Hawley gets pledge from DHS for Missouri disaster declarations
Missouri US Senator Josh Hawley has secured a pledge from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem – who oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – to expedite relief for Missouri storm victims.
After touring the damage in St. Louis on Monday, Hawley began publicly demanding help and expressed frustration over the federal response in March, saying, “We cannot wait months. I’m not happy about the fact we’re still waiting from all of that damage two months ago.”
Hawley, told Noem on Tuesday that the need was urgent, and she responded by vowing to expedite Gov. Mike Kehoe’s request for an emergency disaster declaration so the state can get money to clean up the rubble.
“That is one of the failures that FEMA has had in the past is that people who incur this kind of damage and loose everything sit there for months and sometimes years and never get the promised critical response that they think or that they believe they should be getting from the federal government,” Noem said.
In the hearing, Senator Hawley also detailed the debilitating storms that took the lives of 7 Missourians on Friday and left behind more than $1.6 billion in property damage. He also noted that this is not the only lethal storm to hit the state in recent weeks.
“The state has pending three requests for major disaster relief declarations from earlier storms. Counting the people we lost on Friday, we’ve lost almost twenty people now in major storms in the last two months in Missouri. It’s been a terrible spring for us,” said Senator Hawley. “For those three disaster declaration requests that are still pending, will you help with those and get those approved? We are desperate for the assistance in Missouri.”
“Yes, absolutely,” promised Secretary Noem.
Secretary Noem pledged that she would expedite individual assistance for affected Missourians and review of the state’s requested disaster declarations. She also promised she would work with Senator Hawley, who chairs the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Disaster Management, to ensure FEMA provides Missourians with the necessary assistance in the aftermath of the storms.
“Can you commit to, as we deal with this disaster in St. Louis and others around the state, that under your leadership, FEMA is going to act with expedition, they are going to be clear in the communications, and they are going to follow up and give Missourians the awards they need if they qualify for it?” asked Senator Hawley.
“Yes, that has been the biggest challenge of FEMA in the past – the delayed response. People are counting on the assistance and it never comes through, and the paperwork is too complicated for an individual many times to complete on their own – they need help and assistance. That is part of the reforms that the FEMA Review Board will be undertaking,” Secretary Noem answered.