Yes, there's FEMA money for disasters now. May need more soon, but they are helping today

With the one-two punch of hurricanes Helene and Milton in recent weeks, we've seen Republicans try to claim that there isn't enough aid to pay for the recovery efforts of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), or that somehow the aid is being misdirected away from helping people in the stricken areas. Which is why this recent tweet from FOX NEWS' top correspondent on Capitol Hill was worth noting.

Fox has obtained a fact sheet assembled by the majority side of House Appropriations Committee about disaster aid.

It says that FEMA “has enough funding in the short-term to address immediate needs for both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.”

It also declares there is “no…

— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) October 9, 2024

Repeat - Disaster Relief Funds go to RELIEF FROM DECLARED DISASTERS. It is not diverted to deal with services related to migrants.

In addition to that memo, there was a report to Congress on October 3rd discussing the availability of funds related to Hurricane Helene. And it said there are billions of disaster relief available right now.

While it is not the only source of federal funding for disaster assistance, FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) is the primary funding source for federal government response and recovery activities. As a result, its level of unobligated funds is often used as shorthand for the overall availability of federal resources for response and recovery.

On August 7, 2024, prior to the development of Hurricane Helene, FEMA announced the implementation of immediate needs funding (INF) restrictions, as a result of the unobligated balance in the DRF for major disasters being at risk of depletion before the end of FY2024. INF slows obligations for long-term recovery and mitigation projects in favor of preserving resources for response and recovery activities. This action has delayed $8 billion in obligations as of mid-September 2024. Although annual appropriations have not been enacted for FEMA as of the date on this Insight, on September 27, 2024, President Biden signed into law a continuing resolution that would provide $20.26 billion in temporary budget authority for the DRF, available October 1. These funds would be available until December 20, 2024, or until FEMA’s annual appropriations are enacted, whichever comes first.

Now, maybe we need more funds than that to take care of the large amount of damage and disruption from Helene and Milton over the coming weeks. But there is money that can be used for assistance individuals and communities, and FEMA's top administrator told Chris Hayes last night that they were hard at work to get that help out as best they can, both in Florida and in North Carolina, and reiterated there was enough money in the accounts to pay for efforts at this time.

I also want to point out that Congress gets a Disaster Relief Fund monthly report, the most recent of which came out on Wednesday. And it shows the $20.26 billion in base budget for major disaster assistance via FEMA, and there is also $1.974 billion carried over from the 2024 Fiscal Year, which ended on September 30.

Some of those funds are intended to pay for disaster assistance and administration that has already been set aside, including COVID aids and Puerto Rico’s continued rebuilding from Hurricane Maria). But most of it can be used right now for help, and there will be more to come once Congress passes a bill to pay for it (well, there BETTER be a bill that pays to rebuild from these hurricanes).

It is gross that Republicans and Twitter trolls are claiming that FEMA does not have funding to perform Disaster Relief operations at this time, and anyone that has said so in the last 7 days IS LYING. There is no "buts" about that. THEY ARE LYING.