SBA and FEMA Need Disaster Relief Funding!
Eight days into the fiscal year, the federal government has spent nearly half the disaster relief that Congress has allocated for the next 12 months, which soon will force the Federal Emergency Management Agency to restrict spending unless Congress approves additional funding. On September 4th and recently, President Biden reiterated his call for Congress to come back early to approve additional disaster funding. More than 60 House Democrats added their voices to the chorus via a letter to Speaker Johnson, but Johnson has consistently said it can wait until Congress returns next month.
Additionally, President Biden wrote to Congressional leaders informing them that the Small Business Administration's disaster loan program is expected to run out of funding before Congress reconvenes after the November elections. The SBA needs $1.6 billion to keep up with thousands of new applications coming in each day for aid after the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene. SBA loans are currently available to hurricane victims in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. The program makes loans of up to $2 million available to businesses for the repair or replacement of real estate, inventories, machinery, equipment and all other physical losses. Homeowners can receive up to $500,000 for repairs and replacement of real estate, and individuals can get up to $100,000 for personal property losses, such as motor vehicles. Per President Biden, “while SBA was the most immediate issue, as soon as Congress returns to Washington on November 12th, they should take up my prior requests for supplemental disaster aid, including a $23.5 billion request sent up in October 2023 and another $4 billion in June of this year, mostly for Francis Scott Key Bridge repair in Baltimore.”