(The Center Square) – A nonprofit environmental group on Tuesday praised the Biden administration’s $98 billion request to Congress of disaster funding for damage caused by Hurricane Helene and other storms.
“President Biden’s $98 billion request for disaster funding is a strong proposal for Congress to consider,” Kevin Zedack, Government Affairs specialist for the group Appalachian Voices, said in a statement. “The funding in this package would support rural communities, help restore local economies and housing, repair infrastructure, and get our kids and teachers back into safe and clean classrooms. Supporting the repair and rebuilding of the region’s housing and economy are critical investments now that may save the region from further economic distress for years to come.”
However, the group was critical of the administration’s failure to include money for national forests.
“The president’s request does not address the needs of our national forests across the region,” Zedack said. “Helene hit right before the fall foliage season would bring millions of tourism dollars to the region. But with impassable and unsafe trails and roads throughout the area, our economy is likely to continue suffering without federal resources to take care of federal lands.”
The request includes $40 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Disaster Relief Fund, $23.5 billion for farmers and rural development, $4 billion for water infrastructure and $2.2 billion for Small Business Administration loans.
Biden, in a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., wrote noting Hurricanes Helene and Milton, devastating fires in Maui, and tornados in Mississippi, Iowa, and Oklahoma.
“It has been over 50 days since Hurricane Helene made landfall and moved into the southern and central Appalachian Mountains, causing untold destruction and changing the landscape of our region,” Appalachian Voices said in a statement. “Our communities have come together to support each other, helping clean mud from homes and businesses, opening houses to neighbors in need and volunteering to repair local roads and to clear trails in our national forests. However, our community resources are limited. We need Congress to pass comprehensive disaster aid so that our communities, and many communities like ours across the country, can rebuild from recent disasters.”
On Monday, North Carolina Republican U.S. Sens. Ted Budd and Thom Tillis and Republican U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards joined a bipartisan group of legislators calling for Biden to request that the Office of Management and Budget “immediately send a supplemental appropriation request to Congress to support the communities we represent, which were devastated after Hurricanes Helene and Milton.”
