Mike Johnson Under Pressure To Recall Congress To Pass FEMA Funding

House Speaker Mike Johnson is facing pressure to reconvene Congress ahead of November’s election to approve a disaster relief package in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have called for an early end to the October recess in order to approve additional funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm in Florida on Wednesday night, as communities were still reeling from the devastation wreaked by Helene. Helene hit Florida as a Category 4 storm two weeks ago before plowing across several southeastern states.
Amid concerns that it could further stretch FEMA, President Joe Biden on Thursday said he thinks Congress “should be coming back and moving on emergency needs immediately.”
But Johnson has said he will not call lawmakers back early, saying Congress has provided FEMA with the money it needs to respond.
“It can wait because remember… Congress appropriated $20 billion additional dollars to FEMA so that they would have the necessary resources to address immediate needs,” Johnson said on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday. Johnson’s office has been contacted for comment via email.
Congress provided $20 billion for the agency’s disaster relief fund in late September as part of a stopgap spending bill to fund the government through December 20.
After Helene hit, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas had warned after Helene struck that FEMA can meet immediate needs but does not have enough funding to make it through hurricane season. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said on Wednesday that the agency has already spent $9 billion, according to Politico.
More than 60 House Democrats signed a letter on October 9 urging Johnson to “immediately reconvene” the House to pass “robust” disaster relief funding.
The letter also said that the “frequency and intensity of these extreme weather events are a clarion call for proactive measures,” including substantial funding that ensures FEMA “can maintain a state of readiness and provide immediate assistance when disasters strike.” They also said the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program “must be replenished as soon as possible to help business owners rebuild their enterprises.”
In an earlier letter to congressional leaders, Republican and Democratic senators representing states devastated by Helene also called on Congress to “meet the unmet needs in our states and address the scope and scale of destruction experienced by our constituents.” They said it may mean Congress reconvening before the election to ensure a disaster relief package can be enacted before the end of the year.
The Republican senators who signed the letter included Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida as well as Marsha Blackburn, Bill Hagerty—both of Tennessee—and Ted Budd of North Carolina. The latter three had voted against the stopgap spending bill in September.
A MoveOn petition calling for Johnson and congressional leaders to reconvene immediately to approve funding for hurricane relief efforts has amassed 40,000 signatures.
“Despite the fact that Americans are suffering through the aftermath of being battered by a catastrophic hurricane, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said that ‘there’s no rush for Congress to approve hurricane relief,'” the petition states. “It’s egregious, and there is zero time to waste. There are lives and entire communities at stake.”
The petition adds: “Disaster funding should never be a partisan issue. Our communities that have been harmed by Hurricane Helene can’t wait until Congress is back in session in November; they need relief right now. Congress must come back and pass supplemental disaster funding NOW.”
On Face the Nation, Johnson denied it was a gamble to wait until after the election to approve additional funding.
“Congress can’t meet and just send money on a guess or an estimate of what the damages are,” he said.
Johnson said that when FEMA assesses and calculates the cost of the recovery from Helene and Milton and sends a request to Congress, lawmakers “will meet and in bipartisan fashion, we will address those needs.”
He added: “We’ll provide the additional resources. But it would be premature to call everyone back now, because these storms are so large in their scope and magnitude, it’s going to take a little bit of time to make those calculations.”