Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton has introduced an emergency appropriations bill that would provide $50 million in additional assistance to the migrants being bused from Texas and Arizona to the District.

The new bill would bolster the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program. So far, Congress has directed $150 million to FEMA for migrant aid but approximately $65 million has been spent as of July 21.

According to Norton, the busing of migrants from the southwestern states has led to an increase in requests for EFSP funds, which she says could soon be exhausted.

“The governors of Texas and Arizona are exploiting and harming desperate and vulnerable people fleeing dangerous situations in their home countries for political gain,” said Norton in a statement Tuesday. “I commend the work organizations in D.C. and the National Capital Region have done to assist these migrants, but more funding is needed to assist these families.”

Since April, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey have bused more than 5,000 migrants to D.C. Many have been greeted by mutual aid workers and local volunteers with food, temporary housing, and other necessities. In late May, those volunteers estimated that it cost roughly $90,000 per month to support those arriving in the District.

“What we’ve had are volunteers taking care of these migrants coming to the District of Columbia,” Norton told DCist/WAMU. “Well, we’re running out of money.”

In the months since Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey started busing migrants, many have criticized D.C.’s own Mayor Muriel Bowser for what they say is a failure to provide support and resources. Some migrants are being housed in a Hampton Inn in Northeast D.C., according to advocates, where some allege that they’ve experienced discriminatory treatment.

Bowser — who has long contended that the arriving migrants are a federal issue, not a citywide one — has twice requested that the Department of Defense deploy the National Guard to assist intake at Union Station, where most migrants are arriving. Those requests have both been denied.

Meanwhile, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine last week announced he would offer $50,000 in individual grants for local organizations providing assistance to arriving migrants.

The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Appropriations, where members will study the legislation before it can move on to the calendar for a vote. If it passes, it will move on to the Senate.

Previously: 

Migrant Families Are Sheltered At A D.C. Quarantine Hotel. Their Advocates Describe Inadequate Treatment

Feds Again Deny D.C.’s Request For National Guard Help With Bused Migrants

D.C. Attorney General Announces Grants To Support Migrants Bused From Texas, Arizona

Mayor Bowser Requests D.C. National Guard To Support Migrants Being Bused Into Union Station

Local Organizers Say Bowser Administration Is Failing Migrants Being Bused To D.C.

Inside The Local Mutual Aid Effort Supporting The Migrants Texas Bused To D.C.