HARKIN URGES OBAMA TO ISSUE A DISASTER DECLARATION FOR IOWA COUNTIES AFFECTED BY BLIZZARDS, ICE STORMS
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) sent a letter to President Obama today supporting Governor Culver's request that two federal disaster declarations be issued for areas of Iowa affected by December's blizzards and January's ice storms.
"These storms severely damaged businesses, homes and roads, isolating many rural residents and putting the welfare of thousands in jeopardy," Senator Harkin said. "Resources and manpower have been exhausted at the local, county and state level, and so I am urging the President to declare the affected counties disaster areas so that we can recover."
Iowa has had an unusually brutal winter, logging the most snowfall in over one hundred years and extremely low temperatures. The counties requesting a federal disaster declaration are Adair, Audubon, Calhoun, Cherokee, Fremont, Carroll, Emmet, Guthrie, Buena Vista, Cass, Franklin, Harrison, Ida, Monona, Palo Alto, Sac, Sioux, Madison, Lyon, Osceola, Pocahontas, Woodbury, Mills, Page, Pottawattamie, Shelby and Crawford.
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WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley today asked President Barack Obama to grant requests made by the state of Iowa for federal assistance after several severe storms ransacked much of the state in December 2009 and January 2010.
"Parts of Iowa were brought to a standstill after ice and snow covered the state. Iowans have had a terrible time restoring power and digging out after record snowfall and ice storms moved through," Grassley said. "Quick approval of the requested assistance would go a long way in helping Iowans recover from these record storms."
Grassley sent separate letters on the state's requests. A copy of the text of the letter regarding the January storm is below. Copies of both letters can be found on Grassley's website.
January 29, 2010
The Honorable Barack Obama
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 grant the request made January 28, 2010 by Iowa Governor Chet Culver for a declaration of a major disaster for the State of Iowa as a result of damages from a severe winter storm that began January 19 and continued through January 26, 2010. 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 to handle effectively and federal assistance is needed.
Thank you for your prompt consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley
United States Senator
