U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) called on President Obama to reevaluate disaster response funding in the wake of recent hurricane damage.
Rubio and Curbelo were part of a bipartisan group of 21 lawmakers from Florida who made the request in a letter to the president. Specifically, the lawmakers asked Obama to assess whether federal agencies would need additional funding to sufficiently respond to Hurricane Matthew, Hurricane Hermine and other recent natural disasters.
“Millions of Americans affected by recent natural disasters are struggling to put their lives back together, including in Florida, where many people are recovering from Hurricanes Matthew and Hermine,” the lawmakers wrote.
“Given the extent of the damage left in the wake of these disasters, it may be necessary for Congress to provide emergency funding to help the impacted communities make a full recovery.”
The lawmakers also noted that severe flooding in several parts of the country since September has caused damage that may require the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to tap into additional resources to help communities recover.
“As your administration evaluates whether additional funding will be required to respond to these recent disasters, we also urge you to identify how the federal government can save money by rebuilding in a way that promotes mitigation efforts, thereby reducing the need for future federal disaster assistance,” the letter states.
The letter requested that if emergency funding is needed, the administration submit a request to Congress soon so that it may be considered in the next government-funding bill that Congress must pass by Dec 9.