"Hawaii needs funding after volcanic eruptions sprayed lava on homes, bridges and roads. Thousands of farmers in Georgia and Florida were wiped out last year by Hurricane Michael, one of the strongest hurricanes to ever make landfall in the United States.
In March, Nebraska and Iowa suffered among the worst floods in their history. California is trying to rebuild after last year’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire in its history. And Puerto Rico is still looking for emergency reconstruction money after Hurricane Maria killed thousands in 2017.
U.S. senators are fighting over the details of an approximately $13 billion disaster aid package to help these states and Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. But congressional feuding over disaster aid is unlikely to stop even after the current impasse is resolved. In a typical year, taxpayer spending on the federal disaster relief fund is almost 10 times higher than it was three decades ago, even after adjusting for inflation, according to a Washington Post analysis of federal data."
Jeff Stein and Andrew Van Dam report for the Washington Post April 22, 2019.
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