Tom Rice: “I am not here to cast aspersions on disaster relief. I live in a coastal area in South Carolina that has been hit by…”

“I am not here to cast aspersions on disaster relief. I live in a coastal area in South Carolina that has been hit by three storms in the last 5 years: Joaquin, then Matthew, then Florence. I was a tax lawyer before I got here. I didn't know that much about disaster relief, and, unfortunately, I have had to learn way more than I ever wanted to. But one thing that concerns me, and concerns me greatly, is the haphazard way in which disaster relief is granted. And just to understand the order of magnitude that we are talking about here in relief for Puerto Rico, the request of the Governor in Puerto Rico amounts to, just for the two hurricanes--I don't even know what it is for the earthquake; I don't know if they have made an official request yet--but for the two hurricanes, Maria and the other one, amounts to $94 billion. They have been awarded $39 billion, allocated or announced, and they have received, obligated, $20 billion. Now, there were 476,000 applicants approved by FEMA in Puerto Rico. So, if you look at the amount that the Governor requested, $94 billion, that amounts to $200,000 per FEMA applicant, $200,000, roughly. The amount that has been allocated or announced, $40 billion, divided out, it is just under $100,000 per FEMA applicant. And then the amount that has actually been paid works out to--and I have got that exact number here--$41,816 per FEMA applicant for these two storms.…”