On-the-Record Remarks by Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell on Press Call on Critical Disaster Funding Needs

DIRECTOR YOUNG: In the weeks since Hurricanes Helene and Milton tore through communities, members of this Administration have been on the ground, meeting with impacted families, business owners, farmers, local and state officials, and first responders. None more than our FEMA Administrator, who is joining this call, Administrator Criswell.

As these communities work to assess damage and pick up the pieces, it is clear that additional funding is needed to help them recover.

The last time Congress passed a comprehensive disaster package was in December of 2022 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. Since then, numerous deadly storms and disasters have struck communities across the country.

Those of course include, Hurricanes Milton and Helene.

But the Biden-Harris Administration continues to provide robust and well-coordinated Federal support for recovery efforts nationwide, including the devastating fires in Maui, tornadoes across the Midwest, the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, and severe storms in Alaska, Connecticut, Louisiana, New Mexico, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and more.

It is absolutely critical that these communities know that their government has not forgotten them.

The Federal response to disasters declared under the Stafford Act have been funded through FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, which supports Stafford Act responsibilities and authorities like Public Assistance, Debris Removal, and Individual Assistance, and is in need of additional funding.  What the Stafford Act does not account for is long-term recovery efforts, such as housing, agriculture losses, and certain transportation infrastructure.

That is why we need comprehensive disaster relief in order to ensure that our communities can fully recover and rebuild.

Over the past several weeks, Federal agencies have written to Congressional leaders underscoring the need to replenish key disaster response programs and fund long-term recovery for communities suffering since 2022.

Now that Congress has returned, the Administration is once again transmitting an emergency supplemental funding request to Congress so we can work together in a bipartisan manner to deliver the support and relief our communities need and deserve.

We are requesting emergency funding for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, used to help individuals and communities – I’m sure the Administrator will go into more detail about.

This also includes urgently needed funding for the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program, which many of you have heard about, which has completely exhausted its funding.

SBA loans are a lifeline and significant source of Federal recovery assistance for people impacted by disasters. Let me be clear, small businesses need this funding, homeowners also use this funding as a critical source of rebuilding, in addition to nonprofits and renters. This fund must immediately, as soon as possible, be replenished.

Our request also includes funding for critical agency efforts that are key to successful long-term recovery, such as:

• The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster program to support disaster relief, long-term recovery and restoration of housing and infrastructure, economic revitalization, and mitigation in the areas most impacted by major disasters.
• The Department of Agriculture to support farmers and ranchers with crop and livestock losses, and to assist rural communities across the country with debris removal and watershed restoration.

• The Environmental Protection Agency to protect access to safe drinking water, and strengthen water infrastructure.

• The Department of Energy to rapidly restore power and reinforce electric grids to withstand future storms.

• The Department of Transportation to rebuild critical roads and bridges across 40 states and territories.

• The Department of Health and Human Services to build supply chain capacity and resilience for IV fluids and other critical medical products that became scarce during recent hurricanes.

Congress and Administrations in both parties have a long history of providing for communities on a bipartisan basis in the wake of natural disasters—including over $90 billion in aid after Hurricane Katrina, over $50 billion following Hurricane Sandy, and over $120 billion following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. 

This relief is important. Families, small businesses, neighborhoods, and communities are counting on their government to be there for them when they need help the most.

As someone who grew up with a hurricane tracker she got as a kid from a local TV station, and as someone who’s helped tear down wet drywall, knowing your government has your back when you’re going through some of the most difficult times in your life is a welcome comfort. This cannot be understated.

That’s why I’m not surprised that Speaker Johnson, my fellow Louisianian, has, in his own words, given people comfort that funding is on the way.

There’s no room for politics in disaster relief. As President Biden has said, there are no Democrats, there are no Republicans when it comes to delivering this relief.

With Congress back in session, the Biden-Harris Administration stands ready to work with lawmakers to deliver the vital resources our communities need and expect with strong bipartisan and bicameral support.

With that, I’ll turn to the FEMA administrator, Administrator Criswell.

ADMINISTRATOR CRISWELL: Thank you Director Young, and good morning everybody. First, I just wanted to take a minute to thank OMB for putting this very important call together today.

2024 has been a year of records. Hurricane Beryl became the earliest Category 5 storm to form in the Atlantic. Hurricane Helene has devastated six states. We saw the second busiest Spring tornado season ever recorded, and we’ve seen overall a 50% increase in disaster activity—for example, in 2023 we had 114 disaster declarations, and as of today, in 2024, we’ve had 172.

Through it all, FEMA continues to rise to the challenge.

As you all probably know, on August 7th, we entered Immediate Needs Funding – or INF – in order to preserve our ability to respond to life-saving and life-sustaining requirements. In the 55 days we were in INF, we delayed obligations to over 3,000 projects totaling $8.8 billion, creating real recovery and cash flow challenges for communities and, in particular, smaller and more rural communities.

I’ll give you just a few examples:

• $58 million to repair and replace critical communications infrastructure across the US Virgin Islands that was damaged during Hurricane Maria.

• We delayed $8.7 million to set up a temporary high school in Wynne County, Arkansas, after their high school was destroyed by a tornado last year.

• $1M for the Love County Health Center, which was damaged in the Oklahoma tornadoes. This center provides access to health care for underserved communities in the area.
• There are numerous other long-term permanent work for road and bridge repair projects, flood control projects, and public buildings projects for communities recovering from disasters.

While these projects may not have been essential for urgent response and recovery actions, they are critical for the continued recovery and rebuilding of communities across the country.

Since the Oct. 1 continuing resolution, FEMA has obligated $17.6 billion of the Disaster Relief Fund. This includes payments for ongoing disaster response and recovery across the country, mitigation projects, and urgent, lifesaving work to support survivors of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

To date, FEMA has obligated over $7.5 billion alone for the response and recovery for Hurricanes Helene and Milton. These storms were incredibly large, and spending on the first month post-landfall for each storm outpaced nearly all disasters that we have responded to over the last 20 years.

Now FEMA currently has enough funding in the DRF to support these life-saving response activities for Hurricanes Helene and Milton through the end of the Continuing Resolution, but that is assuming no new large disasters arise. However, FEMA will need additional funding of approximately $40 billion beyond its 2025 budget request to support the ongoing recovery efforts to these storms and meet our overall mission requirements through the end of the fiscal year.

Our agency’s mission is to help people before, during, and after disasters – no matter who they are or where they live. This is more crucial to the American people now than ever before. And we are quickly running out of the funding we need to support this mission.

We will always prioritize funding for lifesaving and life sustaining activities. FEMA continues to monitor the DRF balances daily to determine if we need to shift again to an Immediate Needs Funding posture to continue to support the urgent needs of the communities we serve.

However, even under Immediate Needs Funding posture, FEMA will not have enough funding to get through Fiscal Year 2025. Additional funding is needed to ensure that we can support communities and achieve our mission. Thank you everybody for joining this important call today.

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