The White House will seek an additional $4 billion to address natural disasters as part of its supplemental funding request, bringing the total to $16 billion — a sign that wildfires, flooding and hurricanes that have intensified during a period of climate change are imposing ever higher costs on U.S. taxpayers.

The Biden administration had initially requested $12 billion in extra funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund, which helps with rescue and relief efforts. But a spokesperson in the Office of Management and Budget, Shelby Wagenseller, said that the fires in Hawaii and Louisiana as well as flooding in Vermont and Hurricane Idalia striking Florida and other Southeastern states mean that a total of $16 billion is needed.

As recently as Tuesday, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell had stressed that $12 billion would be enough to meet the agency’s needs through the end of the fiscal year this month.

  • @givesomefucks
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    141 year ago

    Republicans cut taxes and red states won’t do anything to mitigate this damage or save for when it happens.

    Then democrats bail them out, even tho what little tax income we have should be for helping everyone. Not bailing out the idiots who keep electing republicans as state leaders.

    Why the fuck are we not requiring these states to pay the aid back into a common fund? As long as we keep doing this, republicans get what they want: less money for the federal government.

    We need the only (mostly) sane political party to start acting like these aren’t “once in a century” events and havent been for decades. It happens pretty much every year these days. How about we stop pretending it’s 1955?

    Climate change is real and it’s fucking us.

  • @Adeptfuckup
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    71 year ago

    Have…we tried cutting taxes??? I’m sure that will fix everything AND solve world hunger. All we need is more rich people to trickle down on the disaster areas.