Biden urges Congress to approve nearly $100 billion in disaster relief

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden's administration called on U.S. lawmakers on Monday to quickly pass roughly $100 billion in emergency disaster relief funding in the wake of damaging storms that have depleted the coffers of several recovery assistance programs.

The funding package, which includes $40 billion for FEMA's disaster relief fund and more than $2 billion for the depleted Small Business Administration loan program, would be delivered to Congress as soon as Monday, a senior administration official said.

Biden's administration has made multiple requests for more disaster aid since Congress last passed supplemental funding in December 2022, but lawmakers have not acted despite multiple storms including Hurricanes Helene and Milton, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young said.  

In the interim, the Biden administration has provided federal support to victims of the devastating wildfires in Maui, the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, and severe storms in Connecticut, Alaska, Louisiana, New Mexico and more, Young told reporters on a Monday call.

"There's no room for politics in disaster relief," Young said. "With Congress back in session, the Biden-Harris Administration stands ready to work with lawmakers to deliver the vital resources our communities need and expect with strong bipartisan and bicameral support."

She noted that Congress and administrations of both parties have a history of supporting such disaster relief, having provided over $90 billion in aid after Hurricane Katrina, over $50 billion after Hurricane Sandy and over $120 billion following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

A new Republican-led Congress convenes in early January and Biden leaves office Jan. 20, handing over the White House to Republican President-elect Donald Trump.  

Hurricane Milton came ashore on Oct. 9 and carved a swathe of destruction across Florida, including an estimated $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion in crops and agricultural infrastructure damage alone, among other losses.    

Hurricane Helene had made landfall farther north just weeks earlier.    

  Analysts have said they expect up to $55 billion in insured losses from this year's Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told reporters on Monday that her agency needed the supplemental $40 billion included in this package to support ongoing recovery efforts from the back-to-back hurricanes.

FEMA had to enter an "immediate needs funding" posture on Aug. 7 to prioritize the very expensive life-saving hurricane response, which caused it to delay some $8.8 billion worth of funds to some 3,000 ongoing recovery projects, Criswell said.

FEMA currently has enough funding in its disaster relief fund to support its hurricane response through the December 20 end of the continuing resolution that Congress passed in late September, but only if there are no new large disasters, Criswell said.

(Reporting by Jarret Renshaw in Rio de Janeiro and Gabriella Borter and Susan Heavey in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Alistair Bell)