BUDGET/CRISIS/FEMA: “The Federal Emergency Management Agency just added another $6.7 billion to its coffers to help with hurricane relief.
The money was expected. Sunday [10-1-17] kicked off a new fiscal year and brought a new round of funding for the agency.
But it also comes at a crucial time for the federal government’s disaster response arm. FEMA has been responding to the aftermath of three major hurricanes that have hit the United States and its territories in the past six weeks: Harvey, Irma and Maria.
The three storms devastated Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, along with other parts of the Caribbean…
FEMA hasn’t felt a strain on its resources lately, Booher said. That’s a welcome reassurance for an agency that was close to running out of cash in early September. It caught a break after Congress passed an emergency aid bill that injected $7.4 billion into FEMA’s relief fund.
Booher said the agency had $4 billion left in its disaster fund this weekend before it received the $6.7 billion provision.
But that much money almost certainly won’t be enough.
All told, hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria have inflicted at least $195 billion in overall damage in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, according to one estimate from Moody’s Analytics.
And at least part of the money needed for recovery will need to come from FEMA. In addition to the immediate emergency support the agency provides, it can also approve money for individuals who either don’t have insurance or who only have partial coverage.”
-Jackie Wattles, “FEMA just got another $6.7 billion to help with hurricane relief,” CNN Money, CNN.com, Oct. 1, 2017 06:32pm