Disaster aid from Washington, DC to flood-ravaged Texas may be a long way away as lawmakers look for the Lone Star State to take the lead on the response effort.
Capitol Hill has had a packed few weeks as Republicans worked to pass President Donald Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful bill,’ followed shortly after by the passage of a rescissions bill late Thursday night that cuts $9 billion in funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid, leaving little time to talk about a possible disaster aid relief package.
GOP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that Trump approved federal disaster assistance on July 6 for the fatal flooding that occurred in Kerr County on July 4. The Major Disaster Declaration allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist with temporary housing, emergency work, disaster legal services, and more.
Abbott had originally announced a special session last month to begin Monday, July 21, after vetoing 26 bills. The session will now include multiple agenda items relating to the flood, including legislation for preparedness, strengthening communication and flood infrastructure, and improving flood warning systems.
The Texas governor has not requested federal funding from Washington, which Congress must approve.
Other states have also suffered natural disasters over the last year, such as Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and the wildfires in California, which could be included in any possible disaster relief package. However, many members remain focused on Texas’s short-term recovery.
“The number one thing we need to be doing right now is praying for the area and for the victims and doing everything we can immediately, we’ll look at long term solutions, to see what we can do to ensure that something like this hopefully doesn’t happen again,” Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) told the Washington Examiner.
He said, “it’s a little early to tell” how much aid will be needed, but “it’s something that we’re going to be looking into.”
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said on Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream that the state is still trying to do rescue and recovery, but it will handle supplemental funding requests as they come in. Johnson and Abbott’s offices did not respond to the Washington Examiner if any supplemental requests had been made.
“In a moment like this, we feel just as helpless as everyone else does,” Johnson said. “It touches so many families, and all we know to do at this moment is pray. Every available resource has been deployed.”
Members are saying the state needs time to react before Congress steps in.
“Well, first of all, the states have to react,” Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX) told the Washington Examiner. “In Texas, we did a phenomenal job. Governor Abbott was fantastic. We didn’t wait for any government help or whatever. He went in and did it.”
As Texas has begun its long road to recovery, the death toll in Kerr County has risen to 116 people and 135 from the July Fourth flooding. The governor had previously said there were still more than 100 missing, but he did not give an update at his Thursday press conference.
Trump visited Kerr County to see the devastation and meet with community members. He was joined by many GOP members of the Texas delegation.
Some North Carolina Members say aid needs to be provided now for the damage caused by Hurricane Helene last September.
“It needs to happen this year,” Rep. Greg Murphy (R-NC) told the Washington Examiner. “We don’t need to delay it any further, but we also need to know what the needs are. You just can’t go in and throw money at things. We need to know what the needs are and who can implement them the most efficiently.”
Democrats remain eager for any disaster relief packages that may arise, but hold little power as the GOP holds a trifecta in Washington.
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA), who represents Virginia but grew up in Texas, told the Washington Examiner he is willing to work bipartisanly to pass any disaster aid package.
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“I support disaster aid for all states, and I want to make sure the states actually use it,” Subramanyam said. “We’ve given Texas money under the Biden administration to do more preparedness, and they did not spend the money wisely. But certainly I’m going to continue to have the backs of every American.”
“We’re the richest country in the world, and we should be taking care of people when they’re victims of a disaster, so I think it’s a no-brainer, and I’ll vote for any disaster package,” he said.
Mackenzie Thomas and Ally Goelz contributed to this report.