FORT MYERS, Fla. — Thursday, Rep. Byron Donalds was joined by three of his House colleagues in Fort Myers to learn more about what went wrong in the recovery efforts after Hurricane Ian.
The subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce held a field hearing at the Lakes Regional Library.
“The number one thing we want to make sure we accomplish is that that coordination between federal and state (agencies) gets better,” Donalds (R-Naples) said in his opening remarks.
The four republican members of the subcommittee heard testimony from leaders of FEMA, the Small Business Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Three local leaders also spoke about the challenges the area has faced in its recovery efforts.
“Congress has as much to share in the blame as any agency does. Congress better step up and get itself together,” said Rep. Andy Biggs, (R-AZ).
One concern from Donalds was how long it took FEMA to bring in travel trailers for residents on the local barrier islands.
FEMA’s Federal Coordinating Officer testified it took around 45 days to place temporary housing on Estero Island, Sanibel and Pine Island.
“I don’t think we could have worked any faster. Bottom line we have to keep people safe. We don’t want to put people at risk,” said Thomas McCool with FEMA.
McCool said FEMA placed 111 travel trailers on the three barrier islands.
As of now, McCool said only 16 families remain in trailers. The rest either moved back into their homes or have found other housing arrangements.
McCool said FEMA’s housing mission will be complete by the end of August.
Leaders from the SBA said many local residents faced trouble when trying to get a grant from FEMA and a loan from the SBA.
They urged Congress to write into law that the next time a storm comes, residents can easily get funds from both government agencies.
“The single most impactful thing congress can do,” said Francisco Sanchez, Associate Administrator of the SBA, “is make sure the FEMA grant and SBA loan together are not considered a duplication of benefits.”
