FEMA Spending on COVID-19 Dwarfs Hurricane Helene Response

Official figures seen by Newsweek show that Homeland Security set aside 20 times more FEMA cash for COVID-19 in September alone than it has so-far spent on Hurricane Helene.
Homeland Security figures show that Federal Emergency Management Agency set aside $4.9 billion on COVID-19 relief projects in September, dwarfing the $210 million spent so far on Hurricane Helene.
The figures come amid a political fight over FEMA spending and will raise questions about the agency’s priorities as the East Coast faces the hurricane season with Milton about to bear down on Florida.
The agency has been forced to reject claims that its budget has been drained after former president Donald Trump said that “Kamala spent all her FEMA money—billions of dollars—on housing for illegal migrants.”
Newsweek has contacted FEMA for comment on the level of assistance being earmarked for COVID-19.
Congress recently passed a short-term spending bill, freeing up $20 billion for the agency’s disaster relief fund to support it through Dec. 20.
On Monday, FEMA announced that federal assistance for survivors of Hurricane Helene had surpassed $210 million. The money – which it said reflects “the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to helping impacted communities recover and rebuild” – includes upfront financial support, housing assistance and the delivery of emergency supplies.
The figure has already grown from a $137 million estimate on Sunday, and will continue to expand as officials assess the true scale of Helene’s damage and the funding needed to help the embattled communities.
However, the money spent on hurricanes and natural disasters over the past year is still modest compared to that earmarked for continued COVID assistance.
In its most recent report on the Disaster Relief Fund – allocated to spend on natural disasters – the Homeland Security branch reported $4.9 billion in estimated obligations for COVID-19 assistance for the month of September. This figure, if it results in expenditures, would represent around 20 times the amount so-far spent in helping the storm-hit Southeastern states following Hurricane Helene.
According to FEMA, the agency will spend an estimated $19.8 billion on COVID-19 in the 2024 fiscal year, which runs from October 2023 to September 2024, equating to a monthly average of just under $1.7 billion. The figure, representing just over 40 percent of FEMA’s total $47.6 billion obligations for 2024, is well above that spent on other disasters.
Its nearest competitor is funding for Hurricane Maria, the tropical cyclone which hit the northeastern Caribbean in 2017, which accounts for $12.6 billion in obligations over the fiscal year.
Meanwhile, the estimated obligations for Hurricane Beryl, which swept the Caribbean, Yucatan and U.S. Gulf Coast in summer, total only $1.2 billion through September.
The pandemic marked the first time FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund had been used on a public health crisis, and the agency said it is still using funds for vaccine testing, personal protective equipment and funeral assistance, among other things.
According to FEMA, the total $131.6 billion in obligations for COVID-19 has so far resulting in $109.8 billion in expenditures.
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