Funding Disaster Relief

Floor Speech

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Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. Speaker, western North Carolina is still recovering from Hurricane Helene. Families are rebuilding homes; small businesses are getting back on their feet; and communities are working every day to repair critical infrastructure.

Now, Mr. Speaker, because some Members of Congress have chosen to protect their political interests over serving the folks of America, including those in western North Carolina, the Disaster Recovery Fund is about to run out of money, putting our recovery in serious jeopardy.

This fund supports debris removal, infrastructure repair, and emergency response already underway. Once it is depleted, Federal recovery operations will come to a halt, stopping reimbursements, delaying projects, and leaving local governments to shoulder costs that they cannot afford.

We cannot allow Washington to continue this dysfunction and derail disaster recovery or let the Disaster Relief Fund run dry.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to act immediately, end the political games, reopen the Department of Homeland Security operations, and fully replenish the Disaster Relief Fund so that western North Carolina can continue rebuilding without interruption.

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