Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., told Newsmax on Monday that Hawaii needs a direct aid package for disaster relief in the wake of the recent deadly wildfires – not more runaway government spending.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden submitted a $40.1 billion emergency spending request to Congress, which included $24.1 billion for Ukraine and $12 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA), which is reportedly grappling with a funding shortage for its disaster relief program.
"That's what this is, is tying more runaway spending," Bean said of the aid package during an appearance on Newsmax's "The Chris Salcedo Show." "We need a direct package for a Hawaii Relief Act, and that's something that, hopefully, leaders of Congress, of the Appropriations Committee, can make that happen."
In a July 13 hearing, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology that the agency's disaster relief fund will be depleted by mid-to-late August.
With the devastating wildfires on Hawaii and the U.S. entering the heart of hurricane season, a lack of disaster relief funds could prove crippling.
The Florida congressman declined to say definitively whether the GOP would vote for an emergency spending request that tied Hawaii disaster relief to funding for Ukraine.
"It's possible and it depends on the big scheme of how it all goes down," he said. "I want to let your viewers know if Biden was a no comment, where did he no comment from? On the beach. He spent this morning on the beach while our nation grapples with not only these disasters, but just trying to put the pieces together."
Biden reportedly refused to comment on the wildfire disaster in Hawaii after spending several hours on Sunday relaxing on a beach in Delaware during his vacation.
As he left the beach, the president was asked for his response to the fires, which have killed 96 people and displaced hundreds more.
"No comment," he replied.
Monica Crowley, Treasury Department assistant secretary for public affairs during the Trump administration, posted on the social media platform X, in part, that Biden "doesn't care about the suffering people of Maui. Or the suffering people of East Palestine, Ohio [from the toxic spill unleashed by a train derailment there earlier this year]."
Bean said that the people of East Palestine are "still trying to put their pieces back together" and stressed that tying Hawaii aid to Ukraine funding is just another instance of runaway spending in Washington, D.C.
"What the American people are tired of, in addition to the two-tiered justice system, they're also tired of runaway government spending," he said. "So, while our heart is with the people of Hawaii, while we all want to give them what they need to recover and go right away to start rebuilding, they're tired of just runaway spending."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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