Al Lawson is fighting for Jax FEMA funds

Rep. Al Lawson has been in Jacksonville this week, helping out with post-Irma relief efforts, and meeting with local political leaders, such as the Mayor and the City Council President.

And though he shares Mayor Lenny Curry‘s confidence that Jacksonville is financially positioned to shoulder the recovery burden until FEMA reimbursement comes through, the first-term Democrat from Tallahassee believes that FEMA needs to pay out more expeditiously — specifically regarding $26M in expected reimbursement from 2016’s Matthew.

“I talked to the Mayor,” Lawson said, “and what I told him is that I know there’s some $26 million that the city hasn’t gotten from FEMA for the last hurricane, Matthew. That’s one of the things that we’re working on to try to make sure they get those funds, because of the devastation in this area.”

Matthew’s impact was brutal on Jacksonville, with winds and rain causing $50M of direct costs to the city government.

Lawson also believes Duval suffered almost as much as anywhere else from Irma.

“In my opinion,” Lawson said, “there was more devastation in Key West and Duval than any other place. I told him I would work with Congressman John Rutherford and Vern Buchanan,” Lawson said about getting those funds.

Lawson has toured some of the most devastated areas in Jacksonville this week, such as the area near the Ribault River, and in his visits to shelters such as the Legends Center, he has spoken to people there about how FEMA can offer residential help for those who suffered damage to their homes during the storm.

“Our goal is to get the resources down here quickly as possible,” Lawson said, noting that House Speaker Paul Ryan may be in Northeast Florida next week to help that along.

Regarding backlogs with FEMA payouts, which can take years, Lawson noted that “this hurricane affected the whole state, and one of the things we need to do on the federal level is get that money released earlier.”

Conversations with Sen. Marco Rubio and others give Lawson confidence there may be the legislative will for that, a measure which would help, among others, storm-ravaged families and businesses in Florida and Texas.

Even for a city like Jacksonville, which can shoulder its burden of recovery during the years-long reimbursement process, Lawson described having to float costs while waiting for FEMA reimbursement as a “band-aid approach.”

“They really need the federal dollars because [without them] it’s going to put a tremendous strain on the budget,” Lawson said.