A Plea for MN Flood Assistance

U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar, Al Franken, and Representative Chip Cravaack today urged the President to reconsider the recent decision denying individual assistance to residents of Northeast Minnesota in the wake of last month’s flooding. In a letter to President Obama, the members offered their support for Governor Dayton’s recent appeal of the decision and the need to reexamine the level of need in the affected communities.

The Trio urge the President, “As congressional representatives of communities devastated by recent flooding, we write in strong support of Governor Dayton’s appeal to reverse the decision denying residents and businesses of Northeastern Minnesota much-needed individual assistance. We have all visited the affected areas and seen the damage to private property, and are deeply concerned that the Administration determined that the severe damage to homes was not significant enough to warrant this support,” the members said in the letter. “While we are continually impressed with the community response and the resilience of our constituents, we believe that federal assistance is necessary beyond the public assistance that has already been granted.”

Earlier this month, at the urging of members of the Minnesota delegation including Klobuchar, Franken and Cravaack, President Obama approved federal assistance to help Minnesota communities repair public infrastructure damaged by recent flooding.