WASHINGTON (WCAX) – With just two weeks left before the legislative break, leaders in Washington are debating over giving FEMA upwards of $98 billion in emergency funding to help cover the costs of recent natural disasters, including flooding in Vermont.
Senator Peter Welch took to the Senate floor Wednesday urging his colleagues to pass the disaster aid package before the session ends. He says Congress hasn’t passed comprehensive disaster aid since 2022 and detailed why they need to act now.
“The longer we wait to help disaster victims, the more disaster victims we will have. The list of needs will only grow. Delay hurts, it doesn’t help. That’s why I am asking my colleagues in the Senate and the House to act now and act quickly. For Vermont, and for every state hit by a disaster since we last passed a disaster bill so many storms ago…We cannot wait. We have common ground in our common crisis. We must send a disaster bill to President Biden’s desk,” Welch said.
Welch is also pushing for a new farm bill which is now months overdue. He says without action, farmers would be forced away from bigger projects and that food shelves are already feeling the pinch of reduced SNAP benefits
The Senate plans to adjourn on December 20th.