Washington, D.C. — Senator Ted Budd (R-NC), Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Congressman Chuck Edwards (R-NC) have led a bipartisan group of members of the Senate and House to send a letter to President Biden requesting that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), “immediately send a supplemental appropriation request to Congress to support the communities we represent, which were devastated after Hurricanes Helene and Milton.”
The letter was co-signed by Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Warner (D-VA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and Raphael Warnock (D-GA); and Representatives Richard Hudson (R-NC), Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Greg Murphy (R-NC), David Rouzer (R-NC), Buddy Carter (R-GA) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA).
We write to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) immediately send a supplemental appropriation request to Congress to support the communities we represent, which were devastated after Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Hurricane Helene made landfall on September 26, 2024, followed by Hurricane Milton on October 9, 2024. Both storms devastated our states, leaving hundreds dead and causing billions of dollars of damage. Across the Southeastern United States, Hurricane Helene is estimated to have caused $250 billion in damages and Hurricane Milton is expected to have caused $50 billion in damages. Tragically, approximately 261 people lost their lives as a result of both hurricanes.
OMB plays an important role in consolidating the needs of various states and affected federal agencies in declared disaster zones. In past disasters, OMB worked quickly to assemble and transmit the administration’s disaster supplemental request. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall on August 25 and OMB sent a supplemental request to Congress only one week later on September 1. Again in 2017, Hurricane Irma made landfall on September 6th and OMB sent a supplemental request to Congress less than a month later on October 4. Now, seven weeks have passed since the hurricane and OMB still has not transmitted a request to Congress.
We stand ready to work with you and our Congressional colleagues to pass significant disaster relief so that the road to long term recovery can begin. Our constituents do not have the luxury of waiting any longer. They need help now.
###
