Ernst says disaster funds ‘never used to be political’

Even though a Republican-sponsored bill offering financial assistance to states impacted by natural disasters failed to obtain enough votes in early April, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is still hoping legislation aiding her flood-stricken home state “is one of the first bills that comes up” when she returns to Washington, D.C. next week.

During a Wednesday morning town hall meeting at the Des Moines Area Community College Newton Campus, Ernst said the GOP bill offered a supplemental aid package to many areas in the U.S. affected by disasters for the past few years, including the most recent floods in the Midwest, the 2018 California wildfires and the people of Puerto Rico still recovering from the costly damages caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017.

“However, the Senate Democrats decided that was not enough funding for Puerto Rico,” Ernst said during the town hall, one of the many stops in the senator’s 99 County Tour this year. “They voted ‘no’ against the comprehensive bill. They were supporting Sen. (Chuck) Schumer’s bill, which did not include funding for the Midwest and much more significant funding for Puerto Rico.”

According to an April 11 press release from Senate Democratic Caucus, an amendment to the Democrat-penned legislation spearheaded by Schumer, D-N.Y., the Senate Minority Leader, “includes $3 billion in funding for disasters in the Midwest and Southeast,” as well as funding for other regions, including Puerto Rico. The total relief package totals $17.2 billion.

Devastating flood damages throughout the Midwest more than a month ago prompted Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds to request a major disaster declaration from President Donald Trump. Upon the president’s approval of Reynolds’ request, 56 Iowa counties, including Jasper County, were deemed eligible to apply for federal assistance funding.

Ernst later told the Newton Daily News the final details of a disaster funding bill “are still being worked out” between U.S. Senators Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chair and vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Funding, she said, is needed to rebuild and fortify the levies, otherwise affected areas will continue to flood.

“We would like to see that right away at the beginning of the week,” Ernst said. “We want to bring a bill up, get that finalized here in the next few days (and) get it passed through the Senate. We need to get it done and then on over to the House. But it has to include funding for the Midwest.”

The bill, she added, also needs to cover the disasters from last year and include a “moderate amount of funding for Puerto Rico” to please Senate Democrats, who she claimed will not support the bill otherwise.

Previously stating at the Newton town hall that the United States has already sent “billions upon billions of dollars” to Puerto Rico, Ernst told the Newton Daily News the government’s delays in providing disaster relief has become more political.

“Disaster funding never used to be political. Everybody has supported disaster packages,” Ernst said. “For whatever reason now with Puerto Rico it has become very political.”

At the town hall meeting, Ernst said a number of lawmakers and the president himself have issues with the funding for Puerto Rico. Agreeing that the U.S.-controlled territory does need assistance after the damage it sustained two years ago, Ernst said there should be a level accountability when sending supplemental funds for disasters.

Many of the funds the Midwestern states would receive from a proposed bill, she added, would be spent on repairing the levy system that had been compromised during the floods.

Ernst reminded those in attendance even though “disasters are still occurring in Iowa,” with more flooding expected in the spring and summer, there are also a number of states like North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Texas that were affected by natural disasters and had not received all of their funding yet.

“And it’s hung up in this package. So they’ve waited a very long time for disaster assistance, and we need to make sure we’re getting relief to those states as well,” Ernst said. “So we still have some work to do. We want to see this get done as soon as possible.”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com