{"id":184350,"date":"2024-10-10T16:40:45","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T23:40:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=184350"},"modified":"2024-10-10T16:40:45","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T23:40:45","slug":"president-biden-on-the-initial-impacts-of-hurricane-milton-and-the-federal-governments-ongoing-support-to-state-and-local-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=184350","title":{"rendered":"President Biden on the Initial Impacts of Hurricane Milton and the Federal Government\u2019s Ongoing Support to State and Local Officials"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Good afternoon.\u00a0 Q\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Good afternoon.\u00a0 THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 I\u2019ll be brief.\u00a0 Last night, Hurricane Milton made landfall, as we all know, on the west coast of Florida.\u00a0 It brought hurricane winds, heavy rains, including 10 to 20 inches of rain in the Tampa area overnight.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/THxj9q5KVsk\" title=\"President Biden Provides Update on Hurricane Helene and Preparations for Hurricane Milton\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Storm surge measurements are still being taken, but 38 tornadoes ripped through 13 counties.\u00a0 Four deaths have been reported thus far.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s too early to know the full account of the damage though, but we know lifesaving measures did make a difference.\u00a0 More than 80,000 people followed orders to safety \u2014 to safely shelter last night.\u00a0 And we\u2019ve had search and rescue teams at the ready for any calls for help this morning.<\/p>\n<p>There are still very dangerous conditions in the state, and people should wait to be given the all-clear by their leaders before they go out.\u00a0 We know from previous hurricanes that it\u2019s often the case that more lives are lost in the days following the storm than actually during the storm itself.<\/p>\n<p>Vice President Harris and I have been in constant contact with the state and local officials.\u00a0 And we\u2019re offering everything they need.\u00a0 I must have spoken to somewhere between 10 and 15 mayors and county executives and all the governors.<\/p>\n<p>And, in fact, starting this morning, we are getting direct assessments from the storm of FEMA and Director Criswell as well, also Florida Governor DeSantis, with whom I had a chance to speak.<\/p>\n<p>And the vice president and I have just convened a meeting this morning with the leaders of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, including Northcom commander, who has responsibility for providing defense support to civilian authorities \u2014 and that, apparently, is going very well \u2014 as well as from the Coast Guard and FEMA, we\u2019ve received reports.<\/p>\n<p>We focused on what the American military can do like no one else can: provide emergency support for communities in need and we\u2019re required by the governor in a federal \u2014 and \u2014 required by the governor in the affected states.\u00a0 And I\u2019ve spoken to all the governors \u2014 not today, all of them, but I\u2019ve spoken to all of them thus far.\u00a0 And how we can be ready to go in an instant when the call comes.<\/p>\n<p>At my direction, Defense Secretary Austin has provided a range of capabilities both to Florida for Hurricane Milton as well as the states impacted by Hurricane Helene.\u00a0 And the more capabilities are available, we assess the pressing needs, we can get whatever they need.<\/p>\n<p>To the servicemen and women who are on the ground responding to this \u2014 these disasters: Thank you.\u00a0 Thank you for pr- \u2014 your professionalism, your dedication to every mission you\u2019re given.\u00a0 And you\u2019re repeating it again.<\/p>\n<p>This is a whole-of-government effort that also includes the Department of Energy and Department of Transportation, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is providing mortgage relief for impacted homeowners.<\/p>\n<p>As directed, FEMA is going to open disaster recovery centers all across the impacted communities right away so there\u2019s one stop for the residents can go to to learn about the support they might need.\u00a0 And that\u00a0 \u2014 it\u2019ll be advertised where those places are.<\/p>\n<p><a>Three million people are without power.\u00a0 But more than\u00a0<s>40 million<\/s>\u00a0[40,000] power work- \u2014 powerline workers have come from around the country, from Canada to Florida, to restore power across the state.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>In addition, the Federal Aviation has authorized Florida Power and Light to fly large drones before other manned aircraft can get up in the sky to quickly assess the damage on the ground so ground crews can restore power as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n<p>The Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers are assessing how fast they can reopen the Port of Tampa to get fuel, food, water, and other basic goods flowing into the area again and quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Vice President Harris and I said yesterday and we\u2019ll say it again: To anyone who seeks to take advantage of our fellow Americans\u2019 desperation, whether you\u2019re a company engaging in price gouging or a citizen trying to scam your neighbors, we will go after you and we will hold you accountable.<\/p>\n<p>Now, not only that.\u00a0\u00a0<a>Our fellow Americans are putting their lives on the line to do this dangerous work and received death thre- \u2014 some received death\u00a0<s>penalties<\/s>\u00a0[threats] yesterday as a result of reckless, irresponsible, and relentless disinformation and outright lies that continue to flow.\u00a0\u00a0<\/a>Those who engage in such lies are undermining the confidence in the rescue and recovery work that\u2019s opening and ongoing.\u00a0 As I speak, they\u2019re continuing.<\/p>\n<p>These lies are also harmful to those who most need help.\u00a0 Lives are on the line.\u00a0 People are in desperate situations.\u00a0 Have the decency to tell them the truth.<\/p>\n<p>So, let me say this.\u00a0 To all the people impacted by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, despite the misinformation and lies, the truth is we\u2019re providing the resources needed to rescue, recover, and rebuild \u2014 and rebuild.<\/p>\n<p>Let me close with this.\u00a0 I know recovery and rebuilding projects can take a long and difficult time.\u00a0 But as \u2014 long after the press and the cameras move on, I promise you \u2014 you have to pick up the pieces still.\u00a0 I want you to know we\u2019ll do everything in our power to help you put the pieces back together and get all that you need.<\/p>\n<p>May God bless you.\u00a0 And may God bless our troops and our first responders, who are \u2014 many \u2014 in some cases risking their lives to help.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you very much.\u00a0 I\u2019ll be reporting again tomorrow.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>Q\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mr. President, on FEMA funding.\u00a0 On FEMA funding.\u00a0 How much time does Congress have to act before FEMA or the SBA run out of money?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 That\u2019s in discussion now, and I don\u2019t want to give you \u2014 mislead you.\u00a0 I think in terms of the SBA, it\u2019s pretty right at the edge right now.<\/p>\n<p>And I think the Congress should be coming back and moving on emergency needs immediately.\u00a0 And they\u2019re going to have to come back after the election as well, because this is going to be a long haul to- \u2014 for total rebuilding.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to take several billion dollars.\u00a0 It\u2019s not going to be a matter of just a little bit.<\/p>\n<p>But we\u2019re providing now to make sure people have the emergency relief they need with dollars just to be able to get a prescription filled, to get a baby formula do- \u2014 all the thing- \u2014<\/p>\n<p>That $750 that they\u2019re talking about, Mr. Trump and every- \u2014 all those other people know it\u2019s a lie to suggest that\u2019s all they\u2019re going to get.\u00a0 That\u2019s bizarre.\u00a0 It\u2019s bizarre.\u00a0 They got to stop this.\u00a0 It\u2019s s- \u2014 I mean, they\u2019re being so damn un-American with the way they\u2019re talking about this stuff.<\/p>\n<p>But there\u2019s going to be a need for significant amounts of money.\u00a0 We\u2019re already underway at trying to calculate what the cost will be because you don\u2019t want to mislead anybody.\u00a0 We want to make sure all the costs are able to be covered.<\/p>\n<p>Q\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Have you spoken to Speaker Johnson about coming back before the election to vote?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 No, I haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>Q\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mr. President, are you calling on Congress to come back early?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 I think Congress should move as rapidly as they can, particularly on the most immediate need, which is small business.<\/p>\n<p>Q\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mr. President, the vice president said yesterday that \u2014 that FEMA has what it needs.\u00a0 There\u2019s enough resources.\u00a0 They don\u2019t need \u2014 that Congress does not need to come back right away.\u00a0 Who\u2019s right?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 FEMA has what it needs.<\/p>\n<p>Q\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Okay.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 That\u2019s different than SBA.<\/p>\n<p>Q\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Okay.\u00a0 So, it\u2019s SBA that \u2014 they need to come back and do SBA?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 Yeah, but they\u2019re going to need a lot more.<\/p>\n<p>Q\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mr. President, wh- \u2014 what did you \u2014 what did Prime Minister Netanyahu tell you about his plans relating to retaliation against Iran?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 He\u2019s coming over to help with the storm.<\/p>\n<p>Q\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mr. President, have you spoken with former President Trump at all \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 Are you kidding me?<\/p>\n<p>Q\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2014 about the disinformation?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 (Laughs.)\u00a0 Mr. President Trump \u2014 former President Trump, get a life, man.\u00a0 Help these people.<\/p>\n<p>Q\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Will you hold him accountable?\u00a0 You said you were going to hold those accountable.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 The public will hold him accountable.<\/p>\n<p>Q\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The \u2014<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 You better, in the press, hold him accountable because you know the truth.<\/p>\n<p>Q\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well, do you plan to speak with former President Trump?<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 No.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Good afternoon.\u00a0 Q\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Good afternoon.\u00a0 THE PRESIDENT:\u00a0 I\u2019ll be brief.\u00a0 Last night, Hurricane Milton made landfall, as we all know, on the west coast of Florida.\u00a0 It brought hurricane winds, heavy rains, including 10 to 20 inches of rain in the Tampa area overnight. Storm surge measurements are still being taken, but 38 tornadoes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":184351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-184350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Fullscreen-capture-10102024-43649-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=184350"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":184352,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184350\/revisions\/184352"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/184351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=184350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=184350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=184350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}