FEMA Deputy Admin.: We Have Enough Money to Handle Storms ‘Yet to Come,’ Mayorkas Wanted ‘to Be Prep

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FEMA Deputy Admin.: We Have Enough Money to Handle Storms ‘Yet to Come,’ Mayorkas Wanted ‘to Be Prepared’

Ian Hanchett 7 Oct 2024

During an interview with CBS on Monday, FEMA Deputy Administrator Erik Hooks stated that “there is absolutely enough money for FEMA and the federal family to execute on the response and recovery for Hurricane Helene and the storms that are yet to come, Hurricane Milton, which is also in focus for us.” And Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that they don’t have enough for the whole season because “we are seeing a longer hurricane season. And so, we want to be prepared to meet the needs throughout the entire hurricane season or what may come. And so, we work actively with Congress and the administration to obtain supplemental funding for hurricane relief and response.”

Hooks said, “Well, first of all, let me say that there is absolutely enough money for FEMA and the federal family to execute on the response and recovery for Hurricane Helene and the storms that are yet to come, Hurricane Milton, which is also in focus for us. Due to the nature of hurricanes being more complex and severe, they are very, very costly. Each year, we do have a number of hurricanes that cost us over a billion dollars in response and relief efforts. And so, that does lend itself to us working with the administration and Congress to receive more funds for hurricane relief.”

Co-host Adriana Diaz then asked, “Well, then why would Secretary Mayorkas say that you don’t have enough money for the entire hurricane season?”

Hooks answered that they “certainly have absolutely enough funding to address Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, and, again, we are seeing a longer hurricane season. And so, we want to be prepared to meet the needs throughout the entire hurricane season or what may come. And so, we work actively with Congress and the administration to obtain supplemental funding for hurricane relief and response.”

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2024/10/07/fema-deputy-admin-we-have-enough-money-to-handle-storms-yet-to-come-mayorkas-wanted-to-be-prepared/

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Published October 7, 2024 12:15pm EDT
Mayorkas says FEMA has no more disaster funds, but IG report says agency is sitting on billions
Homeland Security Inspector General says agency has billions in untapped funds for storm relief

    By Elizabeth MacDonald FOXBusiness

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas faces a new firestorm of criticism for claiming FEMA is out of disaster funds right as the DHS' Inspector General released a report saying FEMA is sitting on at least $8.3 billion in untapped, unspent funds.

On Oct 2, Mayorkas said, "We are expecting another hurricane hitting. We do not have the funds. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season and what is imminent."

This new controversy is surfacing as Hurricane Milton has become a Category 5 storm, and massive evacuations are now underway in Florida, which is still struggling from Hurricane Helene, as is much of the Southeast. 

But analysts say FEMA cannot tap unspent appropriations from long-ago crises, so the money sits frozen as 600 people are reportedly still missing from Hurricane Helene, at least 220 died, and entire towns were wiped off the map. Helene is the most catastrophic hurricane to hit the U.S. since Katrina in 2005.

Budget experts warn that this new firestorm shows that FEMA has been turned into a slush fund that the agency and the Biden-Harris White House can spend at will.

An August 2024 report from Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General noted, "As of October 2022, FEMA estimated that 847 disaster declarations with approximately $73 billion in unliquidated funds remained open." The report also says "$8.3 billion in unliquidated obligations" was "for disasters declared in 2012 or earlier" that analysts say could be returned to help people battling for survival in disasters now.

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https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/mayorkas-says-fema-has-no-more-disaster-funds-ig-report-says-agency-sitting-billions