In an unusual turn of events, a member of the staunchly conservative House Freedom Caucus found herself in conversation with the Democratic President, a testament to the unifying power of national emergencies.
According to Fox News, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican from Florida, was taken aback when an unexpected call from an unknown government number based in Washington, D.C., turned out to be President Biden. "Well, I did not expect that. So I talked to him on the phone for about 10 minutes. First thing that he asked me was, what did I need for my constituents, and how did I fare with the storm. And then [we] moved forward into talking about the issues that we're having with FEMA," Luna shared.
The freshman Republican, whose district was severely impacted by Hurricane Milton, also had a face-to-face meeting with Biden when he visited Florida to assess the storm damage. Luna stated that they had an "extensive" discussion on a range of disaster aid reforms.
While it's not unheard of for political adversaries to collaborate in the aftermath of natural disasters, Luna's commendation of Biden starkly contrasts her previous vehement criticisms of his administration. Luna has been at the forefront of efforts to hold members of Biden's Cabinet in inherent contempt of Congress. "I have obviously been very critical of President Biden in the past, but I will say that him stepping in and taking control of the situation to assist for the right reasons was very honestly kind of shocking for me," Luna admitted.
She further added, "Obviously, you know, we're still going to be holding FEMA accountable... But as far as I am seeing, FEMA has been very helpful, and I've been in direct communication with them. And they're absolutely going to assist, because President Biden has told them to do so."
During their in-person meeting, Luna and Biden discussed the aftermath of the devastation in Georgia and North Carolina caused by Hurricane Helene, as well as Florida's recovery from both storms. Luna emphasized the need for FEMA to expedite debris clearance and not penalize cities for any delays. "The one thing that I really wanted to hammer home was obviously, you know, FEMA getting debris cleared and really not holding the cities accountable for not being able to move debris in time," Luna said. "So we sorted that out."
Luna also advocated for a revamp of the National Flood Insurance Program, which she believes has remained largely static since its inception in the 1960s. Luna stated that Biden concurred with her view that FEMAs $750 upfront payment to disaster survivors was insufficient. "He said it was a bunch of malarkey, which is 100% true, and that $750 was not enough," Luna said.
Luna's balanced assessment of the federal relief efforts stands out amidst a deluge of GOP-led criticism of the administrations response. It's noteworthy that Biden also received commendation from the Republican governors of South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia following the storms.
At the federal level, Luna joins a bipartisan group of lawmakers urging Congress to reconvene for an emergency session to address disaster relief, a sentiment echoed by Biden. However, Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, has repeatedly indicated his reluctance to call the House back into session before their scheduled return post-Election Day.
Johnson, a critic of the Biden administrations response, argued that the $20 billion that Congress allocated for FEMA last month should suffice for immediate needs. He believes that lawmakers can do little until a formal damage assessment and cost estimate is provided. Rep. Chuck Edwards, a Republican from North Carolina, whose district was among the hardest hit by Helene, supported Johnson's stance. "I believe that what we're seeing right now with the calls to come back into session to pass funds is more of a distraction from the administration for their inept reaction to getting folks here to help western North Carolina," Edwards said.
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