U.S. House committee launches investigation into alleged misuse of FEMA money

Republican members of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security have launched an investigation into the alleged misuse of Federal Emergency Management Agency funds by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

DHS, which has oversight of FEMA, has directed that billions of dollars of FEMA funds be used to pay for food, housing, transportation and other services for illegal border crossers.

The committee gave Mayorkas a deadline of Oct. 25 to provide information it requested related to FEMA disaster recovery efforts, including the EFSP and SSP.

House committee Republicans said in a letter to Mayorkas that any FEMA “funding shortfall is extremely disconcerting” because Americans impacted by the deadly hurricanes “face dire circumstances while the Biden-Harris administration may have unwisely and irresponsibly focused funding requests for other FEMA activities.” They also said Congress had met or exceeded appropriation requests for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, with $61.2 billion allocated in fiscal years 2023 and 2024.

“In last year’s supplemental spending request alone, which House Republicans roundly rejected, the Biden-Harris administration asked for $1.4 billion in new funds for the SSP,” the committee said.

At an Oct. 11 press conference, Mayorkas said more than $350 million in FEMA assistance was distributed to help Helene survivors, “with millions more going out every day.” By Oct. 16, the White House announced the Biden-Harris administration had approved more than $1.8 billion in assistance for hurricane recovery efforts, with more than $911 million in already approved assistance for Helene survivors.

The committee is demanding answers from Mayorkas after on Oct. 2 he said FEMA “does not have the funds, to make it through the [hurricane] season.” Mayorkas made the remarks after the Category 4 Hurricane Helene made landfall on Sept. 26 and proceeded to cause destruction for 500 miles, causing an estimated $47.5 billion in damages in 16 states, excluding loss of life. 

https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_89e6c9aa-8e23-11ef-8251-27e79f175d84.html