Farmers, business owners, fire survivors face uncertainty after $100B in disaster relief flounders

abcnews.go.com:

American farmers, small business owners and wildfire survivors are among those who will suffer if Congress cannot agree on a new spending bill after President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan that included more than $100 billion i...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — American farmers, small business owners and wildfire survivors are among those who will suffer if Congress cannot agree on a new spending bill after President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan that included more than $100 billion in disaster aid.

A mayor in Hawaii is watching closely to see what happens because a potential allocation of $1.6 billion in funding is on the line. It's critical to ongoing disaster recovery efforts from the 2023 Maui fire, which proved to be the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century.

“I think what funding does is provides people with hope so they can plan for their future,” Maui Mayor Richard Bissen told The Associated Press Thursday. “And the longer we go without funding, the longer people wallow and wonder, is there a chance? Is there a path? Do I cut my losses? Do I leave?”

While money from the Federal Emergency Management Administration has provided temporary relief, the disaster recovery funding was intended for long-term needs such as housing assistance and rebuilding infrastructure, he said. The historic town of Lahaina is still struggling after the August 2023 fire killed at least 102 people and leveled thousands of homes, leaving behind an estimated $5.5 billion in damage.

The money is also urgently needed after Hurricanes Helene and Milton slammed the southeastern United States one after the other this fall. Helene alone was the deadliest storm to hit the U.S. mainland since