Biden promises housing, mortuary help for Surfside building collapse victims

President Joe Biden said he spoke with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday and promised federal help for Surfside, where 159 people are unaccounted for and four are confirmed dead after the 12-story Champlain Towers South oceanfront condo collapsed.

Biden spoke with DeSantis shortly after 1 p.m. before signing a bill into law that designates a federal memorial for the 2016 Pulse Nightclub mass shooting in Orlando in a ceremony at the White House.

“I’ve spoken to Governor DeSantis and we provided all the help they need,” Biden said, flanked by Pulse survivors and members of Congress. “We sent the best people from FEMA down there. We’re going to stay with them with the disaster declaration we made, provide for everything from housing to, God forbid, whether there’s a need for a [mortuary] for the bodies to be placed and everything in-between.”

Biden said the federal government is available to provide immediate assistance and long-term help after officials on the ground “decide what the state of play is.”

“We really appreciate having the support of the president,” DeSantis said in Surfside on Friday afternoon.

Biden said the Pulse survivors standing next to him understand what families in Surfside are going through, not knowing if their loved ones are alive or not.

“People who are here, who are part of what happened that night at Pulse Nightclub, and the scores I just spoke to a moment ago ... they understand what it’s like to have to wait and wonder what happened,” Biden said. “I just want to say and I’m sure I speak for all the members of the Congress here today and all the survivors here that it’s a tough, tough time. You have so many people waiting. Are they alive? What will happen? And so our heart goes out to them.”

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden has no current plans to visit Surfside yet, noting that rescue efforts are ongoing.

“Any decision along those lines would be done in coordination and cooperation with local authorities,” Psaki said at a press briefing. “I don’t have any trip to preview for you at this time.”

DeSantis declared a state of emergency on Thursday evening after the building collapsed early that morning. Biden on Friday ordered the federal government to assist state and local response efforts, authorizing federal agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security to provide help.

The White House named Thomas J. McCool, a FEMA official who has previously overseen disaster response efforts in Florida such as the response to Hurricane Michael in 2018, as the federal coordinating officer for recovery operations.

FEMA also has two search and rescue teams at the site and is sending building science experts, search and rescue technical experts and a mobile command center, the White House said in a statement. Additional FEMA search and rescue teams are on standby if needed.

The White House said FEMA has established a short-term shelter with the Red Cross and the organizations are searching for hotel rooms to house families and providing mental health counselors and a small grant to help families with short-term expenses.

“I promise you the administration, Congress will do everything possible to be of assistance now and after they decide what the state of play is,” Biden said.

This story was originally published June 25, 2021 at 2:50 PM.