WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii, spoke out against persistent misinformation that the Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster assistance is being diverted from current and pending disasters. 

What You Need To Know

  • U.S. Rep. Ed Case: 'Not only is this misinformation fully inaccurate, but it is deliberately harming people and communities in most need of relief by leading them to believe incorrectly that they cannot access critical and available federal assistance'
  • Case said the funding will allow FEMA to maintain disaster relief efforts for areas like Maui that continue to recover from past disasters and those impacted by recent events like Hurricanes Helene and Milton
  • As the Nov. 5 General Election nears, misinformation about FEMA funds has been broadly spread across social media and other platforms and has worked its way into public discourse, typically via conservative media, in ways that frame the false claims as evidence of the Biden administration’s failures
  • U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., who represents the district most heavily impacted by Helene, issued a statement decrying misinformation from 'untrustworthy sources trying to spark chaos'

 

“Not only is this misinformation fully inaccurate, but it is deliberately harming people and communities in most need of relief by leading them to believe incorrectly that they cannot access critical and available federal assistance,” said Case, a member of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Homeland Security with authority over FEMA and other federal disaster relief efforts.

Case noted that an additional $20 billion for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund was recently approved by Congress and enacted by Pres. Joe Biden. The DRF, which functions as the federal government’s main channel of disaster relief, was nearing depletion, resulting in FEMA enacting measures to ration its funding and support efforts.

Case said the funding will allow FEMA to maintain disaster relief efforts for areas like Maui that continue to recover from past disasters and those impacted by recent events like Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

As the Nov. 5 General Election nears, misinformation about FEMA funds has been broadly spread across social media and other platforms and has worked its way into public discourse, typically via conservative media, in ways that frame the false claims as evidence of the Biden administration’s failures.

“The misinformation that FEMA does not have available federal disaster relief, and that these monies have instead been diverted to ‘illegal immigrants,’ Ukraine, and elsewhere, is completely false,” said Case. “Not only do the perpetrators and amplifiers know that it is false, not only are they making these statements for political purposes, but they are also deliberately harming the people and communities who most need this assistance as they are effectively being told it’s useless to seek assistance when they most need it.”

FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell has previously called the misinformation a “truly dangerous narrative” that hinders disaster relief efforts by “creating this fear of trying to reach out and help us or register to help.”

Other false rumors claim that Helene and Milton were geo-engineered by the government; FEMA is rejecting donations and FEMA takes advantage of disasters to seize private property.

The spread of misinformation prompted FEMA to launch a Hurricane Rumor Response webpage.

While the rumors have been amplified in some conservative circles, Republicans have also spoken out about the danger of such misinformation.

U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., who represents one of the districts most heavily impacted by Helene, issued a statement decrying misinformation from “untrustworthy sources trying to spark chaos.”

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.