Kaine Joins Bipartisan Group to Urge White House to Send Disaster Funding Request to Congress Immediately

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) joined a bipartisan, bicameral group of colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) send an immediate supplemental appropriation request to Congress to support communities that were devastated after Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

"Across the Southeastern United States, Hurricane Helene is estimated to have caused $250 billion in damages and Hurricane Milton is expected to have caused $50 billion in damages. Tragically, approximately 261 people lost their lives as a result of both hurricanes," said the lawmakers. "We stand ready to work with you and our Congressional colleagues to pass significant disaster relief so that the road to long term recovery can begin. Our constituents do not have the luxury of waiting any longer. They need help now."

The letter was cosigned by U.S. Senators Mark R Warner (D-VA), Ted Budd (R-NC), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and U.S. Representatives Morgan Griffith (R-VA-09), Chuck Edwards (R-NC-11), Richard Hudson (R-NC-09), Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10), Greg Murphy (R-NC-03), David Rouzer (R-NC-03), and Buddy Carter (R-GA-01).

Kaine has been vocal regarding the need for federal resources to support Virginia's recovery. Immediately following the hurricane, Kaine urged President Biden to declare both an Emergency Declaration and an Expedited Major Disaster Declaration for Virginia, which opened various avenues for financial and physical assistance to help the region recover. The senator also joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers in calling for a bipartisan appropriations package to meet the needs of Virginians and the millions of Americans affected by Hurricane Helene. As the full impact of Helene was made clear, Kaine urged the White House to submit a detailed supplemental government funding request that would fully cover the costs associated with the clean-up and recovery from Hurricane Helene and Milton.

Virginians and businesses in the Commonwealth that are in need of hurricane relief assistance, including financial or in-person support, can find resources here.

Full text of the letter is available here and below.

Dear President Biden,

We write to request that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) immediately send a supplemental appropriation request to Congress to support the communities we represent, which were devastated after Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Hurricane Helene made landfall on September 26, 2024, followed by Hurricane Milton on October 9, 2024. Both storms devastated our states, leaving hundreds dead and causing billions of dollars of damage. Across the Southeastern United States, Hurricane Helene is estimated to have caused $250 billion in damages and Hurricane Milton is expected to have caused $50 billion in damages. Tragically, approximately 261 people lost their lives as a result of both hurricanes.

OMB plays an important role in consolidating the needs of various states and affected federal agencies in declared disaster zones. In past disasters, OMB worked quickly to assemble and transmit the administration's disaster supplemental request. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall on August 25 and OMB sent a supplemental request to Congress only one week later on September 1.4 Again in 2017, Hurricane Irma made landfall on September 6th and OMB sent a supplemental request to Congress less than a month later on October 4. Now, seven weeks have passed since the first of these hurricanes made landfall and OMB still has not transmitted a request to Congress.

We stand ready to work with you and our Congressional colleagues to pass significant disaster relief so that the road to long term recovery can begin. Our constituents do not have the luxury of waiting any longer. They need help now.

Sincerely,

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