Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator DeAnne Criswell pushed back against concerns that the agency did not have sufficient resources to respond to Hurricane Milton, even though FEMA funding would not be available until the end of the year. He acknowledged that the supply is expected to run out by then.
In an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier on Monday night, Criswell responded to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ recent comments about FEMA being underfunded after Hurricane Helen made landfall.
“We are meeting our immediate needs with the funds we have, and we are expecting another hurricane. We don’t have the funds. FEMA does not have the funds to get us through the season and the immediate situation,” Mayorkas said. He spoke on October 2nd.
Criswell assured the nation that FEMA “absolutely” has enough funding to weather not only Hurricane Helen, but also the upcoming Hurricane Milton.
“We have enough funding to absolutely not only get through this hurricane response, but the ongoing response to Hurricane Helen,” she said.
But she agreed with Mayorkas that FEMA “does not have enough funding to continue operations through the remainder of this year.”
Governor Roy Cooper (D-NC) (right) and Federal Emergency Management Agency Director DeAnne Criswell meet Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris at Charlotte Douglas International Airport for a briefing on the damage caused by Hurricane Helen. Wait for the arrival of. , October 5, 2024, Charlotte, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson, File)
“I think what we have to do is within the time frame of December or January. We may have to go back,” Criswell said. “From the Disaster Relief Fund, again, we were able to predict that we would not have enough funds to pay for all of our recovery costs last year, this year, and into next year. Because we’re in this situation right now.” We’re paying a lot of compensation for the past few years. ”
Mr. Criswell’s agency has been criticized for dispensing about $650 million in aid to undocumented immigrants at a time when FEMA funding is running low.
Asked about the issue Monday, Criswell said the funds in question were not diverted from the disaster relief fund, which is the agency’s main source of funding for hurricane preparedness.
“The Disaster Relief Fund is a fund that we use to respond to disasters, and the amount withheld from that fund to support other activities is zero. The funds you are talking about are Border Patrol) and then transferred to us to support some of those efforts,” she said. “Nothing has been taken away from the disaster relief fund.”
Private sector and nonprofit organizations support critical relief and recovery efforts in the wake of Hurricane Helen’s devastating landfall, which claimed more than 230 lives and completely destroyed many Southeastern towns. I intervened to do so.
Aid from groups such as South Carolina-based Happy Helicopters, faith-based humanitarian organization Samaritan’s Purse, and North Carolina’s Mountain Mule Packer Ranch has drawn praise, but FEMA has since There has also been criticism that the government is leading bureaucratic and inefficient efforts. About disasters.
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Criswell sought to quell the accusations on Monday, calling the backlash “false.”
“We’ve been on the ground since before Hurricane Helen hit Florida and before it crossed North Carolina,” she said. “And my point is, just because you don’t see someone wearing a FEMA shirt, it doesn’t mean we’re not in the area.”
