Officials have warned the Small Business Administration’s funds for new disaster loans are at risk of being depleted before Congress returns from recess next month, amid heightened demand in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
President Biden has also sounded the alarm on the matter, telling reporters last week that Congress “should be coming back and moving on emergency needs immediately.”
“Congress should move as rapidly as they can, particularly on the most immediate need, which is small business,” he said.
The latest call by Biden adds to the growing pressure Congress has faced to return from the campaign trail to approve additional disaster relief in response to the damage wrought by hurricanes Helene and Milton.
In a recent letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), a group of House Democrats said the disaster funding approved by Congress recently fell “critically short” of what will be needed for the current fiscal year.
The lawmakers also pressed for the SBA’s disaster relief loan program to “be replenished as soon as possible to help business owners rebuild their enterprises and communities.”
Johnson signaled after Helene that he had little interest in bringing lawmakers back to Washington, saying FEMA has enough funding to cover the period until Congress is back in session.
The Hill’s Aris Folley has more here.
