Vice President Kamala Harris announced new natural disaster relief policies while visiting Augusta, Georgia, which was devastated by Hurricane Helene, a storm that has killed more than 150 people.
“I’m here today to thank all of those who are working to get folks to support and the relief that they so desperately need,” Harris said Wednesday afternoon before announcing a new policy from President Joe Biden related to recovery efforts.
“Today, I’m also announcing that the president has approved the governor’s request for 100% federal reimbursement of local costs,” Harris continued, referring to Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) as she spoke in the Meadowbrook neighborhood of Augusta.
“Also, we will be covering the local government costs for food, water, and shelter,” Harris added.
Hours earlier, Biden took an aerial tour of Greenville, South Carolina, before he visited Raleigh, North Carolina, to be briefed at the emergency operations center.
But notably, it was Harris, not Biden, the sitting president, who announced the new relief measures despite their coordinated efforts, likely as an effort to boost her leadership credentials to voters as she seeks the presidency.
“The president and I have been paying close attention from the beginning to what we need to do to make sure the federal resources hit the ground as quickly as possible,” Harris said. “And that includes what was necessary to make sure that we provided direct federal assistance and that work has been happening.”
The vice president also touted the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s $750 in benefits to help people affected to purchase immediate needs such as food, baby formula, and other necessities.
“FEMA is also providing tens of 1000s more dollars for folks to help them be able to deal with home repair, to be able to cover a deductible when and if they have insurance, and also hotel costs,” Harris continued.
Sen. Jon Osoff (D-GA) and Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson accompanied Harris as she met with local and state leaders in the city just two days after former President Donald Trump visited Valdosta, Georgia, where he accused the Biden-Harris ticket of not adequately helping the Peach State in the aftermath of Helene.
However, both Kemp and Biden pushed back against those accusations, with the two leaders speaking Sunday via phone.
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Harris also cautioned that the days ahead would require some patience after the devastation.
“There’s a lot of work that’s going to need to happen over the coming days, weeks, and months,” she said. “And the coordination that we have dedicated ourselves to will be long-lasting to get families, to get residents, to get neighborhoods back up and running.”