Date: 2016-02-29
Speaker: RODNEY DAVIS (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Illinois

Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong support of this bill. FEMAs disaster declaration process is broken. You dont need to look any further than the State of Illinois to see how FEMAs aid formula is failing the hardworking families of this country because it simply doesnt put all communities on a level playing field. In 2012. Harrisburg. Illinois. was denied Federal assistance following tornadoes that swept across the Midwest. while Missouri and Kentucky received it. Recently. towns like Gifford and Washington in central Illinois were denied public assistance as well. FEMA currently takes into account several factors when determining the need for public and individual assistance. However. there currently is no standard to determine which factor is more important than another. which leads to highly subjective and uncertain processes that leave States and communities in limbo for weeks as their application is considered. By working with this committee and this subcommittee that Chairman BARLETTA chairs. we were able to include language that was based on a bill that I introduced with many of my colleagues that requires the administrator of FEMA. when making recommendations to the President regarding a major disaster declaration. to give greater weight and consideration to localized impact. Consideration of this important legislation is timely for my home State of Illinois. Just days ago. Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner submitted a request to President Obama asking him to declare a major disaster for Illinois following the extensive holiday flooding that we saw right at about the new year. Much of this damage happened in my home county of Christian County. where four people tragically lost their lives after encountering flood waters. Sadly. two of the deceased. Brandon Mann and Devan Everett. were from my hometown of Taylorville. Certainly no amount of resources can compensate for the loss of human life when disaster strikes. and yet these communities still need to rebuild. Preliminary damage assessments determined that communities in Illinois experienced $15 million in damages. Unfortunately. that doesnt meet FEMAs $18.1 million threshold. Mr. Speaker. it is just not right that States like Illinois. where a significant portion of the population is concentrated in a single area. can be denied disaster relief because of an arbitrary formula developed by bureaucrats in concrete buildings right here in Washington. D.C. That is what makes this bill and my provision so important. It levels the playing field. It tells rural America that. when disaster strikes. we are going to look out for you. too. Mr. Speaker. I come from rural America. I know these people. These are not the type of people who expect help. who expect Washington to solve their problems. but we as Members of Congress and as Americans have an obligation to commit that we will be there for them when they need us and that we wont let arbitrary formulas prevent that help from being delivered. We need this bill. We need these reforms. It will make a difference. Thank you again to Chairman BARLETTA. Chairman SHUSTER. and the ranking members.