Senator Rick Scott: Don't pair FEMA funding to Ukraine's | Opinion

Op-ed pieces reflect the view of the author, not necessarily of The Palm Beach Post Editorial Board.

I’m glad to see the Editorial Board agree (Sept. 6) that Washington needs to stop playing politics and pass a bill that fully funds FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) now – something I discussed personally with President Biden when I met him in Live Oak last weekend. I, along with Senator Marco Rubio, have been fighting to get this done for months – long before Hurricane Idalia devastated the Big Bend as a major Category 3 storm – but it’s even more important now.

However, the Editorial Board is mistaken in its assumption that it would be easier and better if every other member of Congress just passed President Biden’s funding proposal, including the $40 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine he is requesting. Not true at all.

Forget politicking: Fund FEMA disaster relief aid now | Editorial

While the president’s proposal is far from being widely embraced and accepted in Congress, every major provision of our Federal Disaster Responsibility Act has been previously passed by Congress in response to a hurricane. The president’s proposal funds FEMA’s DRF at $16 billion, which is $500 million less than the $16.5 billion that our bill authorizes, and it does not include the other, critically important measures contained in our Federal Disaster Responsibility Act.

After Hurricanes Irma and Michael, Congress gave growers access to block grants to make sure our agriculture industry had the resources needed to recover. Doing this again in our bill by passing the Block Grant Assistance Act would help growers in Florida, Georgia, California and Illinois. The president’s proposal does not include this.

Unlike the president’s proposal, our bill would also pass the Hurricane Tax Relief Act, providing tax cuts for losses suffered in disasters. This would apply across the nation and include relief for taxpayers in New York, Hawaii, California, Illinois, Florida and others. Congress previously extended this tax relief following storms like Hurricanes Irma, Wilma, Dorian, and Michael.

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Finally, unlike the president’s proposal, our Federal Disaster Responsibility Act commits necessary funds and resources to America’s military installations to fully rebuild and recover from hurricane damage.

Funding for Ukraine should NEVER be paired with disaster relief for American families. We need to put American families first and immediately pass the Federal Disaster Responsibility Act.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Rick Scott: Don't make FEMA funding depend on Ukraine aid