Iowa Now Eligible for Aid Under Senate Disaster Funding Legislation

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) applauded Senate appropriators for expanding disaster aid eligibility so that Iowans impacted by the recent devastating flooding can now benefit from a $13.45 billion federal relief package that is advancing in the Senate.

“In my years as a member of the Iowa National Guard, I was on the front lines of several major floods—including the 2008 Cedar Rapids flood and the 2011 Missouri River flood. Tragically, the flooding and destruction I witnessed last week back home is as bad as I’ve ever seen,” said Senator Joni Ernst. “I am committed to doing everything in my power to make sure Iowans have every bit of help they need. The expanded eligibility for assistance from this disaster relief package is welcome news and will get more desperately needed aid to Iowans.”

The emergency supplemental appropriations legislation, H.R. 268, provides $13.45 billion in supplemental funding for states and territories ravaged by tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, volcanoes, typhoons, and other such events in 2017 and 2018. Today, it was announced that congressional appropriators in the Senate have amended the disaster legislation to expand eligibility in certain accounts for states in the Midwest, like Iowa, and the South that have experienced catastrophic flooding and tornadoes in 2019.