Disaster Assistance Funding
The summer’s tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, and wildfires have forced the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to begin rationing its Federal disaster aid, postponing less urgent projects, such as building repairs, in order to respond to more immediate needs. Only about $484 million currently remains in the FEMA Disaster Relief funding, with approximately $300 million having been spent on the aftermath of Hurricane Irene. President Obama previously had asked Congress for an additional $5.1 billion for disasters for Fiscal Year (FY) 2012, which begins October 1, 2011, on top of the $1.8 billion requested earlier. Then, on September 9, the White…
