The administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said Wednesday the agency has burned through so much money allocated to its Disaster Relief Fund for the current fiscal year that it might have to restrict spending unless Congress OK's more funding.
Deanne Criswell said during a news briefing that as of Tuesday, FEMA spent $9 billion of the $20 billion that Congress put in its disaster fund Oct. 1 for the fiscal year that runs through Sept. 30, 2025, Politico reported Thursday. It was the first time FEMA has publicly stated how much money it has since Hurricane Helene hammered the Southeast two weeks ago.
Criswell said the $9 billion spent includes projections for Hurricane Milton, which made landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast on Wednesday night, spawning floods, tornadoes, and power outages across the state. But she said hurricane season has not ended yet — the Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 — and that there are more than 100 open disasters across the U.S. and those communities will need to be reimbursed, as well.
"I'm going to have to evaluate how quickly we're burning the remaining dollars in the Disaster Relief Fund," Criswell said. "I have enough funding to get through this event and support all of the needs of everyone that has been impacted by Hurricane Helene … and what we expect from Milton.
"But hurricane season is not over yet, and so what I need to do is ensure how much money is being used and how much more I will need to make sure we can get through the rest of hurricane season. The goal here is to make sure that we are assessing the impacts from this storm against the Disaster Relief Fund and give an accurate estimate to Congress about how much more we will need."
On Wednesday, a group of House Democrats, led by Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, urged Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to "immediately reconvene" the chamber "so that it can pass robust disaster relief spending," according to Politico.
The group said money is needed for FEMA and a Small Business Administration program that gives low-interest loans to homeowners, renters, and businesses whose property was damaged by a disaster. But Johnson has said he does not plan to reconvene the House before the election to address disaster funding.
Under the spending restrictions, FEMA would restrict funding for disaster-related rebuilding projects nationwide and reserve its money for life-saving operations during disasters. The restriction often halts major repairs to roads, sewer plants and water-treatment facilities.
"We keep a reserve in the Disaster Relief Fund to make sure I can always cover these life-saving activities," Criswell said.
Even before Helene and Milton, Criswell said she expected to impose restrictions in December or January, according to Politico.
"I'm going to have to assess that every day to see if I can wait that long," she said.
Criswell stopped short of saying FEMA might stop performing life-saving operations such as search-and-rescue missions, according to Politico. In September 2023, as FEMA faced a budget shortfall, she told Congress that FEMA's remaining disaster funding "would be insufficient to cover all of our ongoing life-saving operations."
FEMA is able to "support all of the needs of everyone that was impacted by Helene and Milton," Criswell said.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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