Bill targets disaster aid

Indiana 9th District Rep. Baron Hill will hold a press conference in Clarksville at 11 a.m. Monday regarding a disaster assistance bill he recently introduced.

H.R. 4141, the Disaster Assistance Reform Act, is the product of Hill’s effort to address what the Seymour Democrat called the inequalities in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s decision-making process he saw when Indiana’s request for assistance following flooding late this summer was denied while Kentucky’s request was approved.

In early August, Indiana and Kentucky were hit with the same series of severe storms.

Kentucky received a major disaster declaration and Indiana did not. Jackson County was included in Gov. Mitch Daniels’ federal assistance request that was denied.

Because of the FEMA rules in place, only states that receive the major disaster declaration from the president are eligible to receive the two forms of assistance — individual and public.

Under current law, the president has discretion to determine if a state should receive assistance. This means that the individuals in Indiana hit by the August storm were technically eligible to receive assistance, but FEMA denied the state’s request because the damage in Indiana did not meet its criteria for a major disaster.

H.R. 4141 ensures that individuals in states bordering a state that receives a major disaster declaration can also receive assistance if they meet a certain damage threshold.