WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) on Tuesday issued the following statement after learning that 47 Iowa counties impacted by the severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding that occurred between May 19th and June 14th would receive federal disaster assistance. Last week, Harkin wrote President Obama and Craig Fugate, Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, urging federal support for the affected counties. A full copy of Harkin’s letters can be found here.
“I welcome this news and commend the Obama Administration for their quick response to Iowa’s federal disaster needs. This assistance is critical to local transportation, telecommunications, electrical, and public safety systems that were severely disrupted as a result of these storms,” said Harkin. “We know that damage caused by weather can be unpredictable, and severe incidents like last month’s storms require more than just state and local support.”
Counties benefiting from the assistance include: Appanoose, Benton, Buchanan, Buena Vista, Butler, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Clay, Clayton, Crawford, Davis, Delaware, Des Moines, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Greene, Grundy, Hardin, Henry, Ida, Iowa, Jasper, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Lee, Linn, Louisa, Lyon, Mahaska, Marshall, Mitchell, Monona, Monroe, O’Brien, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Poweshiek, Sac, Sioux, Story, Tama, Wapello, Webster, Winnebago, and Wright.
Our tax dollars at work. This is great, but I don’t like to see them going for the Africa trip, like one hundred million dollars worth.