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From Fox Business: Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas faces a new firestorm of criticism for claiming FEMA is out of disaster funds right as the DHS’ Inspector General released a report saying FEMA is sitting on at least $8.3 billion in untapped, unspent funds.
On Oct 2, Mayorkas said, “We are expecting another hurricane hitting. We do not have the funds. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season and what is imminent.”
This new controversy is surfacing as Hurricane Milton has become a Category 5 storm, and massive evacuations are now underway in Florida, which is still struggling from Hurricane Helene, as is much of the Southeast.
But analysts say FEMA cannot tap unspent appropriations from long-ago crises, so the money sits frozen as 600 people are reportedly still missing from Hurricane Helene, at least 220 died, and entire towns were wiped off the map. Helene is the most catastrophic hurricane to hit the U.S. since Katrina in 2005.
Budget experts warn that this new firestorm shows that FEMA has been turned into a slush fund that the agency and the Biden-Harris White House can spend at will.
The audit report released on August 14 by the DHS Inspector General announced:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not ensure that it closed out disaster declarations in a timely manner. We reviewed 79 disaster declarations and identified 26 programs with nearly $9.4 million in unliquidated funds that remained open beyond their approved periods of performance.
These programs included public assistance, individual assistance, and hazard mitigation grant programs that were awarded in 2012 or earlier. This situation is problematic because costs incurred after the period of performance ends are not reimbursable.
Additionally, FEMA extended 41 program periods of performance or closeout liquidation periods without detailed documented justification, as required. These programs represent more than $7 billion in unliquidated funds that could potentially be returned to the Disaster Relief Fund. These extensions delayed project closures by up to 16 years, which, in some cases, resulted in time expended for administrative requirements equaling or exceeding the recipients’ time to perform actual repair or construction work.
New Report: “FEMA’s Inadequate Oversight Led to Delays in Closing Out Declared Disasters” https://t.co/SiPuJkiOWF
— DHS Office of Inspector General (@DHSOIG) August 16, 2024
Jeremy Portnoy, a journalist with Open The Books, had announced last month, “FEMA’s fiscal crisis is partially its own fault. It has $8.3 billion in “unliquidated obligations”: money already promised to other states up to 16 years ago. Meanwhile, storm victims in MI and MA are being told there isn’t any money left for aid.”
FEMA’s fiscal crisis is partially its own fault. It has $8.3 billion in “unliquidated obligations”: money already promised to other states up to 16 years ago.
Meanwhile, storm victims in MI and MA are being told there isn’t any money left for aid.https://t.co/nSw1bNx1vC
— Jeremy Portnoy (@JeremyPortnoy) September 9, 2024
WATCH the interview below, as Portnoy digs deeper into FEMA funding:
What if I told you FEMA has $8 billion sitting in bank accounts that the agency still hasn’t used?
Well it’s true!@open_the_books investigative journalist @JeremyPortnoy reveals what the most recent audit has uncovered to @BreannaMorello.
🚨WATCH🚨 pic.twitter.com/1wSrdfHbW8
— The Breanna Morello Show (@BreannaMShow) October 5, 2024
#BREAKING Read my story here – Homeland Security Inspector general says FEMA is sitting on $8.3B in unused disaster/hurricane funds as Secy Mayorkas claims it’s out of disaster cash. Sum could be 10x higher, read why👇@FoxNews @FoxBusiness https://t.co/MzFzLPSmAi
— Elizabeth MacDonald (@LizMacDonaldFOX) October 7, 2024
NEWS ALERT: Fury erupts on social media after Mayorkas claims FEMA running out of money
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