During his first official trip as vice president, JD Vance traveled Monday to Damascus, Virginia, where residents are still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Helene.
In September, the tropical cyclone killed 219 people and caused an estimated $160 billion in damage as it swept through the southeastern part of the country, including Virginia.
“One of the takeaways of the last week being the people’s vice president is they should have higher expectations for their federal government,” Vance said of area residents who are still recovering from hurricane damage. “We can do a heck of a lot better than we have over the last few years, and that is something that President Trump and I are committed to doing.”
Last week, during a visit to western North Carolina — one of the hardest-hit areas along Hurricane Helene’s path — Trump said he would sign an executive order that would overhaul the Federal Emergency Management Agency and turn disaster relief and recovery over to the states.
FEMA is the agency tasked with helping people and communities prepare for and respond to disaster risks as well as disaster recovery.
On Monday, Vance acknowledged the shortfall in FEMA funds to help residents rebuild. He said the average amount of damages Virginia residents experienced following Hurricane Helene was $130,000, but they were only receiving $42,000.
“That’s a massive shortfall that we need to make sure that other parts of the federal government are fixing,” he said, adding that the government funding bill Congress passed in December had enough resources to fill the gap, “but only if the bureaucrats get out of the way and actually make sure that people get the money they’re entitled to.”
The bipartisan continuing resolution contained $100 billion in supplemental funding for critical federal disaster programs, including $29 billion for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund.
“When the local government’s working, the state government is working as hard as it can, the local communities and the nonprofits and the churches are working at breakneck speed and yet you have the federal government out there, the biggest institution with the most money that’s not doing its job, it just drives home how much better we can do,” Vance said.