Helene Raises Stakes for Spending Fight When Congress Returns

The devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene has raised the stakes for disaster relief funding in the coming spending negotiations when Congress returns to Washington in November.

Helene’s aftermath, which has left more than 100 people dead, prompted President Joe Biden on Monday to say he “may have to request” lawmakers to come back to DC to pass additional disaster aid. Biden said no decision has been made on whether to call them back, but a lame-duck supplemental funding debate is certain.

The House and Senate left town last week for an extended recess in the runup to the November elections. House and Senate leaders did not immediately respond to a question about whether they would return.

The stopgap spending bill they passed to keep the government open temporarily allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund to spend at a faster rate to respond to disasters immediately without delay, but lawmakers expect a broader discussion on funds for the hurricane, as well as other disasters, when they return for the lame duck. Lawmakers considered specifically adding $10 billion to the fund but left it out of the final enacted topgap.

Highlighting the new spotlight on disaster relief funding, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in a statement Monday called on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to “immediately reconvene the U.S. Senate” and pass an aid package when FEMA determines funding needs to address Helene’s aftermath.

Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, told reporters last Tuesday additional funding for FEMA will ultimately be in whatever long-term spending package lawmakers come up with in the coming months.

Cole added he pushed for extra funding in the continuing resolution because disasters are “not predictable,” but said the CR was kept mostly free from spending changes to ensure passage and avoid alienating lawmakers.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told reporters at a White House press briefing Thursday her agency has “exactly what we need and there are no limitations to support the response to this disaster,” but warned that FEMA is putting off funding for other projects and focusing on immediate needs in the aftermath of Helene.

“It’s unfortunate that some within the Republican Party have chosen to ignore the need for disaster assistance up until this point, but we’re going to work hard to get this issue resolved in December,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) said last Wednesday before lawmakers returned to their districts.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee, echoed Jeffries’ sentiments, saying in a statement she has been pushing for a disaster supplemental spending since the Biden administration requested it last October: “We must come together to provide disaster funding sufficient to both respond to the current crisis and support communities across the country on their long road to recovery.”

Lawmakers are also seeking funds for rebuilding after other disasters like wildfires in Hawaii and the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer (D) predicted before the recess that lawmakers will seek to connect funds to rebuild the bridge, which is critical to the region’s economy, in the end-of-year package.

Before Hurricane Helene, a bipartisan group of 10 lawmakers from eight states unsuccessfully sought additional disaster aid through the stopgap funding bill for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant – a pot of money frequently used for longer-term rebuilding after disasters. The senators, led by Senate Appropriations Transportation-HUD Subcommittee Chairman Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), called the funding a “tried-and-true program” needed to rebuild.