Lawmakers are concerned that President Donald Trump’s decision to swipe $44 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will leave its disaster fund depleted amid a record-setting hurricane season.
Trump issued a memorandum allowing states to use $44 billion from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund to pay $300 per week in enhanced federal unemployment benefits earlier this month. The move came after Trump and Senate Republicans refused to budge on their demands to slash boosted unemployment benefits, repeating a widely-debunked claim that the extra pandemic aid was a disincentive for workers to return to their jobs. House Democrats, meanwhile, approved a full extension of the $600-per-week benefit back in May.
After Hurricane Laura made landfall this week in Louisiana amid a hurricane season which has already seen a record-setting number of named storms, lawmakers worry Trump’s move could leave FEMA unprepared to respond to recovery efforts. If the entire $44 billion is used, it could deplete the disaster relief agency’s budget to as low as $25 billion, according to the Louisiana news outlet NOLA.com.
Craig Fugate, the former FEMA administrator under former President Barack Obama, told the outlet that he expected Congress would approve extra funding as it has done in the past.
“This Congress prints money faster than China can lend it to us,” he said.
But Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who chairs the Homeland Security Committee, which oversees FEMA, expressed doubts that Trump would approve additional funds after he balked at providing crucial pandemic relief to hard-hit cities and states in the latest round of negotiations. He argued that the public should not rely on unallocated funds after Senate Republicans refused to compromise on the pandemic relief package.
“We’re in the midst of this pandemic, and we have hurricanes and wildfires and the Senate is in recess,” he told the outlet.
Five members of the Homeland Security Committee wrote a letter to FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor expressing that “concerns remain whether the amount will be enough given the current COVID-19 response expenditures, other current open disaster reimbursements and any future storms or disasters.”
The letter noted that “the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently amended its forecast to predict 19 to 25 named storms this year.”
Hurricane Laura made landfall Thursday as a category 4 storm, leaving widespread destruction in its path. Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J., who chairs a subcommittee on emergency preparedness and response, said he was “extremely concerned about the health and safety of Americans when Hurricane Laura comes ashore.”
“The fact that President Trump would take up to $44 billion from FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund right before a possibly record-setting hurricane season shows his inability to protect our country during a crisis,” he said in a statement. “If he had convinced his Senate allies to pass our Heroes Act, we would have extended unemployment benefits and still had plenty of money for FEMA and states to use to help Americans recover from a natural disaster, like Hurricane Laura.”
But Republicans pushed back on the concerns. Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., told NOLA.com that “there is no way that we will leave our citizens hanging out there,” predicting that Congress will “just print more” money for relief if necessary.
But Paul Rainwater, a disaster response expert who worked on Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal’s team during hurricanes like Katrina and Rita, warned that relief funds could be delayed even if Congress does provide extra funding.
“I wish the president would have found another fund to use or worked something out with Congress,” he told the outlet. “You have to have money in the pot so people can draw it down.”
The active hurricane season is far from the only threat with which FEMA will have to contend. Iowa was recently hit with a rare and devastating storm, and many parts of California and the western U.S. face historic wildfires.
“There is a reason the Constitution gave Congress the sole power to authorize government expenditures,” Payne said. “It was to prevent reckless presidents from taking money from one program to fund another one.”
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $150,000 in one-time donations and to add 1,500 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy