Blunt: Much-Needed Disaster Aid Finally on Its Way to Missouri

WASHINGTON, June 6 -- Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, issued the following news release:

U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.) today applauded President Trump for signing into law the bipartisan disaster aid bill. Blunt voted in favor of the bill, which passed the Senate last month.

"Flooding and extreme weather have been devastating in many areas of our state and we're not in the clear yet," said Blunt. "This bill provides much-needed resources to recover from damages that have already been assessed and could provide additional support for future recovery needs. One of my priorities was making sure stored commodities that were lost or couldn't be planted were covered in this bill, and I'm glad we could get that done. There is a long road ahead for all of the families, farms, and communities that have been impacted by these disasters and I'll continue working with Governor Parson, and state and local officials, to secure any federal support that may be needed."

The bill includes:

- $4.5 billion for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to repair damage to farmlands, rebuild infrastructure and rural community facilities, and provide assistance for crop losses in flood impacted states, including Missouri. The bill also includes a provision Blunt worked on with Sens. Grassley (Iowa), Ernst (Iowa), and Fischer (Neb.) to extend aid eligibility to stored commodities that were lost and crops that were unable to be planted. Hawley supported that effort;

- $3 billion in funding to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to repair waterways infrastructure, including $1 billion to aid repairs of local levees that were breached or damaged in Missouri and elsewhere;

- $1.6 billion for the Department of Transportation's highway emergency relief program to repair roads and bridges; and

- $2.4 billion for grants to cities, counties, and states for long term-recovery, infrastructure restoration, and economic revitalization through the Community Development Block Grant program.