Anniversary of Alabama's Devastating Tornadoes

Floor Speech

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Ms. SEWELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to observe the 1-year anniversary of the devastating tornadoes of January 12, 2023, that struck Alabama's Seventh Congressional District, including my hometown of Selma, Alabama. In the year since the disaster, my team and I have been working diligently with our Federal, State, and local partners to coordinate an effort and a response to this disaster.

We are immensely grateful to President Biden for his expedited approval of Governor Ivey's disaster declaration and for granting my request to increase the Federal cost share for debris removal to 100 percent.

Following the storms, I hosted our first community conversation, so that our friends and neighbors could share their thoughts about our recovery. With that in mind, we were able to successfully secure a $500,000 Federal planning grant from EDA to support long-term recovery efforts in Selma and Dallas County.

Working together, we have delivered more than $22 million in FEMA and SBA, small business assistance, to Greene County, Hale County, Sumter County, and Dallas County. We also secured $2 million from the Delta Regional Authority to repave Selma roads, and a $500,000 CHOICE grant from HUD to build more affordable housing.

While there is so much more work to be done, Mr. Speaker, I am proud of the progress we have made, and I extend my sincere thanks to every individual, every agency that has helped us. We are on the road to recovery, and we will build back better because of your efforts.

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