The Federal Emergency Management Agency has spent most of its disaster aid and could soon restrict spending, a move that threatens to delay rebuilding in communities nationwide.
The agency has burned through more than 75 percent of the $20 billion that Congress approved for the fiscal year beginning on Oct. 1, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told lawmakers Tuesday.
If Congress does not approve additional money, FEMA will restrict disaster aid “within the next few weeks,” Criswell said.
The agency restricted spending for nearly two months in August and September when its disaster fund dwindled. That led to $8.8 billion being withheld from more than 3,000 recovery projects, Criswell said.
