Letter to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States - WV Delegation Urges President to Expand Disaster Declaration to Help with Flood Recovery

Letter

As members of the West Virginia Congressional Delegation, we write to offer our continued support of West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin's request for additional federal disaster assistance due to the severe storms beginning on June 23, 2016 that have caused significant damage to infrastructure, homes, personal property and businesses throughout West Virginia.

At the Governor's request, last weekend, your administration acted swiftly to grant federal disaster aid for individuals in Greenbrier, Kanawha and Nicholas counties in West Virginia. This aid has been instrumental in accessing much needed recovery supplies for the most ravished communities in our state. While cleanup efforts continue, we expect additional requests for assistance as impacted communities realize the full scope and scale of the damages they have incurred as a result of this disaster.

Earlier today, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin expanded his request for federal disaster aid to include seven additional counties in West Virginia. This request was submitted under the provisions of Section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5208 (Stafford Act). We respectfully request that you review this request for Individual Assistance for Clay, Fayette, Monroe, Pocahontas, Roane, Summers and Webster counties. We also ask that FEMA begin immediate discussions with the appropriate state officials in regard to Governor Tomblin's urgent request.

We commend the tireless efforts that local citizens and first responders continue to put forth to aid our great state in the aftermath of such severe flooding, and we again urge you to continue to support us in our efforts to rebuild and recover with federal disaster assistance.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.