1. What exactly are Tennessee and the other states asking for?
A: Cameron Sexton, the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, sent the letter along with the state speakers from SC, NC, FL, AL and GA to congressional leaders asking for help specifically for the agricultural industries in those states.
They said Hurricane Helene could not have made landfall at a worse time for the agriculture industry. Farmers across the states had already begun Fall harvest and no commodity was spared.
They asked Congress for a block grant for agriculture disaster assistance, as well as supplemental disaster assistance to help communities rebuild.
They asked for Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery from HUD for restoration of infrastructure, housing and economic development.
They also asked for additional funds for infrastructure rebuilding — roads and bridges that were destroyed need money from the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief Program.
They didn’t ask for specific amounts but presumably could be tens or hundreds of millions.
2. How much funding has Tennessee gotten so far and can these agencies afford it, especially given that FEMA is expected to run out of money before hurricane season ends?
President Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Tennessee after Helene, and so in Tennessee, FEMA has approved over $14.7 million in housing and other types of assistance for over 4,100 households as of a week ago.
US Department of Labor approved $5M in initial funding to support disaster recovery jobs, training for Tennessee residents after Helene, so that’s at least a combined $52 million across the state.
FEMA falls under the Dept of Homeland Security, whose head Alejandro Mayorkas said FEMA doesn’t have enough funding to last through hurricane season but FEMA officials have said they have enough money for these hurricanes.
Like all agencies, Congress funds FEMA, and any additional funding will need to be passed by Congress. They’re busy campaigning until the election is over and will return to Washington DC after Veterans Day.