WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley tonight said that President George W. Bush had declared Iowa a major disaster area due to the winter storms that hit the state between February 23 and March 2.
“I appreciate the President’s quick decision once he got the paperwork from FEMA. This will help Iowans recover from the devastating storms that packed not one, but two punches right through the state,” Grassley said.
On March 2, Grassley hand delivered a letter to the White House asking the President to grant a request made by the State of Iowa to declare Iowa a federal disaster area because of the two major winter storms.
Also, on February 28, he
convinced the Secretary of the Treasury to give a break to Iowa farmers who were unable to file their taxes by the March 1 deadline due to winter storm damage.
Grassley had made the case to Secretary Hank Paulson during a breakfast meeting. Then, that afternoon the Internal Revenue Service issued special instructions that all farmers hit by the storm who were unable to file their taxes by the deadline could request a winter ice storm waiver from the IRS for the penalty that they would otherwise incur.
Through the President’s actions today, federal funding is available to State and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe winter storms in the counties of Benton, Black Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Calhoun, Cedar, Chickasaw, Clinton, Des Moines, Fayette, Floyd, Franklin, Greene, Grundy, Hamilton, Hardin, Henry, Howard, Humboldt, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Jones, Keokuk, Lee, Linn, Louisa, Marion, Marshall, Mitchell, Muscatine, Pocahontas, Poweshiek, Story, Tama, Van Buren, Wapello, Washington, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Worth, and Wright.
Hazard mitigation assistance grants to state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations for action taken to prevent or reduce long term risk to life and property are available for the entire state.
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