WASHINGTON–Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment after Gov. Terry Branstad's request for a Presidential Disaster Declaration to assist with the impact of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza was denied.
"I'm disappointed that Governor Branstad's request was denied by the Obama Administration. After Tuesday's Agriculture Committee hearing and listening to testimony from producers who were affected, it's very clear that this outbreak caused a significant magnitude of damage throughout the state. The Administration's own chief veterinarian said that it was the largest animal health emergency in the country's history. We heard from one Iowa producer who lost two-thirds of his birds to the disease, and he is not alone.
"Granting a disaster declaration would have made several forms of federal assistance available to these producers. Iowa has suffered great losses from this catastrophic outbreak, and I'm very disappointed that a disaster declaration wasn't granted to help deal with the impact."
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