House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., rejected the notion on Thursday that Congress should return from its recess to approve more funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency after two major hurricanes, Politico’s E&E News reported.
Congress is in recess until after the election in order for lawmakers to campaign. Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has maintained that FEMA will be out of disaster relief funds before hurricane season is over at the end of November.
However, Johnson believes the $20.3 billion allocated in the funding bill last month should be enough.
“To be clear: Congress will act again upon its return in November to address funding needs and ensure those impacted receive the necessary resources,” Athina Lawson, a spokesperson for Johnson, said in a statement Thursday.
“In the meantime, the Administration needs to focus on getting the existing and sufficient disaster relief out to the millions of Americans in dire need and work to assess the extent and nature of the damage. Until the Administration does the work to provide an assessment, any action by Congress will be premature.”
According to Mayorkas, FEMA has enough money for responding to the “immediate needs” from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, but future disasters would bring serious issues unless more funding is approved.