Pressure Is Mounting for Congress to Return and Pass Disaster Aid

Speaker Mike Johnson says lawmakers will not come back until after the election even as another hurricane is set to hit Florida.

Debris is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Asheville, N.C.
Some of Johnson’s members from states that were damaged by Helene are supportive of his judgment — for now. Mike Stewart/AP

As another monster hurricane approaches Florida, pressure is building for Congress to come back to Washington and pass additional funding for disaster relief.

Lawmakers from states still reeling from the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene — and members who are preparing for Hurricane Milton this week — are increasingly talking about returning early to shore up FEMA’s disaster funding and pass further aid. After Milton hits, members may feel even more of a sense of urgency.

“I’m in the camp of, let’s go back,” North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican, said in an interview with CBS News this week. “We already know that we need additional resources. Let’s make sure that there’s never a second — there’s never attention drawn to whether or not they can move accounts around to respond to all these floods.”