South OC Times

U.S. Representative Young Kim, along with several colleagues, has introduced a bill aimed at directing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reallocate unobligated COVID funds to the Disaster Relief Fund. This initiative comes in response to recent natural disasters that have left many communities in need of federal assistance.

In October, Rep. Kim led a bipartisan effort urging Speaker Mike Johnson and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to ensure full disaster relief funding for areas affected by wildfires in Southern California.

"Disaster relief funding that has proven to help areas devastated by natural disasters is now depleted, leaving communities recovering from recent wildfires and hurricanes without vital federal assistance," stated Congresswoman Young Kim. "I’m proud to help introduce this commonsense bill to simply redirect unused COVID resources to the Disaster Relief Fund. I’ll keep fighting to ensure our communities can recover from the Airport Fire and recent wildfires in Southern California."

Congressman Gary Palmer also expressed support for the bill, stating, "When disaster strikes, FEMA’s purpose is to help the American people. To ensure Americans get the help they need, we must allow these funds to be put to immediate use in the Disaster Relief Fund."

The bill is backed by several original cosponsors including Reps. Byron Donalds, Barry Moore, Brad Finstad, Scott Perry, Don Bacon, and Pete Stauber.