Community Corner

Senate Subcommittee Approves $6 Billion for FEMA

Funds will be made available to families and business owners to recover from Hurricane Irene.

Federal funds have been appropriated to assist victims of Hurricane Irene.

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security approved $6 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) disaster relief efforts as a result of Hurricane Irene. The funds were appropriated through the Homeland Security Appropriations bill.

“Last week as communities across New Jersey were devastated by flooding from Hurricane Irene, I vowed to secure emergency relief for our state,” Senator Frank Lautenberg (D) said in a statement released today. “This is just the first infusion of funding for FEMA.”

Find out what's happening in Waynewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Lautenberg is vice chairman of the subcommittee.

The $6 billion was secured without having to take funds away from "other important programs," the release stated.

Find out what's happening in Waynewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Funds will be made available to families and business owners. The bill will next be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee Wednesday.

President Barack Obama met with residents in flood-ravaged areas of Paterson and Wayne during  of the state with Governor Chris Christie and other local and state officials Sunday afternoon. Christie announced shortly after Obama’s departure that individuals and businesses in New Jersey’s 21 counties are eligible to receive federal relief assistance.

“I will continue fighting to secure whatever is needed to fully respond to disaster in New Jersey and across our country,” Lautenberg said in the release.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D) echoed Lautenberg’s comments earlier in the week after touring flooded areas of North Jersey with Lautenberg in a helicopter.

“We cannot accept that FEMA will not have the resources to respond to our citizens in New Jersey and any other place on the East Coast,” Menendez said. “We need FEMA to be robustly funded.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here