President Joe Biden announced Sunday during his investigation into storm-damaged Florida that more than $600 million will flow to states hit by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which also ravaged Georgia and North Carolina.
During remarks in St. Pete Beach, a barrier island city near St. Petersburg, Biden said nearly $100 million of the money would go toward improvements to Florida’s energy system. He noted that it was his second visit to the state in two weeks.
“Fortunately, the impact of the storm was not as cataclysmic as we predicted,” Biden said. “But for some individuals it was catastrophic. All those people who not only lost their homes, but more importantly, the people who lost their lives, lost family members.”
Biden spoke alongside St. Pete Beach Mayor Adrian Petrila and Pinellas County Chairwoman Kathleen Peters, noting that they both suffered damage to their homes from the storms. “But they didn’t continue alone [to] Take care of themselves, but to help other families, help their neighbors. You know, that’s the resilience of the people of West Florida.”
Florida officials have confirmed 17 deaths in the aftermath of Milton after making landfall near Tampa last week. More than a million residents are still without power due to the storm, which followed the impact of Hurricane Helene on September 26.
Ahead of the storm, the Biden administration tried to combat misinformation about the relief funds flowing to the state. One conspiracy theory circulating online and spread by politicians like former President Donald Trump and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, was that Federal Emergency Management Agency money was spent to support undocumented immigrants in the U.S., leaving the organization without the necessary resources were left behind. resources to support hurricane victims.
On a FEMA fact-check page, the agency disputed the misinformation, writing: “This is incorrect. No funds are diverted from disaster response needs. FEMA’s disaster response efforts and individual assistance are funded through the Disaster Relief Fund, a special fund for disaster efforts. The Disaster Relief Fund money has not been used for other non-disaster related efforts.”
FEMA will use Disaster Relief Fund money solely for that purpose. The agency was also tasked in 2022 with distributing Customs and Border Protection funds to areas experiencing an influx of migrants.
Biden’s Sunday visit also comes as Trump continues to make false claims about the federal response, including that the government is not providing aid in some areas.
Florida lawmakers are pushing for more disaster relief for affected communities and have urged House leadership to meet to approve more money.
On NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told moderator Kristen Welker that he did not believe it was necessary for the House to return early from recess in the wake of the hurricanes.
“We are already planning to come back immediately after the elections,” he said. “We are 23 days away from the elections. That will coincide almost perfectly, I think, with the time when most of these[disasterreliefapplicationswillevenbeginandmanyofthemwillbeprocessed”[rampenhulpaanvragenzelfsmaarzullenbeginnenenveelervanzullenwordenverwerkt”[disasterreliefapplicationstoevenbeginandmanyofthemtobeprocessed”
The speaker also pointed to money Congress appropriated for disaster relief in a continuing resolution passed last month before leaving for recess, telling Welker that the federal government must “take up the matter of distributing the funds that Congress has already reserved. ”
“That is very important. People are in pain. I have been on the ground in the most affected disaster areas, Florida, North Carolina. They really need the help,” Johnson added.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
