October 4, 2024
Did FEMA really steal money out of the disaster recovery fund and reroute it to immigrants…leaving the agency broke? I am sure you have been hearing those things on the internet, and obviously, you can believe who you want and I’m not here to defend anyone. But I am here to explain the facts, how government’s budgets work and what FEMA can and cannot do.
Most importantly I want to say – all those allegations are politically motivated and right now the most important thing we can do is help the millions of Americans who have been devastated by this storm. So first and foremost – let’s get our priorities straight. If you live in one of the affected disaster areas, check with your local and state relief agencies and local charities and make sure you apply for FEMA disaster assistance. You can do that by calling 800-621-3362 or going to disaster assistance.gov. If you don’t have cell or internet service – FEMA personnel are walking around your neighborhood signing you up in person. Remember there are scammers out there and FEMA will never ask for donations or money. So be careful if you choose to donate. Make sure you are donating to a reputable charity.
Ok – now back to these internet allegations – let’s start with the rumor that FEMA is running out of money. That’s not accurate. You probably did hear the homeland security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas say this week that FEMA “does not have the funds to make it through the season.” But what you probably didn’t hear was the rest of his comment – where he emphasized there was plenty of money to deal with the current disaster meaning hurricane Helene. It’s exactly what FEMA told me during my interview this week.
You just heard the disaster relief fund was just replenished. If you were paying attention to my recent coverage of the government shutdown you would know that just last week congress passed a continuing resolution to temporarily keep the government open until December 20th. In that CR was a special $20 billion replenishment for FEMA’s disaster relief fund…that’s money that can be used to help the millions of victims of hurricane Helene. Since it’s former President Trump who has brought this up about migrants – I want to make it clear — all of the no votes in the House for that CR came from republicans. 82 of them in the House voted no – that means they were voting no to this FEMA money too. By the way the CR overwhelmingly passed with both republican and Democrat votes in the senate.
So– let’s talk more about that $20 billion. Is it enough to get FEMA through December 20th – the season. Especially because as I pointed out during the interview a portion of it was already earmarked for another group. Not migrants. A portion was earmarked for victims of the Maui wildfires and the flooding in Vermont.
I know you have also been hearing that FEMA “moved money” out of recovery efforts for disaster victims and gave it to immigrants. So let’s talk about how the budget works. The fact is – it was congress that allocated $640 million to FEMA’s shelter and services program in 2024 which gives grants to local governments and nonprofits to take care of undocumented migrants across the country. Congress allocates that money. Not FEMA. And that money which accounts for like 2% of FEMA’s overall budget is completely separate from the disaster recovery funding. Those two budgets don’t cross. By the way –undocumented migrants are not eligible for FEMA cash assistance programs, according to the FEMA website.
Lastly – I think it’s important to clarify what FEMA can actually do in a disaster. It’s important to know they can’t do anything until a state governor has declared a disaster and the president has approved it. But once that’s done – then what?
FEMA’s misinformation website here.
