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House Republicans are demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over “backwards spending priorities” by the Biden-Harris administration.

Republicans on the House Homeland Security Committee are investigating a DHS request for funding amid spending on illegal migrants and disaster relief, writing a letter to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to explain the FEMA allocation of funds.

“Specifically, the members condemned the Biden-Harris administration’s push for hundreds of millions of dollars every year for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to spend specifically on illegal aliens, first through the Emergency Food and Shelter Program-Humanitarian (EFSP-H), and subsequently the Shelter and Services Program (SSP),” a press release from the committee read.

“You stated to media reporters that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) ‘does not have the funds, to make it through the [hurricane] season,’” the letter, led by Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.), stated. “If true, FEMA’s funding shortfall is extremely disconcerting as Americans impacted by Hurricane Helene and potentially by Hurricane Milton face dire circumstances while the Biden-Harris administration may have unwisely and irresponsibly focused funding requests for other FEMA activities.”

Following Hurricane Helene’s deadly streak through multiple states, and ahead of another hit by Hurricane Milton, Mayorkas had warned that FEMA did not have the needed funding to make it through the rest of the busy hurricane season.

“We have the immediate needs right now. On a continuing resolution, we have funds, but that is not a stable source of supply, if you will,” he said at the time. “This is a multibillion-dollar, multiyear recovery.”

But the GOP lawmakers noted that Congress has “consistently met or exceeded, through supplemental appropriations, the President’s budget requests for disaster relief,” with $61.2 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2023 and FY2024.

“The Committee, however, is troubled that the Department and FEMA may not have properly apprised Congress of its need for additional disaster relief funds while simultaneously requesting large sums of monies to fund FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program (SSP), a grant program to fund nonfederal entities for shelter and services provided to migrants encountered by the Department, including illegal aliens,” the letter stated.

More than $1.4 billion has been distributed by FEMA through the SSP and a prior Emergency Food and Shelter Program for humanitarian aid. (EFSP-H), according to the lawmakers.

“Meanwhile, $344 million, an only slightly greater amount, has been spent on federal assistance for the communities impacted by Hurricane Helene,” they noted.

“While the Committee understands that there is no intermingling of funds between the DRF and SSP, the Department’s priorities for limited resources provided by taxpayers to the Department should first and foremost serve Americans,” the letter said.

Green and the GOP members asked for related documents and communications from FEMA and DHS on funding for SSP, the EFSP-H, and the DRF.  They asked for the information to be delivered by 5 p.m. on Oct. 25.

Frieda Powers
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