Florida federal officials want Congress ensuring FEMA, SBA have money to address Helene damage

Hurricane Helene tore communities in Florida apart but has members of the Florida delegation coming together demanding attention in Congress.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are asking congressional leaders to call Senators and Representatives back to Washington and ensure disaster funding following the storm.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott said it has become even more critical that Congress ensure that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) have necessary funding in the wake of the storm.

“While I know from my experience with previous hurricanes that FEMA and SBA damage assessments take time, I am today urging Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to immediately reconvene the U.S. Senate when those assessments are completed so that we can pass the clean supplemental disaster funding bill and other disaster relief legislation, like my Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, needed to ensure the full recovery of families in all impacted communities,” the Naples Republican said.

That puts him in agreement with Democratic President Joe Biden, who said Monday he may have to call Congress into Session to pass a supplemental funding package addressing the storm. “That’s my expectation,” Biden told reporters. “This is a historic storm. It’s devastating. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

He noted that FEMA has had to deal with a string of disasters in quick succession. Biden declined at this point to estimate what level of funding may be needed.

But U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Parkland Democrat, said he’s ready to get back to Washington and figure it out. While his district in South Florida wasn’t severely impacted, Moskowitz previously served as Florida’s Director of Emergency Management and said it’s clear federal aid will be needed.

“I stand ready to return to Washington to immediately ensure FEMA has the resources to help the communities devastated by Hurricane Helene,” Moskowitz said.

“Thank you to President Biden for sending all available resources to the impacted states. Congress should have been proactive on this issue. As the only former emergency management director in Congress, I have been sounding the alarm for months that this would be a problem if we just left for recess without properly funding FEMA during the height of hurricane season. Congress must show that it can still deliver for the American people in their hour of greatest need. So, let’s get back to work and pass a bipartisan, long-term solution with no poison pills or politicking involved.”

Scott has been touring savaged areas of the Gulf Coast in Florida, but noted this storm delivered some of its hardest impact on other states.

“What I have seen, from the catastrophic damage in Cedar Key, to the massive destruction caused by unprecedented storm surge in communities from Fort Myers Beach to Siesta Key and Anna Maria Island and north to Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando counties is heartbreaking,” Scott said.

“News reports of the devastation in Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and other communities impacted by Hurricane Helene are also devastating. Floridians are resilient, but the response and recovery from this storm demands the full and immediate support of government at every level to get families and businesses back to normal.”

Florida Democrats criticized Scott for taking the now, when POLITICO reported that week he was among budget hardliners who did not want to put disaster funding in a budget deal passed by Congress to avoid a government shutdown.

“Floridians desperately need disaster relief funding to rebuild from Helene, but Rick Scott chose to put politics over people,” said Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried. :Instead of fighting for the disaster relief his constituents would need, Scott skipped town without getting the job done. Nothing he says now can distract Floridians from his failure.”

Of note, Scott left Washington before the vote on the budget deal to attend briefings in the Big Bend and areas bracing for Hurricane Helene.