FEMA Funding Crisis Could Slow Vermont Flood Relief

Road crews begin flood repairs to Route 15 around the 
Wrong Way Bridge in Cambridge, Vermont on July 12.
Immediate funding from FEMA is not in danger, but
rebuilding money might be delayed as the federal
agency is running out of money for the fiscal year.

Is FEMA running out of money?

The apparent answer is yes, but that doesn't mean Vermonters won't get any help from the federal government. 

Money for immediate needs will flow in the Green Mountain State in counties that have been declared a disaster area. 

Vermonter who need help now if not sooner will get it. 

There's a chance the money shortage could slow eventual rebuilding, however. 

As Marketplace reports:

"The Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund is running low, and is likely to be in the red sometime next moth. That's before the end of the current fiscal year, and right in the middle of hurricane and wildfire season."

Congress can approve supplemental funding, and has in the past when this kind of thing happened. But of course, Congress is so dysfunctional these days I'd be surprised if half the members can tie their own shoelaces. 

If FEMA quote, unquote "runs out of money," it's not like they will immediately stop helping. At last report, the federal government has approved nearly $5 million in disaster payouts to Vermont, and that number will surely grow.

FEMA will do the same for the flood victims in Kentucky, and whichever disaster comes down the pike in the coming months 

Marketplace again:

"Craig Fugate was FEMA Administrator during the Obama administration, and he said the agency will make sure it has cash for a disaster like that. 

'But it means a lot of other programs, like the rebuilding, the mitigation programs, will either cease or slow down until they get more funding,' he said. 

It's rare for that to happen, but Ari Renoni, a deputy director of disaster recovery at Hagerty Consulting, said when it does, there are consequences. "This can really have this downstream effect where, you know, the states, the local communities affected by these events, it just further delays their ability to recover,' he said." 

The following is pretty much speculation on my part, but it's something to consider. After the extreme floods from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, Vermont officials wanted to "build back better" to borrow a phrase from the current Biden administration.

With climate change becoming a bigger and bigger factor, Vermont officials wanted to rebuild culverts and bridges to accommodate larger future floods. 

However - and I'm over-simplifing a bit here - FEMA rules pretty much said you could only build back to the level you had before the disaster. Vermont officials fought this, and we got some funding for better culvert, road and bridge designs that would lessen the effects of future floods. 

When July's floods hit, Vermont's bridges and culverts did better than they did during Irene, although we know there was still a lot of damage. 

Federal spending, as we know, is controlled by Congress. We still have incredible pushback from Senate and House Republicans on even the idea of climate change. With that crowd around, it's going to be a lot harder for FEMA to receive funding if even someone whispers the phrase "climate change" in appropriations requests. v

I obviously don't know what the sausage making in Congress will end up doing

There is a bill in Congress that would supply $11.5 billion in supplemental funding for FEMA's disaster relief fund.  That doesn't necessarily mean that will happen quickly. 

According to Roll Call in an article earlier this month:

"However, political dynamics for the caps in the debt limit law could imperil the chances of swift passage of an emergency supplemental. Specifically, lawmakers in both parties are expected to eye any moving spending bill as an opportunity to fund their own priorities, from Ukraine military assistance to aid for migrants crossing the southern border."

Senators from hurricane-prone states, including, notably, Republicans, are trying to get a clean FEMA bill passed without extraneous add ons.  We'll see how that goes. 

The United States is just now getting into the time of year when particularly expensive disasters strike.  The heart of hurricane season starts any day now and lasts into early October. From now into the fall is when wildfires out west tend to be at their worst.

Plus, August, like July, is traditionally a month that features flash floods like we saw this summer in Vermont, Kentucky, New York and elsewhere. 

Let's hope Congress makes the right decision about funding upcoming weather disasters, whether or not climate change contributes to them.