President Joe Biden got a firsthand look Sunday at the devastation inflicted on Florida's Gulf Coast by Hurricane Milton as he presses Congress to approve additional emergency disaster funding.
Biden arrived in Tampa and flew by helicopter to St. Pete Beach, surveying the wreckage left behind by Milton, including the roof of Tropicana Field that was shorn off by the powerful storm's winds. Later, as the president’s motorcade drove along the highway, piles of debris, tattered billboards, toppled fences, fallen trees and closed gas stations were seen. It passed through a neighborhood where almost every home had water damage and heaps of belongings were on the curb.
"I'm here to personally say thank you to the brave first responders," Biden said. "This is all a team effort folks, you made a big difference and it saved lives but there's much more to do and we're going to do everything we can to get power back in your homes not only helping you recover but to help you build back stronger."
The visit gave Biden another chance to press House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for congressional approval of more aid money before the Nov. 5 election. Johnson said Sunday that lawmakers will deal with the issue after the election because of the amount of time it takes to come up with an estimate. He said on CBS' “Face the Nation” that his “guesstimate” is that $100 billion will be needed.
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“We’ll provide the additional resources,” Johnson said.
In Florida, Biden announced $612 million for six Department of Energy projects in areas affected by the hurricanes to improve the resilience of the region’s electric grid. The funding includes $94 million for two projects in Florida: $47 million for Gainesville Regional Utilities and $47 million for Switched Source to partner with Florida Power and Light.
The president is pressing for swift action by Congress to make sure the Small Business Administration and FEMA have the money they need to get through hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30 in the Atlantic. He said Friday that Milton alone had caused an estimated $50 billion in damages.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said last week that FEMA will be able to meet “immediate needs” caused by the two storms. But he warned in the aftermath of Helene that the agency does not have enough funding to make it through the hurricane season.
But Johnson has pushed back, saying the agencies have enough money for the time being and that lawmakers will address the funding issue during the lame-duck session after the election.
Also percolating in the background are tensions between Kamala Harris and Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla. As Helene barreled toward Florida, the two traded accusations that the other was trying to politicize the federal storm response.
Harris' office last week suggested that DeSantis was dodging her phone calls. DeSantis responded that he was unaware she had called and he grumbled that she hadn't been involved in the federal government's response before she became the Democratic nominee.
Biden said he hoped to see DeSantis on Sunday, if the governor's schedule permitted. DeSantis was not among the officials who greeted Biden in Tampa or joined his briefing in St. Pete Beach.
Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday evening. At least 10 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of residents remain without power.
Officials say the toll could have been worse if not for widespread evacuations. The still-fresh devastation wrought by Helene just two weeks earlier probably helped compel many people to flee.
