Schatz calls on Congress to pass long-term disaster relief funding for Maui, other impacted communities nationwide

US Sen, Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) called on Congress to pass long-term disaster relief funding for impacted communities across the country, including on Maui and Vermont. Speaking on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Schatz underscored the need to pass funding for the Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program in order to provide survivors with flexible assistance to rebuild their homes, small businesses, and communities over the long-term. 

“Disaster survivors are running out of time. They’re running out of money. And they’re running out of patience,” said Schatz. “These people have been to hell and back, enduring the worst horrors of mother nature. Wildfires, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes. They’ve lost loved ones. They’ve lost their homes. They’ve lost their livelihoods. And after all of that, after having their lives totally upended overnight, they’ve been stuck in limbo… for months or even years… waiting for help to arrive.”

Schatz has led efforts to deliver federal disaster relief funding to Hawai‘i and states across the country. Schatz worked with congressional leaders and bipartisan colleagues to include $16 billion in disaster relief money as part of a short-term spending bill that was signed into law in last September.

Schatz continued, “CDBG-DR serves a simple but essential purpose: it provides survivors with the funding and flexibility to rebuild their homes, small businesses, and communities over the long-term. For over 30 years and in practically every state in the country, the program been a lifeline for people trying to get back on their feet. Yet it’s been a year-and-a-half since Congress last funded CDBG-DR. And in that time, disasters have piled up in every part of the country. Unfortunately, we know more are coming, especially with hurricane season around the corner. And so for Lāhainā and dozens of other communities nationwide, this funding can’t come sooner.”

The full text of Schatz’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, can be found below.

“Disaster survivors are running out of time. They’re running out of money. And they’re running out of patience. These people have been to hell and back, enduring the worst horrors of mother nature. Wildfires, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes. They’ve lost loved ones. They’ve lost their homes. They’ve lost their livelihoods. And after all of that, after having their lives totally upended overnight, they’ve been stuck in limbo, for months or even years, waiting for help to arrive.

It hasn’t always been this way. Over the years, Congress – on a bipartisan basis – has consistently stepped up to help hundreds of communities decimated by disasters. No matter the political hue of the state, or the size of the town, or the price tag of the cleanup. Why? Because we’ve recognized – correctly –  that disasters don’t discriminate. And that helping communities recover is one of our most fundamental responsibilities. What is the federal government for if not to help our fellow Americans in their hour of need? What are we doing here if we can’t agree that disaster relief is urgent and important and necessary for the wellbeing of our country?

It’s unacceptable to keep survivors waiting. Congress has to act. We need to pass disaster relief funding with the urgency it demands and get survivors the assistance they need to recover fully.

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9 months ago, today, fires, fueled by 70 mile-an-hour winds, stormed the town of Lāhainā on West Maui, incinerating everything in their path and leaving behind little more than ash, rubble and smoke. 101 people died, 2,200 structures were levelled, and almost 12,000 people were immediately displaced. Just about everyone in that tight-knit community lost someone or something that day.

A few weeks after the fires, when President Biden came to Lāhainā, he promised the survivors that his administration and the federal government would be there to help as they recovered. Not just in those early weeks and months, but throughout…for as long as it took. 9 months later, clean-up still ongoing. Not a single home has been rebuilt. And the infrastructure that was destroyed – the harbor, the roads, the water and sewer systems – all of it has yet to be restored. 

The recovery was never going to be quick. The damage was so vast…the destruction so total…that bringing Lāhainā back to anything close to normal was always going to be a years-long endeavor. And that’s the case for so many communities across the country that’ve been devastated by disasters. When the president declares a disaster in a community, it means a very specific thing. It means that the community’s recovery needs are so great that the state and local governments can’t handle them alone. So the federal government must step in and help.

Which is why almost 7 months ago, the president submitted a supplemental funding request to Congress, which included funding for disaster relief, and specifically, for the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery – or CDBG-DR – program. CDBG-DR serves a simple but essential purpose: it provides survivors with the funding and flexibility to rebuild their homes, small businesses, and communities over the long-term. For over 30 years and in practically every state in the country, the program been a lifeline for people trying to get back on their feet.

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Yet it’s been a year-and-a-half since Congress last funded CDBG-DR. And in that time, disasters have piled up in every part of the country. Unfortunately, we know more are coming, especially with hurricane season around the corner. And so for Lāhainā and dozens of other communities nationwide, this funding is urgent.

Rebuilding after a disaster – as a community, but also as a family or an individual – is among the hardest things people will ever go through. One moment you’re going about your day – going to work, dropping your kids off at school, making dinner for your family. And the next thing you know, you’re living out of a hotel, not knowing where your next paycheck will come from, or when you’ll have a permanent place to call home again. The ordeal of recovery is hard, it’s long, it’s confusing, it’s painful, it’s expensive. And understandably, survivors look to the government for assistance.

They’ve waited a long time – but time is running out and money has run dry. Congress must act and pass disaster aid as soon as possible. We’ve done full-year appropriations. We’ve done funding for our allies and partners around the world. Now it’s time to stand with our fellow Americans – survivors who’ve lost everything and are asking for help.”