Rubio, Nelson, Florida Colleagues Urge POTUS to Approve Emergency Declaration Ahead of Hurricane Michael

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 -- The office of Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, issued the following news release:

Today, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Florida Representatives urged President Trump to approve Florida Governor Rick Scott's request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration ahead of Hurricane Michael. Yesterday, Governor Scott formally requested President Trump issue a federal declaration for 35 counties. If approved, the declaration would provide the resources needed to prepare and respond to the powerful hurricane. Hurricane Michael is projected to make landfall Wednesday in the Florida panhandle as a category 3 storm.

Joining Senators Rubio and Nelson were U.S. Representatives Ted Deutch (D-FL), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Vern Buchanan (R-FL), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), Darren Soto (D-FL), Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), Dennis Ross (R-FL), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Val Demings (D-FL) and Al Lawson (D-FL).

The full text of the letter is below.

Dear Mr. President:

We write in full support of Florida's request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration in anticipation of Hurricane Michael. Based on the current forecast, this hurricane has the potential to severely impact communities across northern Florida and down the coast. We urge you to immediately approve this request to ensure that all federal resources are made available.

Since 2016, Florida has been hit by Hurricanes Hermine, Matthew, Irma, and Nate. While Floridians are still in the process of recovering from previous storms, federal resources are crucial to ensuring a successful response to Hurricane Michael. Preparation has been shown to be key in reducing the potential for loss of life and destruction of property. As such, we strongly urge you to consider all of the circumstances referenced in our Governor's request, and approve this pre-landfall emergency declaration that will provide the assistance necessary to ensure the safety of Floridians.

Thank you for your attention and we look forward to working with you to ensure Florida recovers from this potentially dangerous storm.