(The Center Square) — Florida has now entered into peak hurricane season and answers are being demanded from officials on dwindling federal disaster relief funds.
On August 3, Florida’s U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott sent a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Adminstrator Deanne Criswell about the current funding level of the Disaster Relief Fund.
On July 13, Criswell testified in front of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology and stated that she expected funds for the DRF to be exhausted by late August during the peak of hurricane season.
Criswell stated during the meeting that there is no longer a “disaster season” and that tornadoes, floods, and wildfires have made disaster relief more challenging over the past decade.
“We now face intensified natural disasters throughout the year, often in places that are not used to experiencing them,” Criswell said.
When asked by U.S Rep. and committee Chair Anthony D’Esposito, R-New York, about the dwindling funds for DRF and how the agency plans to move forward, Criswell admitted that there would be a shortfall towards the mid to end of August.
“The Disaster Relief Fund as we continue to go into the last quarter is always a very dynamic situation, and the balances continue to change, we are monitoring it very closely,” Criswell said, adding that the agency has been continuously working with the administration to ensure there is enough funding.
However, according to Rubio and Scott’s letter, a report issued July 10 by FEMA projected that there would be a $133 million deficit in August, ballooning to $8.6 billion by the end of September, and is contradictory to a statement from FEMA at the end of July, that said DRF levels are “more than adequate.”
The letter stated that in June, legislation was introduced — the Disaster Relief Fund Replenishment Act — which would have provided $11.5 billion in funding for the DRF. It went on to further state the Biden administration has been silent on the need to act.
“A deficit to the DRF cannot be ignored and we demand action before a crisis emerges and the American people suffer from the administration’s poor planning,” the letter said.
Several questions were asked, including the current funding levels of the DRF, what monthly expenditures were being drawn from the fund, whether FEMA still projects a deficit, and what preventative measures have been taken to prevent a deficit, including communications with the White House.
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