{"id":587598,"date":"2023-08-19T01:07:11","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T22:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/hawaii-fires-thrust-congressional-approval-of-disaster-funds-into-the-spotlight\/"},"modified":"2023-08-19T01:07:11","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T22:07:11","slug":"hawaii-fires-thrust-congressional-approval-of-disaster-funds-into-the-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/hawaii-fires-thrust-congressional-approval-of-disaster-funds-into-the-spotlight\/","title":{"rendered":"#Hawaii fires thrust congressional approval of disaster funds into the spotlight\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/08\/bottom-of-top-Hawaii_AP23222683377559.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The disastrous Hawaii wildfires are focusing a spotlight on whether Congress will <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>rove additional disaster relief funding.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers appear open to the possibility, but any path to approval is complicated by ongoing\u00a0government funding battles.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The death toll in Hawaii is sitting at 111 and expected to rise, a rare tropical storm heading for California is expected to have \u201csignificant impacts\u201d and wildfires continue to rage in the Northwest. The Atlantic hurricane season\u2019s peak is around the corner and the government is still contending with damage from previous floods, wildfires and tornados.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has to make it through the House, where the slim GOP majority has been feuding for months over federal funding and spending cuts.<\/p>\n<p>And resistance in the GOP to funding for Ukraine could make approving any FEMA aid tricker if the two issues remain linked.<\/p>\n<p>The White House last week\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Final-Supplemental-Funding-Request-Letter-and-Technical-Materials.pdf\">issued\u00a0<\/a>a request for what it described as \u201cthree sets of critical needs for emergency funding\u201d as part of a possible stopgap funding package to avoid a government shutdown after Sept. 30.<\/p>\n<p>He asked specifically for $24 billion to help Ukraine in its war with Russia and $4 billion for border security measures and to prevent fentanyl from coming across the border, in addition to $12 billion for FEMA\u2019s disaster relief fund.<\/p>\n<p>That fund provides money to respond to disasters across the country \u2014 floods, hurricanes, wildfires, and beyond.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said in a White House press briefing on Wednesday that the agency may need more funding beyond the initial $12 billion supplemental request as it re-assess needs, but said that the agency has enough funding to support ongoing response efforts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we don\u2019t have additional funding, it would delay some of the recovery projects and push them into next year,\u201d Criswell said.<\/p>\n<p>Asked about the potential supplemental funding on Friday, Matthew Payne,\u00a0FEMA\u2019s acting deputy assistant administrator of the response directorate, said the agency has enough funding to carry out its im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>te rescue operations.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cAt this time we have sufficient resources to meet the immediate lifesaving, life-sustaining operations both in the Hawaii response and in the anticipated support that we\u2019ll provide to California and elsewhere across the country that have weather threats,\u201d Payne told reporters.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As of the end of July \u2014 before the wildfires broke out \u2014 FEMA\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fema.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/fema_disaster-relief-fund-report_082023.pdf\">estimated<\/a>\u00a0that it would reach a shortfall in the disaster relief fund in September. Prior\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fema.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/fema_disaster-relief-fund-report_072023.pdf.pdf\">reports<\/a>\u00a0had estimated a shortfall as soon as mid-August, Criswell previously told Congress.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have to make sure FEMA has the tools and the resources to be able to execute support back home at Hawaii. But, quite frankly, this is going to be happening across the country. And they need the money to be able to respond to wherever disaster strikes,\u201d Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii), who represents the areas incinerated by the wildfires, said on CBS\u2019s Face the Nation.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>In response to Biden\u2019s request, Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released a joint statement saying that these are \u201cimportant priorities\u201d and that they would consult with senators \u201con both sides of the aisle, on and off committee, to craft a bill that will pass the Senate\u201d \u2014 indicating that a supplemental funding bill could have funds to replenish the country\u2019s disaster relief funds.<\/p>\n<p>In the House, approving any kind of supplemental funding request could be a heavier lift for Republicans, who have been\u00a0battling for weeks\u00a0over how much to cut spending in their appropriations bills.<\/p>\n<p>On a House GOP conference call on Monday, additional disaster relief funds for FEMA and any disaster aid for Hawaii did not come up, according to a source familiar with the call.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>And to some lawmakers, the Ukraine aspect of the White House\u2019s supplemental is a nonstarter.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Twelve House GOP members wrote a letter to Biden expressing their \u201cstrong opposition\u201d to the Ukraine funding request. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) specifically mentioned Hawaii in the context of opposing funding for Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFEMA is underfunded by $4 BILLION, Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) is only funded $1 per Georgian, Hawaii\u2019s Lahaina is in desperate need of help from devastating fire killing 50+ people, and America is broke,\u201d Greene\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RepMTG\/status\/1690023127697223680\">wrote on X<\/a>, the platform formerly known as Twitter. \u201cBiden wants to send another $24 BILLION to Ukraine. NO!!\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>One GOP lawmaker signaled there could be a possibility of boosting aid to FEMA if it is decoupled from the rest of the request, even as part of a continuing resolution to fund the government at current levels \u2013 a measure both House and Senate leaders are eyeing to pass before the end of the fiscal year at the end of September.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you wanted to put in the CR an attachment just for FEMA money, that might be rational because we\u2019re dealing with the United States, but Ukraine money would not belong on a CR in my opinion. That\u2019s a separate vote,\u201d Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) told reporters on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>But a number of conservative Republicans have expressed opposition to any continuing resolution that funds the government at current levels.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said Friday that it \u201ccertainly isn\u2019t my preference\u201d to separate the FEMA funding from Ukraine aid, even if it would give FEMA funding a better chance of getting through.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to do both,\u201d Kaine said. \u201cI think all three of the things the President asked for are justified.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kaine predicted that Congress would find a way to pass a supplemental package in the fall.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile,\u00a0Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) expressed support for the supplemental request in a call with reporters, invoking the situation in Hawaii.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve spoken to [Hawaii] Senators Schatz and Hirono about the fires, I committed to them to have the Senate do everything we could to help Hawaii, and the Biden administration has requested\u2026additional disaster relief funding in the supplemental,\u201d Schumer said.<\/p>\n<p><em>Al Weaver and Mychael Schnell contributed.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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Lawmakers appear open to the possibility, but any path to approval is complicated by ongoing\u00a0government funding battles. The death toll in Hawaii is sitting at 111 and expected to rise, a rare tropical storm heading for California is&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":587599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/08\/bottom-of-top-Hawaii_AP23222683377559.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134344,134343,145104,139529,134661,73014,145105,4965],"class_list":["post-587598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-administration","tag-campaign","tag-deanne-criswell","tag-defense-national-security","tag-energy-environment","tag-health-care","tag-jill-tokuda","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=587598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}