Hawaii lawmakers say Congress should replenish disaster relief fund to help Maui
Hawaii's congressional representatives say the nation’s disaster relief fund needs to be replenished so the U.S. government can continue to help survivors of Maui’s deadly wildfires and other disasters around the country
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii's congressional representatives on Wednesday said the nation’s disaster relief fund needs to be replenished so the U.S. government can continue to help survivors of Maui’s deadly wildfires and other disasters around the country.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Ed Case called on Congress to appropriate $20.9 billion to the fund. Case, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, said he hopes Congress will allocate the funding by the Sept. 30 end of the current fiscal year.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency uses the fund to help communities after hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters. Congress most recently added to the disaster relief fund when it appropriated $16 billion last September.
“We’ve had a lot of disasters, not just Maui — across the country. We’ve had a lot of draws on that," Case said at a field hearing of a House congressional oversight and accountability subcommittee.
