LIEBERMAN PLEDGES HELP IN FEMA INDIVIDUAL FLOOD ASSISTANCE APPEALS PROCESS

WASHINGTON – Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., issued the following statement Thursday with regard to FEMA’s rejection of Governor Rell’s application for individual assistance for damages related to last month’s flooding.

“I deeply regret that FEMA rejected Governor Rell’s request for individual damage assistance to help families recover from last month’s torrential rains and subsequent flooding. I was in Norwich with FEMA’s Acting Region I Administrator earlier this month and witnessed firsthand the loss and heartbreak so many people suffered.

“Unlike public aid, however, which the state was granted, individual aid is based on subjective criteria. Apparently, FEMA has an unacknowledged rule that suggests major damage must occur to at least 100 homes for it to consider individual assistance, and the state’s application listed major damage to 83 homes – almost 20 percent below the unwritten standard. I have called upon FEMA to work closely with Governor Rell as she appeals the state’s rejected aid claim. My staff and I will also work closely with the Governor to ensure the state’s appeal takes into consideration all damaged homes in all parts of the state, any affected special needs populations, concentrations of damage – and other factors that could make a difference.”  

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