U.S. Senator Mark Kirk says he is still hopeful about passing the measure to change the federal funding formula used after a disaster. Kirk made his comments in Washington today, nearly three years after the EF-4 tornado struck Tazewell County. FEMA denied funding to the town.
Previous attempts to pass the measure failed because some lawmakers feared it would take away disaster funding in their states.
Senator Kirk says the measure he’s sponsoring with Dick Durbin still has a chance in veto session. But that prompts the question, what’s changed?
“What’s different is now I am a member of the Senate majority. I am the chairman of a key sub committee. I can go to Mitch McConnell and say let's do this.”
The law currently has a population-based threshold for FEMA to assist a municipality. Kirk says he will work to place Senate Bill 7-80 anywhere he can in the next stopgap legislation.
Washington had 11,000 homes destroyed or badly damaged. Most all have been restored with the addition of nearly 160 new homes.