In a recent interview, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas expressed serious concerns about the funding situation at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), claiming that the agency is running low on disaster relief funds. However, an Inspector General report from the Department of Homeland Security paints a different picture, revealing that FEMA still has billions available for disaster response.
According to Fox News, Mayorkas’s claims have come under scrutiny, as the Inspector General’s findings suggest FEMA has at least $8.3 billion allocated for disaster relief. On October 2, he stated, “We expect more hurricanes to hit, but we are lacking in funding. FEMA has no money to respond to this season and upcoming events.”
This controversy has escalated as Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified into a Category 5 storm, just as communities were beginning to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Helene, which had already caused significant damage in Florida and surrounding areas, leaving many residents facing large-scale evacuations.
Analysts are pointing out that FEMA is unable to tap into unused allocations from previous emergencies, effectively locking up those funds. Hurricane Helene has already been one of the deadliest storms to hit the U.S. since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which resulted in 1,392 fatalities. Helene alone has claimed at least 230 lives, with entire towns disappearing and around 600 individuals still unaccounted for.
Budget experts are raising concerns that the emergence of new storms has led to questions about FEMA’s operations, labeling the agency as a “slush fund” accessible to both FEMA and the Biden-Harris administration.
An August report from the Inspector General’s office indicated that as of October 2022, there were still 847 disaster declarations pending, linked to approximately $73 billion in unliquidated funds. It also noted that the $8.3 billion in unliquidated obligations is associated with disasters from 2012 and earlier, funds that could potentially be redirected to assist current victims.
The Inspector General’s report echoed these findings, stating, “Over $7 billion in unliquidated funds could be returned to the Disaster Relief Fund.” In recent years, FEMA has faced a record number of storms, with 28 storms causing over $10 billion in damages last year alone and 19 storms already recorded this year, also resulting in damages exceeding the $1 billion mark.
