Waste of the Day: Disaster Relief Fund in Danger After $104 Billion COVID Spending
This story originally was published by Real Clear Wire
By Adam Andrzejewski
Real Clear Wire
Topline: The Federal Emergency Management Agency greatly underestimated how much money it needed to spend on the COVID-19 pandemic and now might not have enough funds to address future disasters, according to the Government Accountability Office.
Key facts: FEMA predicted in early 2020 that it would spend $17.6 billion on pandemic programs, but officials say that estimate was “blown out of the water” by the actual price tag. FEMA has already spent $103.6 billion on pandemic aid and expects the total to reach $171.6 billion by August 2026. But lawmakers have only provided $97 billion in supplemental funding because Congressional budgets were written based on FEMA’s incorrect estimates.
