Dusty Johnson: “I don't have any other speakers, so I would view this as my closing. When you see a small community get hit by disaster…”

“I don't have any other speakers, so I would view this as my closing. When you see a small community get hit by disaster, it just breaks your heart. I remember, as chief of staff to Governor Daugaard, being on the ground in Wessington Springs just hours after a tornado ripped up that town. I was struck by this young mayor, Melissa Mebius, a part- time mayor, as small-town mayors are. She was not an expert in disaster recovery. She didn't know how to navigate the FEMA process. I was reminded of her strength and her persistence just a couple of weeks ago when I was in Castlewood and was able to meet with that mayor, Brian Ries, and get his sense of how their town had been devastated by a tornado. Mr. Speaker, these are not big towns. To be specific, Castlewood is 627 people, and Wessington Springs has 956. These are good mayors. These are good public works directors. These are good city councilors. These are able leaders, but this is not an area of their expertise. The gentleman from New York says it right when he says that this is about fairness. H.R. 7211 makes sure that FEMA will have an advocate who will help these small communities better collect and present the information that is vital to a disaster declaration. We all get it.…”