even decades.”
“While the Committee understands that there is no intermingling of funds between the DRF and SSP, the Department’s priorities for limited resources provided by taxpayers to the Department should first and foremost serve Americans.”
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
