WASHINGTON DC (March 26, 2019) — Senator Charles "Chuck" Grassley of Iowa today endorsed Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby of Alabama’s emergency supplemental appropriations legislation that will help millions of Americans recover and rebuild from recent natural disasters. The measure provides $13.45 billion in supplemental-funding for states and territories recently ravaged by tornadoes, flooding, hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, volcanoes, typhoons, and other such events. The Senate voted on the motion to proceed to the legislation today.
“I thank Chairman Shelby for working with me and other senators from the Midwest to add the areas affected by the recent flooding eligible for the funding in this bill. This will help meet some additional needs beyond the regular FEMA disaster aid that is flowing as a result of President Trump’s declaration of a major disaster. I also appreciate Chairman Shelby’s willingness to keep working with us in the future as more estimates come in and more needs are identified,” Sen Grassley said.
“Millions of Americans are hurting as a result of natural disasters that have occurred since 2017. This legislation is the product of months of bipartisan discussions and contains important input from both sides of the aisle and both chambers of Congress. It now also includes critical relief for states like Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, and Kansas that are experiencing ongoing, catastrophic flooding. I hope my Democratic colleagues will join us in providing the relief these people need and not stand in the way just because it does not include every single provision they wanted,” Chairman Shelby said.
The supplemental appropriations bill provides critical aid for states affected by disasters in 2018, as well as ongoing relief for disasters that occurred in 2017, including: agriculture disaster-relief for farmers; development grants for small, rural communities; assistance for veterans’ health-facilities and military-construction projects; emergency funds for critical timber, watershed, and wastewater-infrastructure needs; and resources to restore highways, aviation-facilities, and other transit projects. The measure also includes an additional $600 million in nutrition-assistance for Puerto Rico — a key Democratic priority in the bill. In addition, the legislation expands eligibility certain types of disaster-relief for states in the Midwest and the South that have experienced catastrophic flooding and tornadoes in 2019.
The following are links to the legislative text and summary for the disaster supplemental:
Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief, 2019
