EXCLUSIVE: A top Republican lawmaker sent a scathing letter demanding several facts and figures from FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell after discovering nearly half of a recent congressional appropriation for disaster relief was spent on non-hurricane-related interests.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said that FEMA lifted its August restrictions on immediate needs funding (INF) on Oct. 1 – right after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida.
While recently-criticized FEMA funds used for migrant issues is formally partitioned from disaster relief (DRF), Roy said COVID-19 response-related funding falls in the disaster relief pot.
“The American people have legitimate concerns regarding the availability of FEMA funding to respond to these hurricanes and future events in the near term,” wrote Roy, who sits on the House Budget Committee.
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President Joe Biden talks with Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as he arrives at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in Greer, S.C., Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, to survey damage from Hurricane Helene. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) (AP)
“FEMA is rapidly spending billions out of the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) on non-immediate needs, including billions in unnecessary funding for COVID-19, which threatens to deplete the fund despite there being nearly two months left in hurricane season,” he added.
Roy called the decision to lift the INF restrictions “questionable” and said that as of Wednesday, FEMA has spent $344 million on Helene response efforts with more reportedly on the way.
He questioned the “sheer amount” of funding going to COVID-19 relief nearly two years after the official coronavirus “emergency” ended.
$1.2 billion has gone to the state of California alone, and nearly half of DRF funding initially delayed due to INF restrictions went to COVID-19 projects, according to a FEMA document obtained by Roy.
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Swannanoa residents walk through devastating flood damage from the Swannanoa River in western North Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. (Travis Long/The News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Roy went on to demand Criswell answer as soon as possible as to why FEMA lifted INF restrictions as images of devastation in the Smokies were very much public.
He also asked for specific figures for appropriations for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 projects, as well as appropriations for Helene and Milton recovery efforts.
“Please explain how FEMA will ensure that COVID-19 projects do not continue to jeopardize FEMA’s ability to use the DRF in the future to respond to disasters, absent a massive increase in congressional appropriations,” he added, floating the idea that Congress could ban DRF funds from going to COVID-19 projects any longer.
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Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) speaks during a news conference. (Getty Images)
“If we are going to appropriate dollars for disaster relief, both FEMA and Congress should ensure the DRF prioritizes individuals impacted by disasters…” he said.
Hurricane Helene ravaged parts of Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia – leading to the Pigeon River completely washing out crucial Interstate 40 in Haywood County, N.C. Cities like Asheville, N.C., Newport, Tenn., and Damascus, Va., were deluged with floodwaters despite their collective altitudes.
Effects of the massive storm were felt as far west as Tishomingo, Miss., and up into the Cumberland Plateau of Kentucky.
Within days, Hurricane Milton made landfall south of Tampa Bay, and spawned several tornadoes on the other side of the Sunshine State, where multiple people died near Port St. Lucie.
Fox News Digital has reached out to FEMA and its overarching agency DHS for comment.
Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.