GOP lawmaker in hurricane-ravaged Georgia demands emergency session of Congress
FIRST ON FOX: A House Republican from southeast Georgia is urging congressional leaders to call lawmakers back to Washington, D.C., as soon as possible to approve additional disaster relief funds.
Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., wrote to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and other leaders on Friday, weeks after two hurricanes battered parts of the Southeastern United States.
"The rain, wind, and flood damages from Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton have killed over 200 Americans, and caused hundreds of billions of dollars of damages, including to our critical infrastructure such as the electrical grid, major roadways, bridges, and more," Carter wrote.
"Together, these storms have been the deadliest and most destructive storms to hit the mainland United States since Hurricane Katrina."
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It is a notable demand coming from a House GOP leadership ally like Carter, particularly after Johnson all but definitively ruled out the possibility of calling the House back early.
It comes days after the Small Business Administration (SBA) warned it had run out of funding for disaster relief loans and as Biden administration officials warned FEMA does not have sufficient cash levels to last through the hurricane season.
The speaker told Fox News Digital earlier this month that the $20 billion in FEMA funding freed up by Congress in September would be enough to meet the immediate needs for storm recovery. State and local officials would also likely take until mid-November to tabulate how much supplemental funding is needed as well, Johnson reasoned, at which point lawmakers would be back in Washington.
Biden administration officials have agreed that FEMA has enough funds to meet immediate needs but warned it would not have the money for the entirety of the season.
Meanwhile, the bipartisan chorus calling for Congress to return early – mainly from lawmakers in affected states – has continued to grow.
Helene, which hit roughly three weeks ago, left a trail of devastation and dozens dead after ripping through parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and other states. The next week, Hurricane Milton hit Florida’s Gulf Coast with its own deadly force.
Those storms and Hurricane Debby have led to potentially billions of dollars in damage to both public and private property, likely leaving hundreds of Americans who survived the storm homeless.
The severity of the situation was compounded earlier this week when the SBA said in a press release "that it has exhausted funds for its disaster loan program after warnings that funding would soon run out following increased demand from Hurricane Helene."
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"Until Congress appropriates additional funds, the SBA is pausing new loan offers for its direct, low-interest, long-term loans to disaster survivors," the SBA said.
Carter wrote in his letter, "We appreciate congressional leadership’s commitment to replenishing funds for these critical disaster relief programs, but the current pause on new SBA loan offers to those attempting to rebuild their businesses and homes is already delaying recovery efforts."
"Considering the immediate and pressing need for assistance for millions of Americans, we ask that you call Congress back into session as soon as possible to replenish SBA’s disaster loan program and ensure there is funding certainty for our other disaster programs, including FEMA," the congressman wrote.
Johnson's office pointed Fox News Digital to prior comments from the speaker when asked for a response, "There’s no question these devastating back-to-back storms have stressed the SBA funding program. But the Biden-Harris Administration has the necessary disaster funding right now to address the immediate needs of American people in these hurricane affected areas. Congress is tracking this situation closely, and when Members return in just a few short weeks, the Administration should have an accurate assessment of the actual dollar amount needed and there will be strong bipartisan support to provide the necessary funding."
Fox News Digital also reached out to Schumer's office for comment.