Schatz calls on Congress to pass long-term disaster relief funding for Maui, other impacted communities nationwide
US Sen, Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) called on Congress to pass long-term disaster relief funding for impacted communities across the country, including on Maui and Vermont. Speaking on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Schatz underscored the need to pass funding for the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program in order to provide survivors with flexible assistance to rebuild their homes, small businesses, and communities over the long-term.
“Disaster survivors are running out of time. They’re running out of money. And they’re running out of patience,” said Schatz. “These people have been to hell and back, enduring the worst horrors of mother nature. Wildfires, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes. They’ve lost loved ones. They’ve lost their homes. They’ve lost their livelihoods. And after all of that, after having their lives totally upended overnight, they’ve been stuck in limbo… for months or even years… waiting for help to arrive.”
Schatz has led efforts to deliver federal disaster relief funding to Hawai‘i and states across the country. Schatz worked with congressional leaders and bipartisan colleagues to include $16 billion in disaster relief money as part of a short-term spending bill that was signed into law in last September.
Schatz continued, “CDBG-DR serves a simple but essential purpose: it provides survivors with the funding and flexibility to rebuild their homes, small businesses, and communities over the long-term. For over 30 years and in practically every state in the country, the program been a lifeline for people trying to get back on their feet. Yet it’s been a year-and-a-half since Congress last funded CDBG-DR. And in that time, disasters have piled up in every part of the country. Unfortunately, we know more are coming, especially with hurricane season around the corner. And so for Lahaina and dozens of other communities nationwide, this funding can’t come sooner.”
