No New Funds Needed for Oklahoma Tornado Recovery

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Top lawmakers and officials say the federal government has plenty of money on hand to pay for recovery efforts in the devastating tornado that struck Oklahoma.

Tornado damaged classroom in the Tower Elementary school in Moore, Oklahoma. An F5 tornado struck the area on May 20th, causing widespread destruction. Andrea Booher/FEMA

The government has more than $11 billion in its main disaster relief fund. Recovery costs in Moore, Okla., are expected to be a relatively small fraction of that amount. The devastating 2011 tornado that wiped out much of Joplin, Mo., use up about $750 million in federal disaster aid.

White House press secretary Jay Carney and top lawmakers on Capitol Hill all agreed Tuesday that there’s no immediate need for additional disaster aid.

Reforms put in place in 2011 gave the Federal Emergency Management Agency a more predictable stream of disaster aid. FEMA also got additional funding from January’s Superstorm Sandy relief bill.