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Trump Administration FINALLY Approves “major disaster declaration and significant additional funding for Southwest Virginia”; Youngkin Falsely Blames…Wait for It…Yep, the Biden Administration for the Aid Having Been “bottled up.” Wuuuuut???

The Biden administration actually "approved a major disaster declaration for Virginia" back on October 2, 2024

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It took forever, but FINALLY the Trump administration approved funding for SW Virginia’s recovery from Hurricane Helene. Of course, Youngkin being Youngkin, he has to throw a big lie in there – see his statement, below, including this whopper: “I am also grateful for the hard work from the entire Trump Administration to get funding tied to Hurricane Helene recovery out the door, having been bottled up by the previous administration.” In fact:

  • Back on October 2, obviously when Joe Biden was president, “The federal government approved a major disaster declaration for Virginia on Wednesday, which will allow residents, businesses and local governments in Southwest Virginia reeling from Hurricane Helene’s deadly impact to apply for funding to aid their recovery efforts.”
  • “In a news release, the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced Democratic President Joe Biden’s approval of the declaration, which the state sought  in the days following the storm…The major disaster declaration is a crucial step to help the region recover, following the emergency disaster declaration Biden approved Sunday evening to help with the immediate response and rescue efforts.”
  • One month after the storm, “Over $883 million in federal assistance is going directly to survivors with more funding going out the door every day”; “FEMA has spent over $4.3 billion on Hurricane Helene response and recovery”; “To date, the Biden-Harris Administration has approved more than $833 million to support survivors with housing repairs, personal property replacement and other essential recovery efforts”; “ In Virginia, FEMA has approved over $7.2 million in housing and other types of assistance for over 2,400 households”; “In Virginia, there are over 400 FEMA staff deployed, 77 DSA team members going door to door and seven DRCs open”; etc.
  • Also, note that “Congress set a deadline of March 21 to hand out the money when it passed a $100 billion disaster relief package on Dec. 21″ – so what’s the Trump administration been doing since January, and why did they blow past the March 21 deadline?
  • But sure, of course Glenn Youngkin’s going to blame anything/everything on the Democrats, NEVER on his cult leader, Donald Trump, even when it’s overwhelmingly Trump’s fault. Because that’s how Youngkin rolls. Plus, Youngkin’s a pathological liar about EVERYTHING. And yes, the “mainstream media” should – but probably won’t – clearly point this out.

P.S. Also see here, as Sen. Mark Warner explains how, “A month after devastating flooding in Southwest Virginia [in February 2025] – following the already horrifying impacts of Hurricane Helene – President Trump is silent on approving relief. It’s time for him to do his job and get these folks the federal resources they need.”

Youngkin continued: “In my budget amendments, I proposed expanding eligibility for the $50 million in Southwest disaster assistance funding to cover the recent winter storm flood and cover local match requirements for federal dollars. I’d like to thank the General Assembly, in particular the Southwest delegation, for their support here.”

Resources Available

Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) Community Development Block Grant Urgent Need funding:

Under Governor Youngkin’s direction, Virginia has immediately made available up to $5 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Urgent Need funding to provide a tool for prompt responses to serious and immediate threats to local health and safety caused by a disaster.

The funding will support immediate relief and recovery efforts in Southwest Virginia communities that were devastated by Hurricane Helene and the other recent winter storms. DHCD will provide support by leveraging its already strong partnerships with localities and community partners in Southwest Virginia.

For additional information, please visit https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/cdbg-urgent-need-fund.

Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funding:

Under Governor Youngkin’s direction, Virginia accelerated its Action Plan development to access the $46,670,000 allocated to Virginia by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program.

CDBG-DR provides relief for those needs that remain after all other assistance has been exhausted. It provides funding for housing, infrastructure, economic revitalization, public services, administration and planning needs that were unmet by other assistance and for resilience and flood mitigation projects.

Public comment on Virginia’s draft Action Plan is open until April 4, soon after which the Action Plan will be submitted to HUD for approval. Once HUD has approved the Action Plan and signed the CDBG-DR grant agreement, DHCD will begin accepting funding applications from localities.

For additional information, please visit https://www.dhcd.virginia.gov/cdbg-dr.

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Resilient Virginia Revolving Loan Fund funding:

The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation administers the Resilient Virginia Revolving Loan Fund. The Fund, established in 2022 as a self-sustaining program to aid communities and property owners impacted by flooding for localities.

Funds are available to advance projects that will improve flood resilience, and include residential upgrades for resilience purposes, buyouts necessary for the construction of mitigation or resilience projects, relocations, and buyout assistance for single and multifamily residential, assistance to low-income and moderate-income homeowners to help lower flood risk through structural and nonstructural mitigation projects, or other means, and grants to persons for hazard mitigation and infrastructure improvement projects for resilience purposes.

For additional information, please visit https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/dam-safety-and-floodplains/rvrf.

Small Business Administration (SBA) Loans:

Types of Disaster Loans:

Business Physical Disaster Loans – Loans to businesses to repair or replace disaster-damaged property owned by the business, including real estate, inventories, supplies, machinery and equipment. Businesses of any size are eligible. Private, non-profit organizations such as charities, churches, private universities, etc., are also eligible. For more information on eligibility and interest rates, please visit: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance/physical-damage-loans#id-business-physical-disaster

Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) – Working capital loans to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private, non-profit organizations of all sizes meet their ordinary and necessary financial obligations that cannot be met as a direct result of the disaster. These loans are intended to assist through the disaster recovery period. For more information on eligibility and interest rates, please visit: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance/economic-injury-disaster-loans

Home Disaster Loans – Loans to homeowners or renters to repair or replace disaster-damaged real estate and personal property, including automobiles. For more information on eligibility and interest rates, please visit: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance/physical-damage-loans#home-and-personal-property-loans

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program:

The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program is also available statewide. Local governments can apply for projects to reduce future risk of flooding to structures and infrastructure. Applications are submitted through the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

Other Federal funding:

The American Relief Act, 2025, H.R.10545 – 118th Congress (2023-2024), provided $110 billion in funding for disaster relief for a variety of Federal agencies as well, including HUD, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, The Department of Commerce, the Small Business Administration, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Transportation, the Forest Service and the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

The full text of the Act may be found here https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/10545.

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