Letter to William Vogel, Federal Coordinating Officer of FEMA, Re: Extend Deadline For Iowa Flood Victims

Letter

Harkin, Grassley Press Fema to Extend Deadline For Iowa Flood Victims

Senators Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley, and the rest of the Iowa delegation today sent a letter to Federal Emergency Management Agency, Federal Coordinating Officer William Vogel, asking him to extend the deadline for victims of Iowa floods to apply for Individual Assistance. Iowa Homeland Security Director David Miller made the request earlier today. The request asks FEMA to extend the deadline from September 29 to October 31, 2008.

"Many Iowans are busy picking up the pieces and figuring out how to put their lives back together. It's reasonable for the Washington bureaucracy to give them some extra time to apply for disaster assistance with FEMA," said Harkin. "I hope the agency moves quickly to allow this extension so that Iowans have one less thing to worry about."

"What's important is that any Iowan in need of assistance is able to apply. Iowa has put together a new program to address this extraordinary disaster that requires people to have signed up for federal assistance. Iowans may need extra time to study this new program and decide if it's necessary to sign up," Grassley said. "The historic nature of this summer's floods, tornadoes and severe weather requires special consideration and I hope Mr. Vogel will recognize the need and honor the request."

Harkin and Grassley continue to push Congress to pass disaster relief for victims of severe weather in Iowa. Earlier this week, a bipartisan agreement was reached on disaster tax package that will be included in a must-pass, year-end tax bill. The Senators continue to work on a supplemental appropriation for Iowa that is expected to be included in other legislation this year.

Text of the letter follows:

September 18, 2008

William Vogel, Federal Coordinating Officer
FEMA-1763-DR-IA Joint Field Office
4149 NW120th Street
Urbandale, IA 50323

Dear Mr. Vogel:

We share a common goal of putting Iowans back on their feet following the flooding that devastated our state in June. Essential to that goal is that Iowans have the ability to claim necessary federal assistance.

With that common goal in mind, we support the State of Iowa's request for an extension of the FEMA Individual Assistance application period from September 29, 2008, to October 31, 2008. An extension is necessary due to the lengthy disaster period and the large number of registrations being filed. We are sure you agree that all eligible Iowans must be afforded the opportunity to apply for Individual Assistance.

We appreciate your prompt consideration of this request. It is essential that we work together to ensure Iowans have the support and resources necessary to clean up and rebuild following this flooding.

Sincerely,

Senator Tom Harkin
Senator Chuck Grassley
Representative Leonard Boswell
Representative Tom Latham
Representative Bruce Braley
Representative Steve King
Representative Dave Loebsack