Iowa Congresswoman repeats Hurricane Helene recovery rumor FEMA says is false
FEMA official says rumors hurting response efforts
DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa Capitol Bureau) - As the southeast recovers from one massive hurricane and braces for another, misinformation is spreading.
Former Republican President Donald Trump claimed during several of his campaign rallies that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is running out of money.
“Kamala has spent all her FEMA money, billions of dollars, on housing for illegal migrants,” he said.
At Governor Kim Reynolds’ Harvest Festival fundraiser Saturday, 1st District Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks made a similar claim.
“And as our hearts and our prayers go out to those hurricane victims in our eastern seaboard, we also know that part of the problem is the Biden-Harris Administration. Part of the problem is FEMA running out of money because they’re housing illegal immigrants with almost $1 billion,” she said.
FEMA says this is false.
On the FEMA website, staff combatted falsehoods and lies about the response, saying the agency is not diverting money from disaster relief funds for other non-disaster related effort.
FEMA does administer grants to communities and nonprofits to provide humanitarian services like food and shelter for migrants, but the money doesn’t come out of FEMA’s budget. Customs and Border Protection funds it and FEMA distributes it.
Keith Turi, the Acting Associate Administrator for Response and Recovery for FEMA says rumors are making recovery harder.
“It’s really unfortunate. Obviously, we need to want to register with us. We need them to understand what resources are available to them and when there’s misinformation out there, or inaccurate information, it really hampers those response and recovery efforts,” he said.
We followed up with Miller-Meeks’ campaign and asked why she was alleging disaster funds were going to migrants. The campaign acknowledged that FEMA funding streams are separate, but questions why federal money would be used to re-settle undocumented migrants.
“I echo Speaker Johnson’s comments about the frustrations of millions of Americans over any government funding of illegal aliens. While the FEMA funding streams are separate, the question remains: why are FEMA funds being used at all for re-settling illegal immigrants?,” Miller-Meeks said.
In a letter to Congress last week, President Biden urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring lawmakers back to Washington to pass a hurricane relief package. Biden has concerns that Small Business Administration disaster loans will run out in a matter of weeks and FEMA disaster funding may run out towards the end of the year.
Turi says the agency has enough funding on hand to handle recovery from both hurricanes.
“Obviously, big disasters like this create longer term needs and across the federal family. We’ll work on those at a later point but for Helene and for Milton we have the resources we need. We’re executing against that. We’re bringing in all of the partners and resources that are required and so that’s not a concern,” he said.
Miller-Meeks didn’t directly say whether Congress should or shouldn’t come back to pass emergency aid, but said “As Iowa was hit hard by tornadoes this year, I supported expeditious and responsible recovery funds appropriated by Congress. As stewards of taxpayer dollars, we must ensure the true cost of damages is properly calculated.”
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Conner Hendricks covers state government and politics for Gray Media-owned stations in Iowa. Email him at conner.hendricks@gray.tv; and follow him on Facebook at Conner Hendricks TV or on X/Twitter @ConnerReports.
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