Biden sends emergency funding bill for disaster relief to Congress

(WASHINGTON) — President Joe Biden will send an emergency funding bill to Congress “in the coming days” to address urgent disaster relief needs across the U.S. following a severe storm season, a White House official said in a memo. On Monday.

The note stated that many institutions said their money was running low after back-to-back major hurricanes.

“The Biden-Harris Administration stands ready to work with lawmakers to deliver the vital resources our communities need with strong bipartisan and bicameral support — just as Speaker Mike Johnson promised,” wrote Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget. in the note

The statement emphasized that Congress last passed a comprehensive disaster aid package in 2022 and stated that the Biden-Harris administration will present a new package within a few days.

“We look forward to working with Congress to quickly pass emergency funding so the Federal Government can meet its obligations to the American people,” Young’s memo continued.

But it also noted that previous attempts to secure such financing, including social grants, as recently as June, failed to garner support.

Young also noted Johnson’s remarks following Hurricane Helene in North Carolina in October.

“After a storm like this, states do their individual assessments and damage calculations and present that need to the federal government. Then Congress takes action,” Johnson said at the time. “So as soon as these calculations are prepared, Congress will act in a bipartisan way to provide the appropriate amount that the federal government needs to do to help these communities recover.”

The memo also stated that FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, used in the immediate aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, “is in need of additional funding.”

“To ensure these communities receive comprehensive recovery assistance, our Administration has submitted numerous requests to Congress outlining the need for emergency funding to address these disasters and detailing the consequences of failing to deliver this assistance,” Young wrote.

“To date, Congress has yet to act,” he added.

Last week, the heads of several agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Transportation, wrote letters to Congress expressing needs for additional funding.

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