Senators Reverend Warnock, Ossoff Lead Colleagues in Bipartisan Push Urging Senate Leaders to Immediately Hold Vote on Hurricane Helene Disaster Assistance

Senator Reverend Warnock has led several efforts to provide resources and funding in the weeks since Helene's destruction

In recent remarks from the Senate floor, Senator Reverend Warnock called on his colleagues to immediately approve these additional federal investments for disaster assistance to get working families the support they need to continue recovering from Hurricane Helene

Senator Reverend Warnock, lawmakers: "Our constituents need immediate help as they work to rebuild their homes and communities. We have delayed too long already"

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) are calling on Senate leadership to hold a vote on the disaster assistance funding request submitted by the White House to help farmers and families across Georgia and the South impacted by Hurricane Helene. Senators Warnock and Ossoff were joined in the bipartisan effort by U.S. Senators Ted Budd (R-NC), Mark Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Thom Tillis (R-NC). The senators are requesting that Congress act immediately to provide for those in need, specifically calling for a vote in the first week of December.

"Private businesses, non-profits, and regular citizens across the Southeast immediately got to work saving their neighbors and rebuilding their communities. Local, state, and federal partners also stepped up and answered the call to help. Now, it is Congress's turn to respond decisively by providing impacted areas and states with the resources they need to fully recover," said the senators.

"Our constituents need immediate help as they work to rebuild their homes and communities. We have delayed too long already. We therefore request that Congress act immediately to provide for those in need. We stand ready to pass a supplemental disaster relief bill the first week of December," the lawmakers concluded.

Senator Warnock has been on the front lines of Georgia's Hurricane Helene response efforts from the beginning and has pushed to deliver additional disaster assistance to Georgians, particularly Georgia's hard-hit agricultural communities:

• Prior to Hurricane Helene, the Senator had long been pushing to secure additional federal disaster assistance to help Georgia's farmers following devastation caused by Hurricane Idalia in 2023 and Hurricane Debby in August 2024;

• Following Hurricane Helene's landfall in October 2024, Senator Warnock led the bipartisan call in the Senate for Congress to return to Washington from the October recess and urgently pass additional disaster relief;

• The Senator led the bipartisan Senate push that successfully led the White House to submit its supplemental disaster assistance request to Congress;

• Lastly, to date Senator Warnock has helped secure over $238 million in individual and household assistance to Georgians from FEMA, and he has hosted three outreach clinics in rural communities to help connect roughly 200 Georgians with federal assistance following Hurricane Helene.

The letter text can be found HERE and is below.

"As Senators representing states that were devastated by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, we urge you to swiftly respond to the Biden Administration's supplemental funding request. The Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) request for $98 billion in supplemental disaster appropriations is an important first step toward securing the assistance our communities need. We are encouraged that the Senate Committee on Appropriations held a hearing with key federal agencies on November 20th to review disaster funding needs. The message was clear: disaster relief cannot wait any longer. We urge you to bring a robust supplemental appropriations bill to the floor the first week of December.

"Private businesses, non-profits, and regular citizens across the Southeast immediately got to work saving their neighbors and rebuilding their communities. Local, state, and federal partners also stepped up and answered the call to help. Now, it is Congress's turn to respond decisively by providing impacted areas and states with the resources they need to fully recover.

"Across the Southeastern United States, Hurricane Helene is estimated to have caused $250 billion in damages, and Hurricane Milton is expected to have caused $50 billion in damages. Tragically, approximately 261 people lost their lives as a result of both hurricanes. Major urban centers, such as Asheville, North Carolina, only received steady access to potable drinking water on November 18th, and major thoroughfares of commerce like Interstate 40 remain impassible and have sustained significant damage.

"Our constituents need immediate help as they work to rebuild their homes and communities. We have delayed too long already. We therefore request that Congress act immediately to provide for those in need. We stand ready to pass a supplemental disaster relief bill the first week of December."

###