Urge Schumer to reconvene the Senate immediately amid Helene's devastation: Scott

Sen. Rick Scott called for the Senate to "immediately reconvene" to consider measures for FEMA funding following Hurricane Helene's devastation.

The Florida Republican urged Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to reconvene the U.S. Senate as soon as FEMA and SBA damage assessments are completed so that they can pass the clean supplemental disaster funding bill and other disaster relief legislation, including the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, to ensure the full recovery of families in all impacted communities. On Saturday night, President Biden approved the Major Disaster Declaration for the State of Florida, following a letter from Senators Scott and Rubio requesting immediate approval. This Major Disaster Declaration approval came after last week's approval of the State of Florida's request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration for potentially impacted Florida counties.

The interim spending bill approved last week to prevent a government shutdown "predicted" the possibility of Hurricane Helene affecting parts of the U.S. As a result, lawmakers ensured that FEMA could spend its reserves more quickly to address immediate needs following the storm. Additionally, a senior House Republican source stated to Fox that "this is why it would have been detrimental to shut down the government."

A senior congressional source admitted that it is possible that lawmakers may be recalled to Washington to approve additional funds to address the immediate needs caused by the devastation, as the source stated, "it would not surprise me."

"One senior House Republican stated, "I am not opposed to that, and I do not concur with those who claim we won't return.""

Another senior House Republican stated to Fox that they will need to allocate emergency funds for Western North Carolina, which is similar to New Orleans during Katrina. However, the source noted that Congress may not have to act immediately, unlike after Hurricane Katrina in 2006 when Congress convened in an emergency session just days after the disaster.

In the near future, it will be crucial to monitor whether FEMA has sufficient funds to address the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene.

Despite the ongoing need for disaster relief, Congress departed without allocating sufficient funds to address older natural disasters, including Hurricane Beryl in Texas, tornadoes in Iowa, and Hawaii's wildfires on Maui.

Some lawmakers sought to include extra disaster aid in the interim spending bill passed last week to keep the government running, but they departed before mid-November.

The temporary spending bill granted FEMA the authority to withdraw the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) at a faster rate. The issue now is whether the DRF will run out after Helene, especially if there are other potential storms in the Gulf of Mexico that could cause further damage. According to Fox, a combination of another storm and addressing the aftermath of Helene could drain FEMA's resources.

Despite the dire nature of Helene, we lack sufficient knowledge about the requirements. A clearer understanding may emerge later this week.

So what happens if FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund dwindles too much?

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Congress was recalled from its summer recess to reload the fund.