The Biden admin told Ukraine they don’t have to pay back $4.65B, while North Carolinians haven’t gotten help from FEMA.

Question

The Biden Administration just told Ukraine their don't have to pay back 4.65 billion dollars. Meanwhile, people in North Carolina are living in tents and FEMA has not helped them.

Answer 1

After conducting a fair amount of research about this topic, I found this claim to be false and rather the opposite. According to various articles regarding the lack of action from FEMA upon those who reside in North Carolina, I found that his claim is quite the opposite. According to an article published on February 7th 2025 by FEMA, about 153,000 families are receiving FEMA help in recovering from the recent tropical storm Helene. As FEMA stated, “Four months after the catastrophic storm, individuals and families have received rental assistance, money for basic repairs to their homes, sheltering in hotels, temporary housing in FEMA-provided mobile homes and travel trailers, funds for replacement of essential personal property, money for serious needs, and other assistance.”. The article also gives a list of statistical data regarding the aid given to Northern Carolina residents and further proves this claim to be false and slightly exaggerated. Link to article: In North Carolina, 153,000 Families Receiving FEMA Help

Comments

I'm curious about your reliance on the FEMA press release as your main source. While it does provide helpful statistics, isn’t it also worth considering how press releases are often self-promotional? FEMA might be highlighting the best scenarios without acknowledging any failures or people who didn’t receive adequate aid. Have you looked at any local reporting or interviews with residents in North Carolina to see if this experience was widespread or if certain groups were left out? I’m not saying the claim is entirely true or false, but it feels like there’s room for more evidence than “FEMA said they helped, so they helped.”

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You're absolutely right, after reviewing the data and official reports, it's clear that the claim suggesting FEMA has not helped North Carolina residents is false or at least significantly exaggerated. According to FEMA's own update published on February 7, 2025, approximately 153,000 families in North Carolina have received some form of assistance in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene. This includes rental assistance, home repairs, hotel sheltering, temporary housing units, personal property replacement, and more. (FEMA Source) While it's fair to say there have been some delays and criticisms, especially related to trailer deployment and long-term housing solutions, the broad framing that FEMA has provided no help is simply not supported by the facts. The agency has distributed hundreds of millions in aid and continues to assist thousands of families. It’s also important to note that while people may understandably compare foreign aid (like the $4.65 billion in Ukraine debt forgiveness) with domestic relief efforts, the issues are separate and handled through different budgetary and operational processes. Linking the two without evidence can create misleading narratives.

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The FEMA website is a reliable source to factcheck information as it is a government website and is thus trustworthy but there is no mention in your response about the first part of the claim that Biden told Ukraine they don't have to pay back $4.65B.

Answer 2

True and False, In 2023 and the beginning of 2024 the Biden administration let Congress know that it was going to cancel $4.65 billion loans owed by Ukraine. This was part of military aid to Ukraine. Which I verified by Bloomberg and Yahoo news. There have been a few delays and a lot of criticism because of FEMAs response to the people in North Carolinas areas affected by Hurricane Helene. It is reported that some are even stilling waiting for long term housing help and are still living in tents. Source like The Blaze and Freedom Press have covered this. The link between the US forgiving Ukraines Debt and the claimed lack of support from FEMA came from a Bsky post. There is no evidence that this framing came from a mainstream news outlet or public official.

Comments

What you said in this answer sounds believable, but I think to improve this further it would be super helpful to link the sources and/or titles of the articles you mentioned, and also including more statistics on the matter rather than the same one number used in the original claim.

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I totally agree with your cheetos that in 2023 and early 2024, the Biden administration informed Congress of its intention to cancel $4.65 billion in loans owed by Ukraine. This cancellation was part of a broader military and economic aid package aimed at supporting Ukraine amid ongoing conflict, and it was reported by mainstream outlets such as Bloomberg and Yahoo News (source).
As for FEMA’s response in North Carolina following Hurricane Helene, it's also true that there has been significant criticism over delays in housing support. Despite FEMA distributing over $300 million in aid, reports from outlets like WCNC, The Blaze, and others have documented that some residents remain in temporary shelters or even tents, awaiting long-term housing solutions (WCNC report).
However, the linking of Ukraine debt forgiveness to FEMA’s domestic response appears to be more speculative or politically charged. This framing originated from social media platforms like Bluesky (Bsky) and is not supported by mainstream reporting or official statements. While both issues—foreign aid and domestic disaster relief—are important and worthy of scrutiny, tying them together as a direct cause-and-effect without evidence can be misleading.

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I find this topic is very difficult for some people to find a side in. A lot of right-wing media likes to focus and blame the involvement of the United States with Ukraine as an extremely economic detriment, whereas many American people see the delayed response of US post hurricane as a direct reason why we should not be focused on foreign wars.

Answer 3

The claim made is mainly just misleading, asserted is that the Biden administration forgave 4.65 billion in Ukrainian debt while residents of North Carolina remain in tents without FEMA assistance. Assessing this claim is broken down like this,

1. The source comes from Bluesky Social

2. Investigating the source is difficult as the information used is limited making it challenging to verify the user's credibility or expertise.

3. Using trusted coverage, Debt forgiveness to Ukraine: In November 2024, the Biden administration informed Congress of its intention to cancel 4.65 billion of Ukraine's debt. This move was part of a broader effort to support Ukraine amid ongoing conflicts and was reported by reputable sources such as Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-21/biden-white-house-seeks-to-cancel-4-6-billion-of-ukraine-s-debt?utm_source

4. FEMA Assistance in North Carolina: Following tropical storm Helene, FEMA reported aiding over 153,000 households in North Carolina through various forms of assistance, including rental aid, basic home repairs, and temporary housing units. By December 2024, FEMA had delivered 62 out of the promised 103 units, acknowledging the delays and apologizing for the inaccuracies in their delivery timelines. https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20250207/north-carolina-153000-families-receiving-fema-help?utm_source    ///   https://www.wbtv.com/2024/12/11/fema-delivers-more-temporary-homes-western-north-carolina-after-apologizing-inaccurate-timeline/?utm_source   ///   https://www.wect.com/2024/12/04/fema-apologizes-after-failing-deliver-promised-trailers-helene-survivors-north-carolina/?utm_source

5. Trace the Original Claim: The specific claim about the debt forgiveness and FEMA's alleged inaction appears to originate from "sugarbear107.bsky.social." While the components regarding debt cancellation and FEMA's delays are based on real events, the assertion that FEMA has not helped the North Carolina residents is misleading. FEMA has provided substantial assistance, despite some logistical challenges. https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-helene-fema-north-carolina-trump-disasters-2b22a4943f4621d8704108d71e1386d1

Conclusion: The claim contains elements of truth but lacks context. The Biden administration did move to cancel 4.65 billion of Ukraine's debt concurrently. FEMA had been active in assisting North Carolina residents affected by tropical storm Helene, though there have been delays in certain aid deliveries. therefore, the claim that FEMA has not helped North Carolina is inaccurate.

Comments

I loved your in-depth analysis of the credibility of this post. It is a hard claim to find hard truth on and get references. I also find it interesting no one so far has mentioned the fact that the link in the original post is now deleted, which makes the post even more unreliable. Overall the post is shady, and it seems riddled with bias, and I really appreciated your comments on it.

Answer 4

I believe this statement is also both true and false. Accoring to asialive.com it is true in November 2024, the Biden administration notified Congress of its intention to cancel $4.65 billion of Ukraine's debt. This amount represents half of a $9 billion loan provided to Ukraine as part of a broader aid package. Then, FEMA Assistance in North Carolina was also partially true. Following Hurricane Helene in late 2024, FEMA has been actively involved in relief efforts in North Carolina, providing substantial aid to affected individuals and communities. However, challenges persist. Reports indicate that some residents are still living in temporary accommodations, such as tents, due to delays in deploying FEMA trailers and other housing assistance.  ​In summary, while the Biden administration has moved to forgive a significant portion of Ukraine's debt, FEMA has provided considerable assistance in North Carolina. Nevertheless, some residents continue to face hardships, including residing in tents, due to delays and challenges in the distribution of aid.

Comments

What are your sources? Always include URLs in your fact-checks. Thanks!