The Biden administration is calling for bipartisan action and urging Congress to quickly pass a nearly $100 billion disaster relief spending bill. Around $40 billion of the money requested will go to FEMA’s disaster relief fund as Americans in the Southeast are still cleaning up from major back-to-back Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Further, $24 billion would go to the Department of Agriculture to help farmers, $12 billion would be given to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s fund for communities, $8 billion would go toward road and bridge repair, $4 billion for water system upgrades and $2 billion to the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program.
“From rebuilding homes and reopening critical infrastructure, such as schools and roads — to supporting the nation’s farmers and ranchers and ensuring access to healthcare services — impacted communities await your response. There can be no delay,” President Joe Biden wrote in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Biden noted that such hefty supplemental disaster aid is not a new thing. More than $120 billion was provided after Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in 2017.
Congress must now decide whether to take up the request as a standalone bill or packaged with the end-of-year spending bill.
