Politico reports:

The federal government could be nearing a collapse of its ability to help with major disasters as the second catastrophic hurricane in less than two weeks bears down on Florida.

Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 storm whose winds reached 180 mph late Monday but weakened to a Category 4 early Tuesday, is whirling toward a possible landfall in Tampa Bay just as the main federal disaster programs are facing financial instability amid a series of recent calamities, including Hurricane Helene’s flooding of communities throughout the Southeast.

Those include the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster fund, which pays for repair and rebuilding efforts; the Small Business Administration’s loans to stricken businesses and homeowners; and FEMA’s flood insurance program. All could be within weeks of running dry of cash, based on recent remarks by President Joe Biden, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and insurance analysts — even as FEMA sought to assure the public Monday that it has enough money to meet its “life-saving” responsibilities for Helene and Milton.

The concerns about federal resources are growing as lawmakers of both parties clamor for Congress to return to Washington before the November election to approve additional disaster funding. Fiscal conservatives in the House have balked at that, and Speaker Mike Johnson said this weekend that he had no plans to bring his members back. [Continue reading…]

Elizabeth Barker, a first-time homeowner, returns to her house in Swannanoa, near Asheville, after Hurricane Helene devastated the town: