Republican lawmakers on the House Homeland Security Committee have launched an investigation into Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ alleged misuse of Federal Emergency Management Agency funds.
DHS, which oversees FEMA, has directed billions of dollars in FEMA funds to be used to pay for food, housing, transportation and other services for illegal border crossers.
FEMA has prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in recent years. The Center Square reported.
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The committee has been demanding a response from Mallorca since October 2. he said FEMA “does not have the funds to get through (hurricane) season.”
Mayorkas spoke after Category 4 Hurricane Helen made landfall on Sept. 26, causing destruction across 500 miles and causing an estimated $47.5 billion in damage across 16 states, not including the loss of life. Helen devastated parts of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, among others. Hurricane Milton, a Category 3 hurricane, struck Florida on October 8, with agricultural damage estimated at up to $2.5 billion.
At an Oct. 11 news conference, Mayorkas said more than $350 million in FEMA assistance had been distributed to help Helene survivors, and “millions more are going out every day.”
By October 16, the White House announced that the Biden-Harris administration had approved more than $1.8 billion in assistance for hurricane recovery efforts, with more than $911 million already approved for assistance for Helen survivors. “Approximately 8,000 federal personnel remain on the scene, working with state and local officials to help survivors recover and rebuild,” the White House said.
House Committee Republicans said in the letter Americans affected by the deadly hurricane told Mayorkas that FEMA’s “funding shortfall is extremely disconcerting” while “the Biden-Harris administration may unwisely and irresponsibly focus its funding requests on other FEMA activities.” They also said Congress met or exceeded its appropriation request for FEMA’s disaster relief fund, which allocated $61.2 billion for fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
In fiscal years 2023 and 2024, FEMA will provide $1.4 billion in grants to states, local governments, and non-governmental organizations to pay for services for people who have crossed the border illegally through the Emergency Food and Shelter Program-Humanitarian Program (EFSP). After more taxpayer funds have been spent, there will be scrutiny. Shelter and Services Program (SSP).
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Congress created EFSP in 1983 and later authorized it under the Homeless Assistance Act of 1987, and has funded it since fiscal year 1995, according to the Congressional Research Service. Funding should be prioritized to help the homeless and unemployed, and has recently been prioritized for “communities most affected by the influx of migrants.” CRS says.
Under the Trump administration, Congress appropriated $25 million, or 83.3%, of EFSP funding through additional appropriations to local granting organizations (LROs) along the southern border.
March 2023 DHS Inspector General report found Under the Biden-Harris administration, LRO did not always use the most recently received $110 million in funding as intended by statute. LRO “did not always provide required receipts or documentation” for claimed reimbursements and “was unable to provide supporting documentation” of how the funds were spent, the inspector general’s office said.
Under the statute, six private nonprofit organizations manage the allocation of EFSP funds: the American Red Cross, Catholic Charities of America, the Council of Jewish Federations, the American Council of Churches of Christ, the Salvation Army, and the Coalition. Way of America, CRS notes.
Congress continues to fund DHS and FEMA programs, including the latest September 26 continuation resolution, which allocates $20 billion to FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund. Recent FEMA Recommendations main This allowed them to “begin addressing approximately $9 billion in obligations for more than 3,000 paused projects” to help “communities, schools, and hospitals across the country recover and mitigate from disasters.”
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“If additional funding is uncertain and current spending rates are maintained, the agency anticipates reimplementing the INF before the end of the year,” FEMA said. It cites emergency funding restrictions enacted “to preserve critical resources for life-saving and life-sustaining operations against rapidly depleting Disaster Relief Fund balances.”
Most recently omnibus “Approximately $650 million was passed by Congress from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to FEMA to fund SSP,” the committee said.
“Last year’s supplementary budget request, which was stubbornly rejected by the House Republicans, is enough for the Biden-Harris administration to requested New funding for SSP is $1.4 billion,” the committee said.
The committee gave Mayorkas an Oct. 25 deadline to provide requested information regarding FEMA disaster recovery efforts, including the EFSP and SSP.
Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.
