XPost: fl.general, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: sac.politics, alt.home.repair   
   From: HapilyRetired@fakeaddress.com   
      
   On 10/8/2024 3:04 AM, useapen wrote:   
   > Federal relief, loan and flood insurance programs face mounting costs   
   > and questions about their ability to pay as Hurricane Milton spirals   
   > toward Florida’s Gulf Coast.   
   >   
   > The federal government could be nearing a collapse of its ability to   
   > help with major disasters as the second catastrophic hurricane in less   
   > than two weeks bears down on Florida.   
   >   
   > Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 storm whose winds reached 180 mph late   
   > Monday, is whirling toward a possible landfall in Tampa Bay just as the   
   > main federal disaster programs are facing financial instability amid a   
   > series of recent calamities, including Hurricane Helene’s flooding of   
   > communities throughout the Southeast.   
   >   
   > Those include the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster fund,   
   > which pays for repair and rebuilding efforts; the Small Business   
   > Administration’s loans to stricken businesses and homeowners; and   
   > FEMA’s flood insurance program. All could be within weeks of running   
   > dry of cash, based on recent remarks by President Joe Biden, Homeland   
   > Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and insurance analysts — even as   
   > FEMA sought to assure the public Monday that it has enough money to   
   > meet its “life-saving” responsibilities for Helene and Milton.   
   >   
   > The concerns about federal resources are growing as lawmakers of both   
   > parties clamor for Congress to return to Washington before the November   
   > election to approve additional disaster funding. Fiscal conservatives   
   > in the House have balked at that, and Speaker Mike Johnson said this   
   > weekend that he had no plans to bring his members back.   
   >   
   > Washington’s ability to pay for recovering from the back-to-back   
   > disasters is “a big concern,” said Elizabeth Zimmerman, who ran FEMA’s   
   > disaster response office in the Obama administration. She added, “It   
   > could be very devastating to the financial aspects of what the federal   
   > government has.”   
   >   
   > The two hurricanes raise concerns about whether “FEMA and the federal   
   > government has money to respond to any disaster that comes up that they   
   > need to provide life-sustaining support in,” added Zimmerman, a senior   
   > executive adviser at IEM disaster consultants.   
   >   
   > Mayorkas has said FEMA’s disaster fund could run out of money next   
   > month, leaving it unable to pay for rebuilding public buildings, roads   
   > and facilities such as water-treatment plants, all of which are   
   > essential to restoring normalcy. The agency’s flood insurance program,   
   > which has nearly 2 million policies in the areas hit by Helene or   
   > threatened by Milton, may also run out of money to pay claims and be   
   > forced to borrow from federal taxpayers, according to credit-ratings   
   > agency AM Best.   
   >   
   > And the Small Business Administration “will run out of funding in a few   
   > weeks” to provide homeowners and businesses low-interest disaster loans   
   > for repair and rebuilding, Biden warned Friday in a letter to Congress.   
   >   
   > Even a small disaster program run by the Federal Highway Administration   
   > is facing a budget shortfall that could limit its ability to rebuild   
   > federal roads damaged by Helene or Milton.   
   >   
   > The SBA’s disaster-loan program provided $45 billion in disaster loans   
   > — mostly to homeowners — from 2001 through 2022. If the SBA were unable   
   > to provide the loans after Helene and Milton, that would be a huge   
   > setback on recovery and would further drain the FEMA disaster fund by   
   > prompting households to collect from FEMA’s emergency aid.   
   >   
   > Biden compounded the strain on FEMA when he agreed in recent days to   
   > pay the entire cost of debris removal and emergency measures after   
   > Helene instead of the customary 75 percent of costs. Normally, states   
   > would have paid the other 25 percent.   
   >   
   > FEMA also faces immediate concerns about saving lives in hurricane-hit   
   > areas. The agency’s Daily Operations Briefing published Monday morning   
   > shows that its Urban Search and Rescue operations are “not mission   
   > capable” and have only four teams available.   
   >   
   > More than 200 counties encompassing 31 million people in six states   
   > have been declared federal disasters or emergencies due to Helene or   
   > Milton. Helene has killed at least 230 people after it deluged much of   
   > Florida’s Gulf Coast, crashed ashore in the state’s Big Bend area and   
   > left a trail of flooding and wreckage across states including Georgia,   
   > North Carolina and Tennessee.   
   >   
   > Milton poses an even more potentially dire scenario, as its path   
   > threatens to make a direct strike on Tampa Bay, one of the nation’s   
   > most vulnerable communities for storm surge. The region of more than 3   
   > million people hasn’t suffered a major hurricane strike since 1921, and   
   > regional planners have warned that such a disaster could inflict   
   > hundreds of billions of dollars in losses.   
   >   
   > “This is not a good situation,” National Weather Service Director Ken   
   > Graham said of Hurricane Milton’s potential devastation when it makes   
   > landfall Wednesday.   
   >   
   > The recent warnings by Biden, Mayorkas and experts about disaster   
   > funding contrast with the optimism of financial projections made before   
   > Milton took aim at Florida’s Gulf Coast.   
   >   
   > At a press briefing Monday, a senior FEMA official sought to assure the   
   > public about the agency’s immediate capabilities without directly   
   > answering questions about the agency’s ability to pay for long-term   
   > recovery.   
   >   
   > “We are supporting the life-saving requirements that we have,” FEMA   
   > acting Associate Administrator for Response and Recovery Keith Turi   
   > said, referring to Helene and Milton. “If there’s a point in which we   
   > need to take additional measures, … then we’ll take those measures when   
   > the time is appropriate.”   
   >   
   > Turi added that FEMA was moving three search-and-rescue teams from   
   > California to the Southeast and is getting help from the Coast Guard.   
   >   
   > The condition of the federal disaster programs is putting pressure on   
   > Congress to end its election-season recess early and approve additional   
   > disaster aid.   
   >   
   > On Sunday, Johnson reiterated his refusal to convene the House ahead of   
   > its Nov. 12 scheduled return. “We will help people in these disaster-   
   > prone areas,” Johnson told Fox News. “It’ll all happen in due time.”   
   >   
   > A triple fiscal crunch   
   > The three main federal disaster programs have faced budgetary problems   
      
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