Rumors, misinformation and lies about the federal government’s response to Hurricane Helene have run rampant since the storm made landfall, especially around FEMA funding.
Rumors, misinformation and lies about the federal government’s response to Hurricane Helene in the southeastern United States have run rampant since the storm made landfall, especially around funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.As of Sunday, FEMA says it has provided more than $137 million in assistance to six states in the southeast, including 7,000 federal personnel, nearly 15 million meals, 14 million liters of water, 157 generators and more than half a million tarps.
The money used in the aftermath of Helene and other major disasters is not part of FEMA’s operating budget, but instead comes from the Disaster Relief Fund, which is appropriated by Congress. Congress has not yet passed supplemental funding for other disasters that occurred earlier in the year, much to the frustration of members in communities recovering from floods, fires and other major events. Even if they had approved the existing funding request, the money would not have been directed to Helene relief since the storm damage happened after Congress left Washington at the end of September.
One continuing resolution proposed in the House last month would have included an additional $10 billion for the fund, but that version failed because it was tied to a controversial Republican-backed election bill that focused on further cracking down on already-illegal non-citizen voting.from the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General argues that billions of dollars earmarked for disasters that occurred more than a decade ago could be returned to the Disaster Relief Fund.
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