[House Document 118-181]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
118th Congress, 2d Session - - - - - - - - - - - - House Document 118-181
181
A REQUEST FOR URGENTLY NEEDED EMERGENCY FUNDING
__________
COMMUNICATION
from
THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
transmitting
A REQUEST FOR URGENTLY NEEDED EMERGENCY FUNDING FOR AN EXPEDITIOUS AND
MEANINGFUL FEDERAL RESPONSE TO HURRICANES HELENE AND MILTON AND OTHER
NATURAL DISASTERS, PURSUANT TO PUBLIC LAW 118-42, SEC. 6; (138 STAT.
26) AND PUBLIC LAW 118-47, SEC. 6
November 18, 2024.--Referred to the Committee on Appropriations and
ordered to be printed
The White House,
Washington, November 18, 2024.
Hon. Mike Johnson,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Speaker: With the Congress now back in session, I
write to request urgently needed emergency funding to provide
for an expeditious and meaningful Federal response to
Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters. In
the weeks since these deadly storms tore through communities
across the Southeast, members of my Administration and I have
traveled to Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South
Carolina to meet with families, business owners, farmers, local
and State officials, and first responders to stand with these
communities in the wake of these disasters and to hear
firsthand what they need from the Federal Government in order
to make a full recovery. Additional resources are critical to
continue to support these communities.
Over the past month, members of my Administration have
written to you and other congressional leaders to underscore
the urgent need for additional funding to replenish key
disaster response programs. Most urgently, the Small Business
Administration's (SBA) disaster loan program has completely
exhausted its funding and the Congress must act as soon as
possible to restore this funding. As I outlined in my October
4th letter, my Administration has repeatedly underscored the
need for the Congress to prevent a shortfall. SBA loans are a
pivotal lifeline for local businesses as well as individual
survivors who use these loans to repair and rebuild their homes
and replace or repair damaged property, including their
personal vehicles. SBA has already received over 100,000 loan
applications for Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and the American
people cannot afford any further delay in the restoration of
this vital funding.
Urgent funding is also needed for the Disaster Relief Fund
(DRF), which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
uses to help individuals and communities across the Nation
recover from disasters. Without additional funding, the DRF
will face a shortfall this fiscal year, which will impact
FEMA's ability to provide life-saving and life-sustaining
assistance to disaster survivors, as well as slow recovery from
ongoing and prior disasters. Funding for the Department of
Agriculture is necessary to provide assistance to farmers,
ranchers, and rural communities across the Nation affected by
natural disasters.
Funding for the Department of Housing and Urban
Development's Community Development Block Grant Disaster
Recovery program is critical to help communities respond to the
impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, as well as the
devastating fires in Maui and tornados in Mississippi, Iowa,
and Oklahoma. My Administration is also requesting funding for
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to protect critical
access to safe drinking water, for the Department of Energy to
rapidly restore power and rebuild the electric grid to better
withstand future storms, and for the Department of
Transportation to support rebuilding roads and bridges across
40 States and Territories, including Maryland, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Additional funding for
the EPA is also needed to protect drinking water
infrastructure, fund water system upgrades that would improve
system performance, mitigate further future damage from extreme
weather, and improve systems for low- and moderate-income
households.
Additional action must also be taken to address the severe
shortage of intravenous (IV) fluids and other critical medical
products caused by Hurricane Helene. The Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) took critical steps this month to
support access to these products, including ensuring
restoration of key production sites, protecting products, and
opening imports in partnership with manufacturers,
distributors, hospitals, and other stakeholders. My
Administration is requesting funding for HHS to build supply
chain capacity and resilience for IV fluids and other critical
medical products to respond to current needs and to better
prepare for disasters in the future. In addition, Hurricanes
Helene and Milton are expected to exhaust available funding
balances for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP),
forcing the program to add to its debt to the Department of the
Treasury. My Administration urges the Congress to cancel some
or all of the NFIP's debt to ensure NFIP policyholders and
disaster survivors have a sustainable flood insurance program
that provides the assistance they need after disaster strikes.
The Congress must also extend the deadlines for Hermit's Peak
fire claimants to request FEMA assistance, in order to ensure
all applicants can receive compensation for losses in the
aftermath of the fires in New Mexico.
The Congress has previously responded on a bipartisan basis
to support communities in the wake of natural disasters--
including providing over $90 billion in aid after Hurricane
Katrina in 2005, over $50 billion following Hurricane Sandy in
2013, and over $120 billion following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma,
and Maria in 2017. Just as the Congress acted then, it is our
sworn duty now to deliver the necessary resources to ensure
that everyone in communities reeling from Hurricanes Helene and
Milton--and those still recovering from previous disasters--
have the Federal resources they need and deserve.
From rebuilding homes and reopening critical
infrastructure, such as schools and roads--to supporting the
Nation's farmers and ranchers and ensuring access to healthcare
services--impacted communities await your response. There can
be no delay. I urge the Congress to act quickly to pass a
supplemental funding package to assist communities impacted by
these hurricanes--and every other disaster since the Congress
last passed a comprehensive disaster package in 2022--so that
the people, families, businesses, and communities affected have
the support they need to respond, recover, and rebuild
responsibly.
Since the need for this funding arises from unforeseen and
unanticipated events, my Administration continues to request
that the amounts in this supplemental request be designated as
emergency requirements pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
My Administration will be with those affected until the job
is done. This request of supplemental funds is focused on the
accounts that are most critical to aiding disaster survivors
and impacted communities. My Administration will continue to
assess the full resource requirements associated with long-term
rebuilding and resilience efforts resulting from Hurricanes
Helene and Milton, including those costs related to impacts to
Federal facilities and infrastructure, and we will share those
estimates as they become available. I urge the Congress to take
immediate action, and I look forward to your partnership in
delivering this critical relief to the American people.
Sincerely,
Joseph R. Biden, Jr.