Sen. Peter Welch is concerned that special FEMA flood relief money for Vermont could be held up by a larger budget battle in Congress.
The Biden Administration has proposed giving FEMA an extra $16 billion to help recovery efforts in Vermont, Hawaii, Florida and Louisiana.
But a group of Congressional Republicans called the House Freedom Caucus are demanding that any supplemental budget bill also include new policies to curb immigration on the Mexican border and limit the power of the Justice Department.
Today the House Freedom Caucus took an official position on a continuing resolution to fund the government if the appropriations process is not complete by September 30th: pic.twitter.com/j6KRTLPUBq
— House Freedom Caucus (@freedomcaucus) August 21, 2023
Welch thinks this could lead to a government shutdown at the end of the month.
"You know we've had a tradition for the most part that when a community or a state is the victim of a natural disaster, that we all come together and provide aid, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat," Welch said. "There's a new element here, and that's this narrow group of folks in the House who are willing to shut the government down — and are threatening to do it, and appear to be intent on doing it — that would be catastrophic for us who need FEMA relief."
The supplemental budget bill also includes $20 million in additional military help for Ukraine, according to NPR, which the House Freedom Caucus opposes.
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