Well, in case lawmakers needed a little extra incentive to get the legislative ball rolling this month, they now have it.
Because to exactly no one’s surprise, FEMA is running out of money – and fast.
According to an agency spokeswoman cited by Bloomberg, FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund had just a little over $1 billion on hand as of this morning and worse, only about half of that was “immediately available” (whatever that means in this context).
One Congressional aid says FEMA will run out of money by Friday, which is of course just when more funds will likely be needed to assist with whatever carnage accompanies Hurricane Irma.
Lawmakers (who really needed to finish their vacation before they could be bothered with this) are apparently set to vote tomorrow on funding for Harvey and it looks like the Senate will try and sneak in the debt ceiling Trojan horse.
Meanwhile, FEMA has resorted to spending only on what it calls “lifesaving, life-sustaining efforts” – a classification we imagine leaves a lot of people out in the rain without an umbrella (figuratively and literally).
“If it’s down to $1 billion or less, then I would say there’s a great concern,” said Elizabeth Zimmerman, who was FEMA’s associate administrator for the office of response and recovery until January.
Yes, “great concern.”
But only if you’re directly affected by the tragedy. If you’re safe in Washington (well, as “safe” as one can be while operating in close proximity to Donald Trump), the only thing that’s of any real “concern” is the extent to which these catastrophes can be politicized and leveraged to push an agenda.
Lawmakers – both Republican and Democrat – would do well to remember that any political points they manage to score by leveraging natural disasters to attach contingencies to relief funds won’t matter much if all the constituents are dead.
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