Oak Ridge, TN – United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement after U.S. President Donald J. Trump approved federal disaster assistance for 10 Tennessee counties impacted by severe storms and straight-line winds in October.
“I commend President Trump for quickly approving Governor Bill Lee’s request for a major disaster declaration to help the 10 Tennessee counties that were harmed by severe storms earlier this year. This federal assistance will help Tennessee communities begin to rebuild and recover.”
Last month, Alexander, along with Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Representative Mark Green (R-Tenn.), sent a letter to President Trump urging his quick approval of the Major Disaster Declaration, saying:
“The storms that swept across the State of Tennessee beginning on October 26th cost two Tennesseans their lives, blew over seven commercial tractor-trailers, shutdown the Tennessee River Bridge on Interstate I-40 for several hours, left nearly 65,000 Tennesseans without power, and closed down nine school districts for nearly a week. To date, the State of Tennessee has spent nearly $22 million responding to the storms. 8 of the 10 counties requesting Public Assistance are below the national poverty rate.
“We strongly urge you to approve Governor Lee’s request, and we hope you will consider our State’s request as soon as possible. The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency has been working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency since the beginning of this incident, and we are grateful for their efforts to respond to Tennessee’s needs.”
Full text of the letter is available Here.
