Lawmakers stunned as disaster funds left out of stopgap bill

The House and Senate passed a government funding extension that left out billions of dollars in requested disaster funding.

The bipartisan continuing resolution passed the House on Wednesday on a 341 -82 vote and passed the Senate on a 78 -18 vote.

FEMA ’s disaster relief fund is staring down a nearly $2 billion deficit at the end of the month , and the agency has been in immediate-needs” mode for weeks .

Congress left out a $10 billion infusion for FEMA that House conservatives had added to their opening bid to extend government funding.

Congress also left out an extension of federal pipeline safety programs, a program to compensate victims of nuclear radiation exposure, which lapsed in June .

The House defeated a CR that included that sum — half of what the White House requested — to help replenish FEMA ’s disaster fund.

Some conservative lawmakers say they prefer to wait until after disasters occur to pass disaster funding.

Most Democrats and emergency management experts say that approach results in communities receiving too little funding.

Maui, for example, still has not received HUD funding to rebuild homes destroyed by the wildfires because Congress has not appropriated it.