Florida Republican ‘absolutely certain’ there will be supplemental to address Helene aid

Rep. Kat Cammack (R-Fla.) said Monday she’s “absolutely certain” Congress will consider a supplemental aid package to provide additional disaster relief to areas devastated by Hurricane Helene.

Congress last week passed a continuing resolution (CR) to extend government funding at current levels until Dec. 20, but the measure excluded additional funding for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) disaster relief programs.

“I’m absolutely certain there will be a supplemental,” Cammack said in an interview on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal.”

“My fear is that it turns into a political football, and, quite frankly, things like this, there’s no room for politics when it comes to disasters and emergencies,” she added.

Cammack expressed frustration at the current process of relying on CRs.

“One of the dangerous things with the CRs … is that it’s not just enough to keep the government going. You’re not meeting the needs of where the country and your communities currently are at,” Cammack said.

“So that’s why we need to actually go through the appropriations process and be thoughtful and strategic about where these dollars are going, rather than just a blank check and a rubber stamp,” she continued. “That’s missing complete swaths of people and needs that are out there.”

Later Monday morning, President Biden said he expects to ask Congress for a supplemental funding bill for Hurricane Helene relief, but he didn’t have a price tag for it yet.

He said asking Congress to return from its recess to consider a bill is “that is something I may have to request, but no decisions are made yet.”

Congress is scheduled to be away from Washington until after the November elections.

Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida late Thursday as a major Category 4 storm, bringing widespread devastation to people’s homes and resulting in scores of deaths across the South.