Hurricanes, Wednesday, October 11, 2017

General Updates

  • Emergency Funding. Late last night, the House Appropriations Committee posted its disaster supplemental spending bill that would provide $36.5 billion in emergency funding for hurricane and wildfire relief and recovery. The bill mirrors the administration’s request and includes $18.7 billion for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, $16 billion for debt relief for the National Flood Insurance Program and $576.5 million for wildfire efforts. The bill also includes a provision for the Disaster Nutrition Assistance Program (DNAP) for low income residents of Puerto Rico to receive additional nutrition assistance. There is no funding allocated to the CDBG-DR program - surprising, given the number of House Republicans from impacted communities that requested CDBG-DR, among other additional disaster funding. It may be more of a political maneuver by House leadership than a reflection of priorities – the House would have a difficult time passing a larger spending bill without getting bogged down into battles with the Freedom Caucus over finding offsets for the spending. They may still have those debates, but by keeping the bill strictly to the President’s request they may have an easier time with passage. The Senate may (and likely will) then add additional funding to the bill, including additional CDBG-DR funding. The House may vote on the bill tomorrow.

HURRICANE MARIA

FEMA

U.S. Virgin Islands

  • By the Numbers: (as of 10/11)
    • 1,789 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
    • $1,015,053 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
    • $120,017 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
    • $895,037 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
    • $10,510,000 Emergency Work (Categories A-B) dollars obligated**

*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.

**Funds made available to the State via electronic transfer following FEMA’s final review and approval of Public Assistance projects.

Puerto Rico

  • By the Numbers: (as of 10/11)
    • 86,382 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
    • $43,258,815 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
    • $43,208,262 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
    • $37,005,952 Public Assistance Grants (PA) obligated** all of which are for Emergency Work (Categories A-B)

*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.

**Funds made available to the State via electronic transfer following FEMA's final review and approval of Public Assistance projects.

  • $140 Million in Assistance. FEMA approved more than $44 million for assistance to individuals and more than $96 million for emergency work to aid with recovery in Puerto Rico following hurricanes Irma and Maria. FEMA also awarded the nonprofit public corporation Puerto Rico Electric and Power Authority (PREPA) for emergency work.

Local Perspectives

  •  Waived License Fees. Governor Rick Scott of Florida has ordered the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation to waive all fees for Puerto Ricans relocating to Florida and applying for occupational licenses. The waiver would apply to over 50 professional licenses and will last until November 5.

HURRICANE IRMA

FEMA

Florida

  • By the Numbers: (as of 10/11)
    • 682,676 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
    • $737,939,691 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
    • $492,813,204 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
    • $245,126,487 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*

*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.

Georgia

  • By the Numbers: (as of 10/11)
    • 7,982 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
    • $9,680,367 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
    • $6,812,256 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
    • $2,868,111 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*

*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.

U.S. Virgin Islands

  • By the Numbers: (as of 10/11)
    • 2,265 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
    • $1,526,828 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
    • $384,219 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
    • $1,142,608 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
    • $25,056,945 Emergency Work (Categories A-B) dollars obligated**

*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.

**Funds made available to the State via electronic transfer following FEMA’s final review and approval of Public Assistance projects.


HURRICANE HARVEY

FEMA

  • By the Numbers: (as of 10/11)
    • 321,244 Individual Assistance (IA) applications approved*
    • $1,065,882,029 Individual & Household Program (IHP) approved*
    • $815,683,611 Housing Assistance (HA) approved*
    • $250,198,418 Other Needs Assistance (ONA) approved*
    • $327,886,760 Public Assistance Grants (PA) obligated** all of which are for Emergency Work (Categories A-B)

*Assistance dollars approved but not necessarily disbursed.

**Funds made available to the State via electronic transfer following FEMA's final review and approval of Public Assistance projects.

SBA

  • SBA Approved $1 Billion in Loans. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), announced that it has approved more than 11,111 low-interest federal disaster loans amounting to $929 million for residents affected by Hurricane Harvey, and more than 858 loans amounting to $82 million for businesses.

Local Perspectives

  • Adjusted Education Funding Requirements. Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath announced that average daily attendance requirements, which generally play an important role in determining funding, will be adjusted for schools and districts in areas affected by Hurricane Harvey. The Commissioner hopes this prevent the state from penalizing schools that have been disrupted because of the storm.