Taxpayer dollars at work: Continuing to help Georgia after Hurricane Helene

Note: In this recurring digital news series, GPB follows your federal tax dollars back to the state of Georgia each week. Neither Sen. Jon Ossoff nor Sen. Raphael Warnock is up for reelection this year — the former will run again in 2026 and the latter in 2028. 

For the week ending Oct. 4, the senators continued to visit Georgia communities affected by Hurricane Helene and push Congress and federal government agencies to deliver support for those communities.

FEMA

On Sept. 29, after surveying the damage during a visit to South Georgia the previous day, Ossoff spoke with FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell about Georgia's disaster response and recovery efforts.

Per a press release, Ossoff "conveyed to Criswell the severity of property damage, power outages, fuel shortages, communications disruption, and agricultural losses in Georgia as a result of Hurricane Helene, following his survey of damage yesterday and his continuous contact with state, local, and business leaders."

Criswell updated Ossoff on FEMA's work with state and local emergency management agencies and discussed the "importance of communicating to Georgians the full range of recovery resources and programs that will be available upon the State's completion of damage assessments."

August visit

On Sept. 30, Warnock visited Augusta, Ga., to look at the damage Hurricane Helene caused and meet with local elected officials and community leaders to discuss what they need from the federal government.

Per a press release, Warnock participated in a roundtable discussion with community leaders and members at Golden Harvest Food Bank.

After surveying the storm damage, Warnock and his staff members dropped off water bottle cases for local volunteers and residents at a local church and additional cases for communities in need.

“My heart is with the people of Augusta and this entire region.,” Warnock said in a statement. “Much of the Southeast has been devastated in the wake of Hurricane Helene. It’s the human toll I am focused on most of all. I’m here to reassure the people of this region that you are not forgotten, we are here, and we are working around the clock to deliver all the federal resources that are necessary.”

Agriculture relief

On Oct. 1, Ossoff and U.S. Rep. Austin Scott (GA-08), with Georgia’s entire congressional delegation, led a bipartisan, bicameral group of lawmakers from the southeastern U.S. in pushing Congressional leadership to work with the delegation and the Biden administration to ensure that disaster relief resources are available to agriculture producers following Hurricane Helene’s damage to agriculture via letter.

“To prevent deep and lasting economic damage to the agricultural industry in the southeastern United States, it is imperative that Congress make appropriations as soon as possible upon the completion of damage assessments to fully fund unmet agricultural disaster relief needs in our states and across the nation,” Ossoff, Scott and colleagues wrote to Congressional Leadership. “Farmers and growers nationwide, not only those damaged by Helene, have now faced multiple growing seasons without sufficient federal support. Our constituents are counting on us to act swiftly.”

Georgia’s Sen. Raphael Warnock, Reps. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (GA-01), Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (GA-02), Drew Ferguson (GA-03), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Nikema Williams (GA-05), Rich McCormick (GA-06), Lucy McBath (GA-07), Andrew Clyde (GA-09), Mike Collins (GA-10), Barry Loudermilk (GA-11), Rick Allen (GA-12), David Scott (GA-13), and Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14) were among the members of lawmakers to request agricultural relief funding.

Ray City visit

On Oct. 3, Warnock visited Shiloh Pecan Farm in Ray City with President Biden to survey the agricultural damage Hurricane Helene caused.

According to a press release, during the visit, they “received a briefing from pecan farmer Buck Paulk on the extent of storm damage on his and other farms in the area and the urgency of providing additional disaster relief to mitigate the economic impacts of Hurricane Helene on the state’s agriculture industry.”

President Biden also credited Warnock with securing a waiver for the federal government to cover all of the costs of debris removal and emergency protective measures in Georgia’s impacted areas. 

“Yesterday, I approved Gov. [Brian] Kemp’s request for the federal government to cover 100% of the cost for debris removal and emergency protective measures for three months — 100 percent," Biden said. "I must tell you, your Senator [Warnock] had a little bit to do with that when he called me."

Appropriations package

On Oct. 4, Ossoff and Warnock announced that they joined senators, from Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia in urging, via letter, Senate leadership to pass an appropriations package for the millions affected by Hurricane Helene that need support.

“The devastation from Hurricane Helene across the southeastern United States is simply inconceivable,” they wrote. “Even preliminary damage assessments indicate that, at a minimum, the total damage and economic loss will be in the tens of billions of dollars. This amount will likely soar as recovery efforts continue and the full picture of this ruinous disaster becomes clear.

“Although the true level of devastation is still unfolding, it is clear that Congress must act to meet the unmet needs in our states and address the scope and scale of destruction experienced by our constituents,” the senators continued. “This may even require Congress to come back in October to ensure we have enough time to enact legislation before the end of this calendar year. Tens of millions of Americans were impacted by Hurricane Helene, and we look forward to working with you to provide relief to those impacted by this horrific storm.”

The other senators to write the letter were Sens. Thom Tills (R-NC), Ted Budd (R-NC), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Tim Scott (R-SC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Tim Kaine (D-VA).