Vice President Joe Biden assured victims of the Colorado floods on Monday that even if the government shuts down next week, the state will continue to receive federal aid for its recovery efforts.
“It’s probably going to scare the living devil out of you,” Biden said of what he called the “disfunction of Congress” threatening to halt funding for the federal government, according to a pool report. Regardless of whether that funding freeze comes to pass, Biden said, FEMA resource centers and hotlines would continue to aid flood victims.
Biden took a helicopter tour Monday to survey the damage in the flood-ravaged area around Greeley, Colo. with Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) and FEMA administrator Craig Fugate. So far, $35 million in federal aid has been granted to the state for emergency repairs to infrastructure destroyed in the floods, according to the pool report.
“That’s obviously not going to be enough,” Biden said. “We are going to keep working with the governor … until we make you whole.”
