Congress Leaves $10bn in Disaster Aid Unapproved Since 2024

Survivors of three major 2025 disasters are still waiting for long-term federal recovery money, with the last such funds approved by Congress going to Hurricane Milton victims in Florida in late 2024, according to The Guardian.

How much money is stalled?

Government officials estimate more than $10 billion is needed just to rebuild communities hit by the Los Angeles County wildfires and the St. Louis tornado, the Guardian reported. That figure covers only two of the three disasters currently waiting on aid; survivors of 2025 flooding in Texas Hill Country are also still owed long-term recovery funds.

Why hasn't Congress approved the money?

The funds in question flow through the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program, known as CDBG-DR. Unlike FEMA's emergency assistance, which kicks in immediately after a disaster, CDBG-DR has no standing fund. Congress must appropriate money for each disaster individually, and no disaster since Hurricane Milton in October 2024 has received a CDBG-DR allocation, according to the Guardian's reporting.

What are survivors dealing with now?

Demetrice Davis's home in north St. Louis still carries damage from the EF3 tornado that struck the area in May 2025. "The insurance didn't cover much of anything. And the Fema just kind of backed you up for a little while, but didn't get you back on track," Davis told the Guardian. "The government agencies are not really doing what they're supposed to do."

Has this happened before?

Long lag times in CDBG-DR funding are not new. Survivors of the 2020 earthquakes in Puerto Rico waited 655 days after the disaster before funding was approved, the Guardian reported, citing it as a precedent for the kind of delay now facing survivors in St. Louis, Los Angeles and Texas Hill Country.

Key figures

• $10bn+ — estimated long-term recovery need for Los Angeles County and St. Louis alone, per government officials cited by the Guardian
• $111bn — total CDBG-DR funds appropriated and allocated since the program's creation in 1993
• 655 days — how long Puerto Rico earthquake survivors waited for CDBG-DR funding after the 2020 disaster

Timeline of the funding gap

• October 2024 — Hurricane Milton hits Florida; becomes the last disaster to receive CDBG-DR long-term recovery funds
• May 2025 — EF3 tornado strikes north St. Louis, destroying homes including Demetrice Davis's
• Summer 2025 — Flooding hits Texas Hill Country
• January 2025 — Wildfires sweep Pacific Palisades and greater Los Angeles County
• October 2026 — No CDBG-DR funds have been appropriated for any of the three 2025 disasters, per the Guardian

What to watch

• Whether Congress includes CDBG-DR appropriations for St. Louis, Los Angeles or Texas Hill Country in upcoming spending bills
• How long the gap stretches past the 655-day Puerto Rico precedent
• Whether HUD or FEMA issue updated damage estimates that could reset the $10 billion figure
• Any shift toward a standing disaster recovery fund that would not require disaster-by-disaster congressional approval

For the full reporting, see The Guardian's original story.