ICYMI: Congresswoman Wilson Demands Speaker Johnson Bring Back Congress to Pass Hurricane Relief and Price-Gouging Legislation

Miami, Fla.- In the wake of Hurricane Milton, Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24) recently joined Congressional colleagues to demand Speaker Johnson bring back Congress to pass Hurricane Disaster Relief funds and call for a federal price gouging ban.

On Wednesday, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (FL-24) joined 63 of her congressional colleagues, including Congresswoman Jared Moskowitz (FL-23), Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), Congressman Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Congressman Darren Soto (FL-09), on a letter to ask Speaker Mike Johnson to "bring the US House of Representatives back into session to approve the necessary funding that will empower FEMA and the SBA to fulfill their disaster relief missions."

This letter came "amidst a season marked by unprecedented natural disasters and increasingly severe weather events that have left communities across our nation in dire need of additional and comprehensive disaster relief funding," including Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene.

For the link to the full letter, click here.

The House of Representatives recently passed a short-gap funding bill to keep the government open until December, but it failed to provide additional funds to FEMA and the SBA for supplemental disaster relief. MAGA Republicans denied those additional funds despite Democrats' calls for a comprehensive emergency supplemental.

Additionally, on Tuesday, in a joint statement with the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (WA-7), along with Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (FL-24), Congressman Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Congressman Darren Soto (FL-09), and Congresswoman Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20), addressed recent reports of airline and hotel price-gouging as Florida residents evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton:

"Right now, Floridians are preparing for what could become one of the state's worst storms in a century. Authorities are telling families in the Tampa area that they will die if they don't leave their homes. But instead of making it easier for people to evacuate, airlines and hotels are exploiting a horrific situation to charge astronomical fares only the rich can afford-from over $600 for a single night in a Hampton Inn to over $1,000 for flights that usually cost around $100. Exploiting vulnerable people fleeing a deadly storm for higher profits is a new low.

"In North Carolina and Georgia, while families try to recover and rebuild from the devastating impacts of Helene, there have been hundreds of similar incidents of bad actors price-gouging residents on everything from groceries to gas to hotel rooms. This egregious price-gouging hampers evacuations and undermines recovery efforts, while putting vulnerable residents in serious jeopardy.

"We applaud Secretary Pete Buttigieg for taking these allegations seriously. In the coming days and weeks, we will need a whole-of-government focus on protecting the people impacted by these disasters from predatory price-gouging.

"Further action is still needed from the federal government to stop the corporate exploitation that impacts all areas of American life, whether at the grocery store or gas station. We need a federal ban on price gouging, more stringent antitrust laws and enforcement, and for Congress to reassert its role and governing power in this space-something CPC is deeply committed to and actively engaged in."

Congresswoman Wilson has and continues to communicate with FEMA to receive updates on Hurricane Milton. Congresswoman Wilson previously introduced the Homeowner's Defense Act, which would provide homeowners in low-income communities with grants and resources to prepare for natural disasters and help ensure insurance companies pay claims arising from storms.

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