Hurricane Helene rumors on federal aid: What’s true and what’s false
FEMA addresses and dispels common rumors surrounding the Hurricane Helene response, ensuring accurate information reaches affected communities.
Claims that members of Tennessee’s delegation voted against FEMA funding are making the rounds, leaving many Tennesseans wondering whether the best interests of flood victims are being prioritized by elected officials. While the accusations are technically true, they don’t tell the whole story of the vote that occurred Sept. 25, and they lack the context residents need to evaluate the votes.
In short, a vote at the center of these claims that extended government funding until Dec. 20 played out predictably. The lawmakers who voted against it have problems with that type of government funding.
That vote was on a bill that funds several parts of the government at once, not just FEMA. If it failed, the government would have shut down, and Americans would have felt the swift impact.
Claim that Tennessee reps voted down FEMA funding lacks context
Lawmakers have failed to make deadlines: Every year, Congress must fund the federal government by midnight on Sept. 30. If it fails, the government shuts down. To avoid government shutdowns, Congress can pass a continuing resolution to extend government funding until it passes a full budget. In the previous fiscal year, Congress passed continuing resolutions three times.
FEMA wasn’t a standout: Unlike regular budget bills, which fund parts of the government individually, continuing resolutions fund several agencies at once with a single vote. FEMA is just one of several agencies funded in the Sept. 25 continuing resolution.
How Tennessee’s congressional delegation voted on the continuing resolution:
- Sen. Marsha Blackburn – No
- Rep. Tim Burchett – No
- Rep Steve Cohen – Yes
- Rep. Scott DesJarlais – Didn’t vote
- Rep. Chuck Fleischmann – Yes
- Sen. Bill Hagerty – No
- Rep. Diana Harshbarger – Yes
- Rep. David Kustoff – Yes
- Rep. Andy Ogles – No
- Rep. John Rose – No
Continuing resolutions aren’t popular: Some Tennessee lawmakers say continuing resolutions are Congress kicking the can down the road, reflecting lawmakers’ failure to do their job.
Rep. John Rose, Republican: “Congress’s broken appropriations process forces votes on Continuing Resolutions or CRs that fund the entirety of the federal government at identical rates for a short period of time,” Rose, who voted against the continuing resolution, told Knox News via email. “Because of this, all federal government operations from FEMA to air traffic control and even the military must be considered when casting my vote on behalf of the Tennesseans I represent.”
Rep. Tim Burchett, Republican: The Knoxville representative told Knox News he voted against the continuing resolution “because we are $35 trillion in debt and the bill was stuffed full of pork to advance radical policies.”
“That’s why we need individual spending bills so we can address these issues separately,” Burchett said.
Where do undocumented immigrants fit in the conversation?
Disaster relief money isn’t going to undocumented immigrants: But FEMA does have a separate program to house undocumented immigrants after they’ve been released from the Department of Homeland Security. It’s called the Shelter and Services Program.
Funded by Customs and Border Protection, not FEMA: While administered by FEMA, this program is not funded by the Disaster Relief Fund, which provides the assistance disaster survivors need.
Two different “pots of money”: FEMA’s aid to survivors comes from the Disaster Relief Fund, which was established in 1950. It’s completely separate from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which funds the Shelter and Services Program.
The kicker? The Department of Homeland Security: FEMA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection both fall under the same umbrella: the Department of Homeland Security. Republican lawmakers for years have had issues with the Biden Administration’s leadership in that department.
That’s one reason they’re tying disaster relief and border disputes together.
“Regrettably, the Biden-Harris Administration’s prioritization of funding for illegal immigrant programs housed under FEMA has directly inserted the controversy into the discussion about Helene’s recovery efforts,” Rose told Knox News, adding he supported efforts to eliminate Shelter and Services in the past. “Had the Biden-Harris prioritization of illegal aliens over American citizens not been so out of whack, they would have never been in the discussion.”
Congress likely to vote on resolution including FEMA before Dec. 20
Another funding battle ahead: The government is only funded until Dec. 20, and history shows Congress won’t pass a full budget in the meantime. That means Tennessee’s delegation is still weighing whether to “kick the can” again, or to allow the government to shut down.
One agency isn’t swaying lawmakers: Though FEMA’s funding is waning, Tennessee lawmakers aren’t racing to support the next continuing resolution that could cross their desk. They’re weighing several factors.
Blackburn took a rigid approach: “We want Tennesseans to get everything that they need in federal assistance, but what I don’t do is vote for loaded spending bills, where you’re spending hundreds of millions of dollars on illegal immigrants that are coming in and not putting that money to use for taxpayers,” she told reporters Oct. 7.
Burchett took the most rigid approach: “I don’t support continued resolutions, Congress needs to get back to single-subject spending bills,” he told Knox News via email. “I want to get a lot more information about how FEMA’s funds are allocated and how FEMA is managed from the top down before I think about giving them any more funding.”
Federal law requires FEMA to send a monthly report of its Disaster Relief Fund spending to Congress.
Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg