Political Quotes

“I also want to thank my colleague, Congressman Rodney Davis, for working with me to advance this long overdue legislation, which we call the Disaster Declaration Improvement Act. This bill seeks to bring fairness to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster declaration process. Right now, if a tornado, a flood, or any other natural disaster strikes a small town, like many of the ones I represent in the State of Illinois, FEMA's current per capita formula leaves much of rural America behind. That is because FEMA's current disaster assessment rules fail to take into account localized impacts on Main Streets and agricultural communities throughout our Nation. This has left hardworking families in Illinois and rural States throughout the United States without access to the Federal relief they so badly need under these circumstances. For instance, in my district, the city of Pekin was denied FEMA disaster recovery funding following a deadly tornado that had winds up to 120 miles per hour that ripped through the town in November of 2013. Gary and Selena Cleer were in church on that Sunday afternoon when this tornado hit. They took shelter along with the rest of the congregation in the hallway to protect themselves. Finally, and with God's blessing, they were able to drive safely home, and they didn't even recognize what was in front of them. Much of their roof was gone, their garage had been torn away, and their battered car lay among all of the rubble.…”