A Department of Homeland Security inspector general’s report from August reveals more than $7 billion remain in emergency funding that could be used for natural disasters — even though DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said last week none was available after Hurricane Helene.
Mayorkas, 64, told reporters following the devastation of Helene in North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) “does not have the funds” to endure more hurricanes this fall.
“We are expecting another hurricane hitting,” the DHS chief said Oct. 2, days before Hurricane Milton began picking up speed in the Gulf of Mexico. “We do not have the funds. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season and what is imminent.”
But DHS Inspector General Joseph Cuffari found in his Aug. 14 report that as of October 2022, FEMA had $8.3 billion in unliquidated funds meant to relieve declared disasters from 2012 or earlier.
More than $7 billion of that “could potentially be returned to the Disaster Relief Fund,” the report notes, referring to FEMA’s dedicated fund for natural calamities.
So far, the feds have paid just $4 million to Americans hit by Helene in the Southeast, providing up to $750 in immediate aid for individuals to help cover the cost of groceries and emergency supplies.
The storm has killed at least 232 people and caused more than $47.5 billion in devastation.
“It took one week for some of the county mayors in my home state to even get a phone call from FEMA, and Kamala Harris has the nerve to announce ‘a dire humanitarian situation’ in another country,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn told The Post, referencing the VP’s announcement of $157 million in US aid to Lebanon over the weekend.
“Our own people in Tennessee, North Carolina, and in the Southeast are the ones facing ‘a dire humanitarian situation’ and need ‘food, water, and shelter,’” Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said. “America Last is the theme of this administration, and Kamala Harris has proven she will continue that legacy.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre accused Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy of pushing “disinformation-misinformation” by asking specifically about the Lebanon funding in the context of the disaster.
“President Biden is fond of saying, ‘Show your budget and I will tell you what you value,’” Doocy said. “If he’s got money for people in Lebanon right now without Congress having to come back, what does it say about his values? There’s not enough money right now for people in North Carolina who need it. That’s not misinformation.”
Jean-Pierre cited more than $200 million in allocated disaster relief funding and claimed it had not been exhausted yet by individuals applying for the aid, but said the president was nevertheless asking for more funding from Congress.
“There’s money that we are allocating to the impacted areas. And there’s money there to help people who truly need it,” she went on. “We have the money available to help survivors of Hurricane Helene and also Hurricane Milton.”
“Now there’s going to be a shortfall, right?” she added. “Because we don’t know how bad Hurricane Milton is going to be. And so we’re going to need additional funding.”
“That’s exactly what I just asked about — and you said it was just misinformation,” Doocy said in exasperation.
“No, what you’re asking me is why Congress needs to come back and do their job. That’s what you’re asking me,” Jean-Pierre retorted. “You may not want that, but that’s OK. That’s what this president wants and that’s what the vice president wants.”
Conservative critics like the popular Libs of TikTok account on X also pointed to another $3.9 billion in planned Disaster Relief Funding that had been set aside in September for COVID-19 relief funding to state and local governments, nonprofits and schools.
Meanwhile, the Biden-Harris administration has shelled out $1.4 billion from separate funds — the Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP)and the Shelter and Service Program (SSP) — to state and local governments as well as non-governmental groups helping migrants settle in the US.
Republicans have argued the funds should be redirected to help with the federal response to Hurricane Helene — but Mayorkas’ office responded that his agency could not do so since Congress did not authorize the move.
“Rather than ensuring FEMA is ready to respond to hurricanes and other emergencies, FEMA has been pulled into a border crisis mission,” charged five Republican senators in a Friday letter to President Biden.
“We are very concerned that FEMA’s role at the border has impacted its readiness and preparation efforts for Hurricane Helene and its response efforts,” said Sens. James Lankford of Oklahoma, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Roger Marshall of Kansas.
Other GOP lawmakers lashed out at Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing her of “political posturing” after the catastrophe.
“VP Harris: I was talking about politicians like YOU using this disaster for political posturing,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) posted Monday on X after the Harris campaign posted one of his quotes decrying “political posturing, finger pointing or conspiracy theories” to social media.
“Claiming to be ‘working around the clock’ while you don’t even plug in your headphones for a staged photo-op,” Tillis charged. “Where were YOU as Ft. Liberty troops were standing by for days?”
Harris, 59, posted a photo last week to her official X account aboard Air Force Two apparently taking notes on an important phone call — without her headphones plugged in.
In total, Congress appropriated more than $30 billion for FEMA in fiscal year 2024, according to the five senators.
Reps for FEMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
