Bipartisan senators press leadership for disaster aid vote next week

A bipartisan group of senators are pushing leadership for swift action on disaster relief as officials warn of dwindling funds.

In a letter to leaders on Tuesday, senators from North Carolina, Georgia and Virginia called on both chambers to “bring a robust supplemental appropriations bill to the floor the first week of December.”

“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 stated.

“Tragically, approximately 261 people lost their lives as a result of both hurricanes. Major urban centers, such as Asheville, North Carolina, only received steady access to potable drinking water on November 18th, and major thoroughfares of commerce like Interstate 40 remain impassible and have sustained significant damage.”

Republican North Carolina Sens. Ted Budd and Thom Tillis joined Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) in penning the letter.

The senators said their constituents “need immediate help as they work to rebuild their homes and communities.”

“We have delayed too long already. We therefore request that Congress act immediately to provide for those in need.”

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell warned lawmakers before Congress left town last week that the agency’s ability to respond to new disasters “could be jeopardized” without further funding from Congress.

Lawmakers said at the time that FEMA's disaster relief fund had dwindled to less than $5 billion.

In a statement to The Hill at the time, a spokesperson for FEMA said the agency has enough dollars in the fund “to support ongoing response activities for Hurricanes Helene and Milton” through Dec. 20, “assuming no new large disasters between now and then.”

“However, FEMA will need additional funding beyond its 2025 budget request to support recovery efforts in those states hit by Helene and Milton and meet its overall mission requirements through the end of the fiscal year,” the spokesperson said.

The Biden administration’s roughly $100 billion request for disaster relief includes a $40 billion ask, the largest line item in the request, to ensure FEMA’s disaster relief fund “has sufficient funding to address expected disaster costs” through fiscal 2025.

The request also calls for billions of dollars in funding for agencies like the departments of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation and others. However, some have suggested the request could be “pared down” as members in both chambers assess the proposed costs and scope of the administration’s asks.