Grassley Supports Reynolds Request for Federal Disaster Assistance for 57 Iowa Counties

WASHINGTON, March 22 -- The office of Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, issued the following news release:

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa asked President Donald Trump to promptly grant the request made by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds for an expedited review of the major disaster declaration request for 57 Iowa counties in response to severe storms and flooding which began March 12, 2019.

Grassley spoke with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Acting Administrator Pete Gaynor urging expeditious approval of this much-needed federal disaster declaration. Grassley spoke with Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Elaine Chao on Wednesday regarding Iowa road conditions and damage.

In his request letter, Grassley wrote that Reynolds "determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and supplementary federal assistance is necessary to save lives and to protect property, public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster."

Severe storms and flooding caused significant damage to public infrastructure and private property. The 57 counties included in this request for the Public Assistance Program are Adair, Allamakee, Audubon, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buena Vista, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Cherokee, Clay, Crawford, Dallas, Decatur, Dickinson, Emmet, Fayette, Franklin, Fremont, Greene, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Howard, Humboldt, Ida, Iowa, Jasper, Kossuth, Lyon, Madison, Mahaska, Marshall, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, O'Brien, Osceola, Page, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Polk, Pottawattamie, Sac, Shelby, Sioux, Tama, Union, Webster, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Woodbury, and Wright. Governor Reynold's also requested the Individual Assistance Program for Crawford, Fremont, Harrison, Ida, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, Page, Plymouth, Pottawattamie, Shelby, and Woodbury counties. A presidential declaration of a major disaster is necessary to trigger release of federal funds for assistance.

Grassley is providing Iowans with flood information and access to resources on his website at www.grassley.senate.gov/flooding.

The letter is available here (http://grassley.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/grassley%20disaster%20request.pdf) and below.

March 21, 2019

The Honorable Donald J. Trump

President of the United States of America

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I respectfully ask that you promptly grant the request made by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds for an expedited review of the major disaster declaration for the State of Iowa as a result of severe storms and flooding which began March 12, 2019. This weather caused significant damage to public infrastructure and private property. The 57 counties included in the request are Adair, Allamakee, Audubon, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buena Vista, Butler, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Cherokee, Clay, Crawford, Dallas, Decatur, Dickinson, Emmet, Fayette, Franklin, Fremont, Greene, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Howard, Humboldt, Ida, Iowa, Jasper, Kossuth, Lyon, Madison, Mahaska, Marshall, Mills, Monona, Montgomery, O'Brien, Osceola, Page, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Polk, Pottawattamie, Sac, Shelby, Sioux, Tama, Union, Webster, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Woodbury, and Wright.

The Governor determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and supplementary federal assistance is necessary to save lives and to protect property, public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster.

Thank you for your prompt consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley

United States Senator