Testified to Need for Government Coordination, Support for Small Businesses
“You Either Pay Now or You Pay 10 Times More Later”
WASHINGTON — Today, Congressman Vern Buchanan co-chaired a bipartisan Florida delegation hearing to discuss hurricane recovery efforts and improving Florida’s infrastructure to prepare for future hurricanes. This hearing followed three back-to-back hurricanes that devastated Florida in 2024.
Hearing witnesses included Mark Wilson, President and CEO, Florida Chamber of Commerce, Ken Graham, Director of National Weather Service and Assistant Administrator for Weather Services, NOAA, and Dr. Wesley Brooks, Chief Resilience Officer, State of Florida. Witnesses testified to the importance of the federal government partnering with state and local governments to provide disaster assistance following natural disasters. Witnesses also discussed the need to coordinate resources to help small businesses who face additional challenges during storm recovery.
Click here or the image above to view Congressman Buchanan’s remarks.
Here’s what Buchanan said about supporting recovery efforts for small businesses and the importance of investing in hurricane resiliency:
Disaster Response Should Be Coordinated, Not Confusing, for Small Businesses
Rep. Buchanan: “In terms of the Chamber, one of the areas that really got impacted by the storms all over the state is small business, and a lot of them, in St. Armands Circle, in different places, they got hit by multiple storms. What more can the Chamber do at the state or even the local level to help these businesses get back on their feet quicker?”
Mark Wilson, President and CEO, Florida Chamber of Commerce: “You’re exactly right. Florida is mostly small businesses … and small businesses have to make pretty quick decisions about whether they’re even going to stay in business or not. … Florida has the largest Small Business emergency loan program in the country by far. ... The coordination, whether it’s block grants or otherwise, the coordination needs to be faster, and it needs to be clearer. We’re getting loan requests from small businesses so they can stay in business, and the state of Florida is trying to say ‘yes.’ It is sometimes weeks or months before FEMA and other federal agencies can come in and make a decision on any of this stuff. If a small business is trying to decide whether to stay open or not, they need a decision today or this week, and can’t wait months and months. And so what we need is, in a nonpartisan conversation, we need to say keeping small businesses in business is a priority. And before a storm, we need to educate them on what their options are. After a storm, we need to give them a quick decision about whether the state and federal government are going to be there. Right now, the state is there, and right now, sometimes months later, whether it’s the SBA or whether it’s FEMA, we don’t have answers that are clear, so we need to work on that.”
Investing in Resilience Today Saves Billions Tomorrow
Rep. Buchanan: “One quick thing: resilience. Longboat Key’s got an effort going on. How many cities or counties are making the investment? ... I’m just curious where that is at and what more we can be doing because you could probably save a lot more money by doing somethings upfront. ... It’s the right thing to get ready for not just the last storms but new storms going forward if possible.”
Dr. Wesley Brooks, Chief Resilience Officer, State of Florida: “Florida has been really pushing proactive planning efforts in particular to understand flood vulnerability so we can guide better flood mitigation projects. And right now, all 67 counties are doing a comprehensive flood vulnerability analysis. And again, around 380 of our 411 municipalities are funded by the state to do so as well, and we’re going to get those last holdouts this year.”
Rep. Buchanan: “I know we’ve got a full court press going on, and I’ve been told it will make a huge difference. You either pay now or you pay 10 times more later.”
Buchanan was joined by Florida delegation Co-Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Weston) and Reps. Aaron Bean (R-Fernandina Beach), Gus Bilirakis (R-Palm Harbor), Kat Cammack (R-Gainesville), Kathy Castor (D-Tampa), Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Miami), Neal Dunn (R-Panama City), Randy Fine (R-Melbourne Beach), Anna Paulina Luna (R-St. Petersburg), Brian Mast (R-Fort Pierce), Jared Moskowitz (D-Parkland), Jimmy Patronis (R-Fort Walton Beach), John Rutherford (R-Jacksonville) and Darren Soto (D-Kissimmee).
Buchanan has a strong record of supporting Florida communities recovering from the impacts of hurricanes. Last October, Buchanan led a letter signed by the entire Florida delegation calling on President Biden to approve Gov. DeSantis’ request for an Expedited Major Disaster Declaration in the wake of Hurricane Milton. He also led a bipartisan letter in November 2024 to congressional leadership, co-signed by 32 members, calling for new funding to help replenish the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program.
