Great. OK. Well, hello, everybody. Uh, it's great to be back in Damascus. I visited during the campaign trail, and the governor was kind enough to show me around not just last time but this time, as well. As you all know, I love the Appalachian region of our country, especially this particular part. It's beautiful.
The people are kind and friendly, and they've got a great community here but obviously got slammed very hard by the hurricane. And I think unfortunately, while the people have done an incredible job at rebuilding this community, they have not had a federal government that's really been on their side. I've heard so many stories just in the last hour that I've been on the ground of federal agencies that have not developed and deployed the resources necessary, federal bureaucrats that have been a barrier as opposed to a facilitator of some of the federal resources.
And I think the country has decided collectively that we want to help the regions of our country that were devastated by this flood. So, why are the bureaucrats not doing the American people's will and frankly holding up some of the aid here? I want to hear from the governor here in a second but let me just say one last thing.
I've been the vice president of United States for all of seven days. This is I think my seventh day on the job, and this is an incredible place to have my first official trip. I heard so many good stories of good people helping their neighbors rebuild, of -- of a woman at a church helping an elderly woman clean off photographs that were destroyed by the -- or at least damaged by the flood, of people who have volunteered their time, have come out of retirement, volunteered and donated their money to help people rebuild or -- or fix houses.
This is just an incredible place with incredible people, and I'm honored to be the vice president of a country that's as kind and generous as the people here in Damascus. So, we're going to try to make sure the federal government does right by them, and I'm going to go back to Washington with that message and that directive from the people here on the ground in Damascus.
It's great to be here. And let me just say one final thing. They are very, very, I think, blessed to have one hell of a governor in Glenn Youngkin. Thank you, Governor.
Bless you, sir. Bless you, sir. First of all, welcome to Virginia. And we're just so honored to have you here, and, Mr. Vice President, thank you for keeping your word.
Yep.
When you were here in October right after this devastating hurricane, you said you'd be back, and we are so honored that this is your first official visit. And so, thank you. Uh, the words that the Vice President shared are so accurate. This community withstood a devastating storm. Where we are standing was literally deep, deep, deep with water, with mud.
Businesses were washed away. Houses were washed away, and the community has responded. And we find ourselves now looking back in awe of the heroes that had over 100 swift water rescues that saved lives of the communities that came together and said we're going to rebuild together. But what we also see is the federal government has really ground to a halt in getting the resources to us. There was a very large CR passed with a lot of disaster funding in it, and that money needs to flow.
And what I so appreciate is the vice president and the president understand that the funds are available, but the funds have to get to the people to use them. And so, we are ready. We are already rebuilding homes. We are already rebuilding businesses. We are ready to work as your prototype project on how to do this at an accelerated way.
And I think everybody here is encouraged to hear the vice president's words that we're going to go to work together in order to streamline -- streamline these processes, to get the bureaucracy and the red tape out of the way so that Virginians and Tennesseans and North Carolinians and South Carolinians and Georgians and the folks in Florida can get the resources that we need.
And particularly as we see the devastating fires in California, there's another process there to be had. So, Mr. Vice President, I cannot tell you what it means to this community to southwest Virginia to Virginia as a whole for you to be here and to work with us to make sure that, when we are rebuilding, we are rebuilding in a way that everybody in the nation can say that's the way to do it. That's the way to do it.
Absolutely. Great. We'll take a few questions, guys.
Mr. Vice President, one of the things that I've heard from people that have been affected by [Inaudible] is they knew that there was a potential of maybe a flood not to this magnitude, but they couldn't afford flood insurance even -- even if they wanted to. Is there anything that your administration is doing to maybe lower some of those insurance costs?
Well, first of all, as the governor said, the most important thing that we're doing is trying to pick up and fill the gap where the insurance isn't necessarily available. And there's been about $4 billion that's been earmarked for the state of Virginia. Only about 47 million has actually been delivered or even promised to be delivered to the state of Virginia.
So, really what we're going to have to do, where there are major gaps in flood insurance, is to ensure that the people's government is actually helping people rebuild and recover after these terrible floods actually happen. Yes, there are things that we can do to make flood insurance more available. I think there's some regulatory changes that we can engage in. But the most important immediate thing that people here need is help recovering, help rebuilding.
And that's what we're going to do. The basic thrust of Donald Trump's administration, whether it's defense policy to helping people in Damascus is we're putting people over bureaucrats. The bureaucracy has for too long stood in the way of the people's business. That's going to stop, and we're going to fight to make sure it stops every single day.
Do you have a timeline of when we might be able to see some of that federal response, Governor, even some of the state response? There's a home around the corner that has been split in half. This gentleman said that his mother -- I don't know if you guys have seen the pictures. He said his mother has had insurance, had flood insurance, but the problem was she couldn't get any federal insurance.
And he said that she's getting run through all this rigmarole, and he's just looking for an answer. What could you possibly provide for him?
Look, as soon as possible, right? We need to get back to Washington. We need to figure out what the holdup is and actually power through that holdup for people. Every single day after today is too long. We recognize these things don't always happen as quickly as they can, but the big difference now compared to a week ago is that people actually have an administration that's going to help them power through that bureaucracy.
We're going to fight for them every single day. We're going to try to get that money as soon as physically possible because that's what's necessary to help people rebuild.
And I can tell you that we heard from business leaders today that, even in the last week, they've seen more movement than they had seen before. And so, this is the opportunity for us to, yes, cut through red tape, cut through bureaucracy at the state level. I have $127 million budget amendment in to supplement what has already been at least appropriated by the federal government.
Now it needs to come out. And this is a sprint because as the -- as the vice president say -- said, folks can't wait. They've been waiting for four months since this storm, and they don't need to wait another day.
Absolutely. Anybody over here?
Yes. Um, in seven days of being in office, you have been to two-thirds of all of this devastation, and I want to ask you about east Tennessee being part of the -- the funding to help people. I know a lot of people are appreciative, and we want to know if east Tennessee is going to be a part of that and how this is going to energize, how you're going to energize the communities who have been great in helping each other?
Yes, ma'am. So, I actually met with a Congresswoman from east Tennessee this morning actually when we landed. Obviously, we landed actually in Tennessee and then drove here to Virginia. But we recognize that, while most of the attention from Helene is focused on North Carolina in particular -- and to be clear, there's a lot of devastation in North Carolina.
There's also a lot of devastation here in Virginia and also in east Tennessee. So, our -- our promise and our focus is going to be on leaving no American behind. That includes those in Tennessee and certainly here in Damascus,
Mr. Vice President, can you preview at all what some of the specific changes you'd like to see with regard to FEMA's response? And does that include possibly eliminating the agency as the president has suggested?
Well -- so, first of all, it's not just FEMA, right? There's housing and urban development. There's the Department of Agriculture. There's a lot of different agencies that are coordinating response to this particular problem. And a couple of things that particularly seem to matter the most to the people of Damascus is, one, this incredible bike trail and hiking trail that runs along these mountains is a major source of economic opportunity and economic development, right?
People come in. They stay in AirBNBs. They stay in bed and breakfast. They go to the coffee shops. They go to the restaurants. But unfortunately, the part of that trail that is managed -- managed and monitored by the federal government has been way too slow to actually start that rebuilding process. That's something that we want to focus on immediately.
I think a second big issue is -- and the governor knows these numbers better than I do, but I believe the maximum you can get from FEMA for rebuilding is about $42,000, right? The average amount of damages I heard today is about $130,000, right? So, that's a massive, you know, 80, $90,000 shortfall that we need to make sure that other parts of the federal government are -- are fixing.
Now, to be clear, the continuing resolution that was passed just a few weeks ago actually does have the resources to fill that gap but only if the bureaucrats get out of the way and actually make sure that people get the money that they're entitled to that the American people have decided that we want to contribute and we want to fund this incredible redevelopment.
But it's got to happen quicker than it's been happening with the bureaucracy in Washington.
Time for one more question, guys. One more.
[Inaudible] North Carolina, as well. As some people were complaining about some of the red tape they had to get through to get trailers or, um, the hotel vouchers they were about to end in January when there was a snowstorm, what do you guys make of some of that disorganization and what are some specific ways you could streamline that process and just make the recovery process more efficient?
Well, unfortunately, it's just a perfect example of the bureaucratic inadequacy of the last administration and why we need to do better in this country. You know, the thing that I heard most when I was in western North Carolina before the inauguration, but it was after the election, is that there are people who wanted to put trailers or other temporary housing in particular areas of western North Carolina, but they couldn't because FEMA had designated these particular areas to be ineligible for the type of assistance that would allow people to put that temporary housing in the first place.
That's another example of the sort of thing that's broken about the federal response. And it's actually -- you know, when you have such great governors like Glenn Youngkin and you talk to people, and it's like the local governments working. The state government is working as hard as it can. The local communities and the nonprofits and the churches are working at breakneck speed.
And yet you have the federal government out there, the biggest institution with the most money that's not doing its job. It just drives home how much better we can do. And I think one of the takeaways of just my time the last, you know, week being the people's vice president is they should have higher expectations for their federal government.
I talk to so many people who will say in effect, well, it's the federal government. Oh, the bureaucracy. Oh, the red tape. No, no, no, no, no. The bureaucracy and the red tape is not an excuse for the government to not do its job. We're not going to be perfect. We never will be. Government is as fallible as the people who run it, but we can do a heck of a lot better than we have over the last few years.
And that is something that President Trump and I are committed to doing. And let me just leave you with one final thought. I know that a lot of the people watching on the local news, look, this is a part of our country, Appalachian Virginia, that has been ignored and left behind for decades, for generations in this country.
Again, we're never going to be perfect, but I promise you that this administration will not forget you. We love you. We're rooting for you, and we want to be part of this incredible recovery here in southwest Virginia. God bless you, guys. Thanks for being here.
Thank you, all.
Yeah. Good to see you, man. [Inaudible]