Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., says the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is misappropriating funds intended for homeless veterans and disaster victims, funneling them through NGOs to support illegal immigrants.
"This isn't a recent development," she said during an in-studio appearance on Newsmax's "Saturday Report."
"We started talking about this over four years ago. My first year in office. I was looking at receipts where homeless veterans' funds under FEMA were being redirected to buy plane tickets, bus tickets, and hotel rooms for illegals."
She claimed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launders these funds through non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including Catholic Charities.
"This isn't a recent development," she said. "We started talking about this over four years ago. My first year in office. I was looking at receipts where homeless veterans' funds under FEMA were being redirected to buy plane tickets, bus tickets, and hotel rooms for illegals."
"It is absolutely disgraceful, disgusting, and unacceptable that the administration has prioritized illegals at the border," Cammack said.
"They were redirecting funds out of specific accounts, but they got very clever once we started raising the red flags on it; they decided they were going to launder the money through NGOs," she stated, explaining that entities like Catholic Charities receive block grants, and then DHS claims to have clean hands in the process.
"We know that to be false," she added, noting that over $1 billion has been "allocated for illegals rather than prioritizing those hardest hit."
According to an AP report, state and local officials from both parties have condemned the conspiracy theories as rumors, saying the focus should be on recovery, not political division and hearsay. Responding to the hoaxes is taking up time that should go toward assisting victims, said North Carolina state Sen. Kevin Corbin, a Republican, in a Facebook post on Thursday.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas earlier this week indicated that FEMA is facing financial strain as the agency struggles to fund relief efforts for victims of the 2024 hurricane season. Cammack emphasized that the issue of misplaced funding has angered many in states like Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, which were severely affected by Hurricane Helene.
Cammack outlined potential solutions, highlighting the need to leverage Congress' "power of the purse."
However, she acknowledged the political challenges, citing the Republicans' slim majority in the House. "With a majority of just two, we're a heart attack or a temper tantrum away from losing that majority," she said. She stressed the importance of expanding their ranks in the upcoming November election.
"The most effective way to fix this problem is the election in November," Cammack concluded, reiterating the importance of tightening loopholes and exercising fiscal oversight to protect resources for those most in need.
In addition to using budgetary control, Cammack called for an audit to ensure that funds are not being funneled through NGOs that, in her words, "abuse policies." She pointed to past incidents, such as baby formula being prioritized for illegal immigrants over American families, as an example of how resources have been misallocated.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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