WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, October 25, 2024, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) will lead a bipartisan congressional delegation to Asheville, North Carolina, to tour areas impacted by Hurricane Helene and receive a briefing on the response and recovery operations by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), along with other federal, state, and local partners. The site visits and briefing will be followed by a media availability at 3:30 PM ET. Members of the Committee will also be joined by Representative Wiley Nickel (D-NC).

“In the wake of Hurricane Helene, the people of western North Carolina have faced unimaginable tragedy, and the surrounding communities continue to face challenges in recovery efforts,” Chairman Green said. “I look forward to receiving an update from emergency management partners on the ground and learning more about the response efforts underway so the Committee can better support our communities in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia following this deadly storm.”

PARTICIPANTS: 

• Rep. Mark Green (R-TN), Chairman
• Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC), Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability
• Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), Chairman, Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology
• Rep. Dale Strong (R-AL)
• Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ)
• Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-NC)

DETAILS:

What: Members will receive a briefing on response and recovery efforts by the FEMA federal coordinating officer, as well as state and local organizations.

When: Friday, October 25, 2024, at 2:00 PM ET with a media availability to follow at 3:30 PM ET.

Where: FEMA’s Joint Field Office (JFO) in Hickory, North Carolina. 

Note: The briefing is for members only, and the availability will be outside the JFO. Press should RSVP for the availability by Friday, October 25, at 2:00 PM ET.

BACKGROUND:

On October 5, Rep. D’Esposito sent a letter to FEMA, probing the agency’s use of advance forecasting and rainfall modeling in preparation for Hurricane Helene, as well as other storms. Reports have indicated FEMA’s initial use of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service’s modeling to preposition assets may have contributed to the agency’s lack of preparedness to respond in Southeastern communities, especially in North Carolina, in the wake of the devastation caused by Helene.

On October 11,  Chairman Green led Republican Members of the Committee in demanding answers from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for the Biden-Harris administration’s backwards spending priorities. Specifically, the Members condemned the Biden-Harris administration’s push for hundreds of millions of dollars every year for FEMA to spend specifically on illegal aliens, first through the Emergency Food and Shelter Program-Humanitarian (EFSP-H), and subsequently the Shelter and Services Program (SSP). 

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