ATLANTA – President Joe Biden called on Congress Thursday to pass a supplemental spending bill to aid victims of Hurricane Helene in Georgia and other Southeastern states.
After touring storm damage from last week’s massive storm in South Georgia, Biden dismissed remarks earlier this week by U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., that there’s no need for Congress to act until after next month’s elections.
“We can’t wait,” the president said during an address at a pecan farm in tiny Ray City. “People need help now.”
Biden arrived in Lowndes County Thursday afternoon after speaking with Gov. Brian Kemp by telephone earlier in the day and promising the federal government will cover 100% of the cleanup costs from Helene for three months.
Biden, a Democrat, was greeted at Moody Air Force Base by U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and U.S. Reps. Austin Scott, R-Tifton, and Sanford Bishop, D-Albany.
“In moments like this, it’s time to put politics aside,” Biden said.
The president said representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture are on the ground in storm-ravaged areas, helping farmers and ranchers apply for federal disaster relief. The widespread damage in Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas is expected to cost billions of dollars, he said.
Biden noted that residents of South Georgia have been hit with three hurricanes during the past year: Idalia, Debby, and now Helene.
“You’ve been through hell,” he said. “I see you. I hear you. … I promise we’ve got your back.”
Meanwhile, utility officials briefed the Georgia Public Service Commission Thursday afternoon on their response to Helene.
Cleve Fann, vice president of distribution strategy and support for Georgia Power, said the company has restored power to more than 1.2 million customers in the eastern half of the utility’s service area. More than 8,300 poles are down in communities including Valdosta, Savannah, Augusta, Waycross, and Dublin, he said.
“This is the most destructive storm we’ve seen hit the Georgia Power service area,” added Jeremiah Haswell, Georgia Power’s director of regulatory affairs.
Dennis Chastain, president and CEO of Georgia EMC, said 11 of its electric membership corporations were severely impacted by Helene.
“It’s hard to describe the devastation that’s out there,” he said. “It’s miles and miles of wire that were damaged.”
Chastain said 435,000 EMC customers were without power at the peak of the storm. As of Thursday morning, 150,000 remained without service, he said.
David Weekly, director of transmission operations for the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia (MEAG), said 17 municipal electric systems were affected by Helene, with four in the direct path of the storm knocked out completely.
Daryl Ingram, chief operating officer at Electric Cities of Georgia, said multiple cities suffered outages of 80% to 100%, with Douglas and Fitzgerald sustaining the most damage.
“Douglas is a complete disaster zone,” he said.
While most power should be restored by early next week, the utility executives said some remote areas may not get their service back for weeks.