Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the Biden administration denied the state's request for funds aimed at repairing homes damaged in the wake of Hurricane Ian.
On Monday, DeSantis said FEMA refused to grant $25 million in emergency relief for hurricane recovery that was being sought by the governor's administration for "impacted residents and verified volunteers with materials to conduct temporary and permanent repairs on their damaged homes."
"Unfortunately, we got word last week that FEMA had denied our request for funding our state-led housing initiatives, citing their quote 'limited authority,'" the governor said at a press conference. "But we're not just gonna sit there and take no for an answer. We wanna cut through bureaucracy. We wanna bring relief to impacted Floridians regardless of whether FEMA wants to be a part of that."
DeSantis announced that the state will give millions in state funds to help carry out the housing program, which he said 1,500 people have already applied to over the last two weeks. The money will go to purchasing building materials as well as resources "needed to get a home into a condition that will allow a displaced resident to return safely while they complete permanent repairs on their home."
In a statement shared with Newsweek, FEMA said it has limited authority to approve funding for this type of work and that the agency was "unable to confirm if their approach would actually achieve the outcomes of an emergency shelter mission."
FEMA spokesperson Jeremy Edwards added that in the administration's view, the House-led initiative is neither timely nor tailored to specific needs, and that the agency's power is "limited to emergency measures needed to protect life and public safety."
Since Hurricane Ian made landfall, Edwards said FEMA has provided nearly $400 million directly to the state and has put over $792 million "into the hands of survivors to help them with things like permanent home repairs."
As of last week, FEMA has provided more than $2.97 billion in federal grants, disaster loans and flood insurance payments to Florida for Hurricane Ian recovery. The federal agency has also extended the period of applications for survivors through to the new year.
According to a November 28 FEMA press release, there are 33 Disaster Recovery Centers open across the state and Transitional Sheltering Assistance is being provided to survivors in 26 counties, with the latter providing housing for 1,807 households with 4, 430 members.
Additionally, President Biden's Small Business Administration has provided $1 billion in disaster loans and the National Flood Insurance Program has paid $793 million in claims.
On Monday, DeSantis said that the state would also provide up to $35.2 million to continue supporting unmet needs through Florida's disaster fund, which Florida first lady Casey DeSantis established ahead of Hurricane Ian's landfall.
"This is where you really break through the bureaucracy and you maximize the dollars that are coming in," the first lady of Florida said, adding, "It's not a government go at it alone, but it's really everybody uniting for the benefit of everybody here who are affected by the hurricane."
Update: 12/05/22 3:40 p.m. ET This story was updated with comment from FEMA.
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Katherine Fung is a Newsweek reporter based in New York City. Her focus is reporting on U.S. and world politics. ... Read more
