Reporter's Note: All about the politics of disaster relief

Welcome to the politics of disaster relief.

Republicans are criticizing the Biden-Harris administration for its response to Hurricane Helen in North Carolina, Tennessee and other parts of the South. This is about to become a double whammy as Hurricane Milton hits Florida.

The story unfolds in the midst of an extremely intense presidential election. As a result, politics is embedded in disaster response in battleground states such as North Carolina and Georgia. Florida also has some competitive but not top-tier Senate races.

The storm could confuse the typical voter. Regular voters may not go to the polling place. It's hard to care about voting when you're running out of food, you're running out of electricity, and you can't even leave your cheering spots in western North Carolina because Helen destroyed the roads.

'Immediate reconvening': Scott calls on Schumer to recall Senate after Helen tragedy

Hopefully, if your basement is covered in Milton after Helen took a spin and got soaked a few weeks ago, should you vote for Tampa or Sarasota? You were planning to vote at the school down the street. But now I don't have enough power. You are now living inland at your sister's house. But you are not registered to vote there…

You can see what we're aiming for.

Republicans have harshly criticized the Biden/Harris administration for its response to the storm.

“This is like an industrial-scale DMV,” Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, the Republican vice presidential nominee, said on Fox. “That's incompetence of the highest order.”

“At the federal level, this is a huge failure,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana). “If you talk to those directly affected, they will tell you this was a dismal failure. FEMA has lost sight of its core mission. It doesn't show that it was done.”

“They're stuck because of Kamala Harris. This is the worst response to a storm, a disaster, a hurricane we've ever seen. Probably worse than Katrina. It's going to be hard to beat that, right? ” asked former President Trump.

Responding to storms is difficult. Hurricane Andrew was a powerful Category 5 storm that hit Florida in August 1992. Former President George HW Bush's callous response to Andrew diminished his support in Florida. Bush 41 narrowly won the state of Florida, defeating former President Clinton by less than 2 percentage points. Mr. Bush defeated Florida State by 22 points four years ago. Additionally, the response to Hurricane Andrew raised questions about the administration's competence in the weeks before the election. It is believed to have cost Mr. Bush several points nationally.

Upon taking office, Clinton immediately strengthened FEMA to prepare for and respond to other natural disasters.

Biden goes on the defensive as commanders are forced to respond to Hurricane Helen

So part of this tactic is a natural extension of the Republican Party's desire to undermine the Biden/Harris administration at almost every turn. This is another element of the Republican argument that the administration is unable to manage the economy. Unable to deal with foreign policy. We can't deal with borders.

Did someone say borders?

“We give FEMA $20 billion a year, and unfortunately, FEMA has exhausted it all,” Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville said on FOX Business. “We spent $200 billion in Ukraine. We spent $220 to $500 a month on illegal aliens.”

“We give FEMA $20 billion a year, and unfortunately they've depleted it all,” said Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who is more concerned about illegal immigration than hurricane relief efforts. He criticized the Biden administration, which is said to be prioritizing. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

This is the difficult part.

FEMA is overseen by the Department of Homeland Security. DHS runs a program that sends money to cities struggling with the illegal immigration crisis. Some of the money will be used to feed and house illegal immigrants. But it will also help those towns cope by addressing strains on their health systems and other services.

Funding for disaster recovery and immigration assistance constitutes two separate line items in the DHS budget. Congress approved funding for both of these programs. In fact, some Republicans want to spend more money to help communities deal with the influx of illegal immigrants.

Johnson claims FEMA funds were diverted to immigration efforts: 'Americans are fed up'

Approximately $640 million is currently being spent on aiding these towns that are suffering from an influx of illegal immigrants. But some lawmakers want that number to jump to $3 billion next year.

Rep. Nancy Mace (RS.C.) introduced a bill to end the immigrant assistance program. And Mr. Johnson blurred the lines between FEMA disaster relief, immigration, and the border.

“FEMA and the Federal Emergency Management Association should be involved. Their mission is to help people during natural disasters like this. For the resettlement of illegal aliens who have crossed the border. Do not use any pool of funds from any account,” Johnson said on FOX.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said the response to Hurricane Helen was a “colossal failure” at the federal level. (Getty Images)

Other Republicans think this could be an opportunity to rebalance overall spending. Keep in mind that many Republicans question foreign aid to Ukraine.

“As elected officials, it's our responsibility to put Americans first. Whether you're in Florida, in my district, or anywhere in the union, it's our responsibility to put Americans first. , I think it's important to restore hope and let them know, “They're not forgotten,'' Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida said on FOX.

But some Republicans compared the issue of FEMA's response to how the administration is approaching other subjects.

After Hurricane Helen, KJP comes under fire over mixed messages about whether FEMA resources were used for immigrants

“This administration seems to have no problem finding money when they want to spend it on their priorities. Hundreds of billions of dollars to pay off student loans for graduate students and gender studies programs. When they need it, they somehow find the money. They send helicopters to deliver food, water, cell phone service and life-saving medicine to mountain valleys, but somehow they can't seem to find the money.” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, declared on NBC.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell criticized Republicans for suggesting FEMA was focused on other issues rather than the storm.

“It's frankly ridiculous and completely false. This kind of rhetoric doesn't help people,” Criswell told the ABC.

Hurricanes Helen and Milton are likely to leave their mark on both the weather and the election. (Travis Long/The News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Before leaving Washington, Congress gave the green light for $20 billion to FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) as part of an interim spending plan to avert a government shutdown. But Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas confused the issue by saying FEMA has enough funding to address Helen's “immediate needs” but not enough to get her through “the season.” I let it happen.

The “season” Mayorkas is referring to is the annual hurricane “season.” It lasts until November 30th. It's important to note that Mayorkas made this comment when another storm, possibly Milton, had not yet formed in the Gulf of Mexico.

Some Republicans attacked Mr. Mayorkas. However, given Helen's severity, the DRF is likely to be lowered due to “immediate needs”. The key word here is “immediate needs.” Milton would probably do the same. Therefore, when Congress reconvenes in November, it will likely be necessary to tackle disaster relief in at least two parts. Lawmakers need to replenish the DRF. And Helen and Milton will start to see a price tag. Not to mention notable disasters like Hurricane Beryl in Texas, tornadoes in Iowa, typhoons in Guam, and wildfires in Hawaii.

Despite Mayorkas' warning, FEMA has the funds needed for 'immediate response and recovery'

But Prime Minister Johnson has been reluctant to summon lawmakers back to Washington to deal with the disaster.

“We're not just sending estimates to the federal government, we're sending them specific needs and requests based on the actual damage, and it takes a lot of time, especially with a storm of this size, so Congress is going to do that,” Johnson said on Fox. I will do my job,” he said. .

That's why lawmakers need to first reread the DRF for future pressing needs, and then Americans need to make bigger changes to address the fallout from Herren and Milton. The government funding deadline is December 20th. Some of the latter funds could be incorporated into spending measures around Christmas.

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But what about politics? Elections are approaching. The storm could affect voting this fall. And while Helen and Milton will certainly leave a mark meteorologically, they will probably also leave a mark electorally.