The federal agency is also providing 60,000 wool and cotton blankets, 225,000 meals, and other supplies after they were requested by Abbott, she said. “There’s a great deal of familiarity among the people involved in needing to work these issues now because they’ve been working together quite a while on Covid response,” Homeland Security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall told reporters on Thursday, adding that existing coordination has been helpful during this natural disaster.Īs of Thursday, Sherwood-Randall said, FEMA had provided 60 power generators and additional fuel support to facilities like hospitals, nursing homes, and water treatment plants. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, one White House official noted that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, FEMA teams have already been embedded with state emergency officials in Texas and other states. Pelosi said she expects the House to vote on that bill by the end of next week. Even before the Texas disaster struck, House Democrats had put $50 billion for FEMA in their latest Covid-19 relief bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters on Thursday. ![]() There’s also the question of whether Congress will pass additional disaster relief money. It also unlocks hazard mitigation assistance, getting additional funding to states, municipalities, and nonprofits working to save the lives and property of impacted residents. It authorizes assistance both to individuals impacted, and to state and local governments for emergency work and repairing damaged facilities. The president signing a major emergency declaration expands the type of assistance the federal government can provide to states suffering through the effects of a natural disaster. “When the president lands in a city in America, it has a long tail.” What the federal government can do to help Texas, briefly explainedĪ federal emergency declaration is helpful to states, but the total amount of federal assistance it brings is capped at $5 million. “I don’t want to be a burden,” Biden said, noting that a president traveling to any state means a lot of extra security planning and work for state and local officials. Biden administration officials said they quickly approved Abbott’s and other governors’ requests for federal emergency declarations in their states, which allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to get federal assistance to impacted residents.īiden has also said he plans to visit Texas next week. Greg Abbott on Thursday night, but his administration has been in touch with Texas officials and governors of surrounding states also impacted by the winter storm since last week. “There’s no red or blue.”īiden spoke to Texas Gov. ![]() “As I said when I ran, I’m going to be a president for all America - all,” Biden told reporters on Friday. ![]() President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Texas, which has been devastated by the combination of a massive winter storm and an unprepared state electrical grid that caused widespread power outages for millions across the state, on Saturday.
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