Members of the Florida delegation from both sides of the aisle applauded President Donald Trump approving the Sunshine State’s request for a federal disaster declaration for the impact of Hurricane Dorian which impacted parts of the state in late August and early September.
The White House announced on Monday night that it had approved the declaration.
“Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that a major disaster exists in the state of Florida and ordered Federal assistance to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by Hurricane Dorian from August 28 to September 9, 2019,” the White House announced. “Federal funding is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by Hurricane Dorian in the counties of Brevard, Duval, Flagler, Indian River, Martin, Nassau, Osceola, Palm Beach, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns and St. Lucie. Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.”
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., weighed in Trump approving the declaration on Wednesday.
“Within the past three years, Florida has been directly impacted by several hurricanes that have caused severe financial and physical damage to our communities,” Rubio said. “While Florida was fortunate that the path of Hurricane Dorian veered away from the peninsula of Florida, our communities heeded FEMA’s advice and incurred significant costs making the necessary preparations, and our beaches still experienced damages from the effects of Dorian. This assistance will further help to assist local communities and prepare for future storms.”
In early September, Rubio called on Trump to approve Gov. Ron DeSantis’ request to amend the Emergency Declaration “to allow for Category B reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which allows for expenses related to shelters, removal of health and safety hazards, evacuation measures, etc.”
On the other side of the aisle, U.S. Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., said he was glad to see the declaration included parts of Central Florida.
“Hurricane Dorian posed an incredible risk to the people of Osceola County,” said Soto on Tuesday. “Rightly so, our county deployed a comprehensive readiness strategy to save lives. While Dorian did not ultimately cause substantial damage, it is critical that the federal government share in these preparations costs to relieve the burden on Osceola County and encourage sufficient readiness for future storms. We are excited this request was approved!”
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
