The Iowa Senate

State of Iowa

Eighty-Second General Assembly

STATEHOUSE

Des Moines, Iowa 50319

For Immediate Release Contact: Senator Larry McKibben

Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2007 (515) 281-3371

McKibben Introduces Disaster Aid Legislation

Senator Says Bill Is Aimed at Helping Families Hard Hit by Winter Storms

DES MOINES – State Sen. Larry McKibben (R-Marshalltown) today joined with a bipartisan group of legislators to introduce a bill that would help provide state financial assistance to individuals affected by last weekend’s winter storm.

The legislation authorizes $1 million for an individual assistance grant program. The program would provide grants of up to $3,110 to qualifying individuals affected by the recent winter storm.

“This bill would provide immediate assistance to those families hardest hit by the winter storm.” said McKibben. “The money can be used for personal property, home repair and temporary housing assistance. The biggest need for our area right now is generators.”

McKibben said the individual grant program would provide assistance until the federal government declares the storm a Presidential Disaster and federal aid takes effect. If a federal disaster declaration is made, any dollars that have been awarded under the state program would be used to offset the state’s 10 percent match requirement to receive federal assistance. If the federal government denies requests for a disaster declaration, then the state program will continue to be administered until the funding is depleted.

“This is a stop-gap measure in case the federal government denies requests for disaster declarations in the area,” said McKibben. “We saw what happened in Iowa City last year when the federal government denied disaster assistance after the tornados hit and we don’t want the same thing to happen here.”

The grant program would be administered under the same guidelines that exist when a federal disaster is declared. The money would apply to households with annual income less than 130 percent of the federal poverty guideline, based on the number of people included in the household. Individuals who need more information should contact their county emergency management agency.

Both the Senate and the House are expected to act on the bill Wednesday and send it to the governor. The legislation would take effect immediately upon enactment.

McKibben said clean up efforts could be further impaired by another winter storm that is expected to hit the state later this week. “Our trees and infrastructure are in such a fragile state at the moment, I’m afraid another storm will put us over the edge,” said McKibben. “We need all the help we can get. It’s the right thing to do.”

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