Latest news with #disasteraid
E&E News
3 days ago
- Politics
- E&E News
Trump says FEMA overhaul will come after hurricane season
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration will wait until after this hurricane season to begin cutting disaster aid to states. Trump's comments to reporters during an Oval Office briefing are the clearest signal yet that Trump would continue to help states grapple with disasters for at least several more months, despite his threats to abolish the Federal Emergency Management Agency. When asked how much disaster-related costs would be shifted to states from FEMA, Trump at one point turned to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and said, 'We think, after this… Kristi, I'd say after the hurricane season, we'll start phasing—' Advertisement 'We set up a FEMA council,' Noem interjected. 'Over the next couple of months, we'll be working on reforms and what FEMA will look like in the future as a different agency.'
E&E News
4 days ago
- Politics
- E&E News
Trump backs off plan linking disaster aid, immigration
The Trump administration has retreated from a plan to make federal disaster aid conditional on states helping with immigration enforcement, a new court document shows. The move marks a victory for Democratic-led states that sued to block an administration policy adopted in April that would block billions of dollars in disaster aid and other funding for states that don't cooperate with immigration authorities. Democratic states have won other court rulings to restore or release disaster aid. The latest lawsuit, by 20 Democratic prosecutors, calls the April Department of Homeland Security policy a 'grant funding hostage scheme' that tries to 'coerce' states into following the administration's immigration enforcement efforts. Advertisement In a court filing Friday, the administration backed off from the April policy and said its immigration enforcement requirements 'do not apply' to grants and Federal Emergency Management Agency programs that help communities during and after a major disaster. DHS oversees FEMA.
E&E News
28-05-2025
- Business
- E&E News
A quiet change by Biden led to an LA windfall in disaster loans
Los Angeles residents whose homes were destroyed by wildfires in January have received hundreds of millions of dollars in additional aid after a little-noticed federal policy shift in 2023, government records show. The Biden administration sharply increased the maximum amount of federally backed low-interest disaster loans for home repairs, enabling L.A. homeowners to borrow a staggering $310,000 on average, according to an analysis by POLITICO's E&E News. Between 2017 and 2024, the average disaster loan nationwide for home repairs was less than $50,000, the analysis shows. Advertisement The Small Business Administration, which plays a role in disaster recovery, increased its maximum loan for home repairs to $500,000 from $200,000 in July 2023. It was the first increase since 1994. The program has given homeowners and renters nearly $40 billion in low-interest loans since 2001.
E&E News
23-05-2025
- Politics
- E&E News
Trump approves disaster aid after long delay
President Donald Trump approved eight requests for disaster aid Thursday in a potential reassurance to governors who feared the administration would not help with natural disasters this summer, according to documents and officials. Trump's sudden action on the requests for disaster aid — most of which were sent to him more than a month ago — came as governors and members of Congress pressured the administration to help states recover from deadly tornadoes and floods. At the same time, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Thursday that it would reopen three disaster training centers in June that the administration had closed in March. Advertisement Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem approved reopening the centers and taking other steps 'that will significantly improve FEMA's readiness posture going into Hurricane Season,' according to an internal FEMA memo obtained by POLITICO's E&E News.
E&E News
09-05-2025
- Business
- E&E News
‘I alone will speak on behalf of FEMA,' new agency chief tells staff
The new head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency told staffers Friday morning that he will personally make all decisions at the agency, including those related to disaster payments, according to a former FEMA official who listened to the virtual meeting. 'I don't know if that will last for hours, days or weeks, but I need to get a handle on what's going on in the agency,' FEMA acting Administrator David Richardson said at an all-staff meeting, according to the former official, who was granted anonymity to discuss internal communications. Richardson succeeded Cameron Hamilton, who was fired Thursday after leading the disaster agency for 3½ months. Richardson's focus on making every decision threatens to drastically slow down FEMA operations, including the payment of disaster aid and grants to states, the former official said. Agency leaders have typically delegated such decisions. Advertisement 'It'll slow down everything. How can everything funnel through one person? He will have to figure out who he can trust and delegate some authority,' the former official told POLITICO's E&E News.
