The Biden administration has recently submitted a revised funding request seeking an additional $4 billion to bolster the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund, bringing the total requested amount to $16 billion.
This updated funding proposal, announced on Friday, is a response to the recent onslaught of extreme weather events, such as the Maui wildfires and Hurricane Idalia. President Biden has already signed major disaster declarations for both of these incidents, signaling the urgent need for increased financial support to aid in the recovery efforts.
“Given the intensity of disaster activity around the nation – including fires on Maui, in Louisiana, and across the country, massive flooding in Vermont, and now a major hurricane that hit Florida and the Southeast – the Administration is seeking an additional $4 billion for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF),” a spokesperson from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provided in a statement.
President Biden is set to make a visit to Florida on Saturday, following the downgrade of Hurricane Idalia to a tropical storm. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell is already on the ground in the state and participated in a press conference alongside Governor Ron DeSantis on Thursday.
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