Washington, DC — Iowa Governor Terry Branstad’s request for a Presidential Disaster Declaration to assist with the impact of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza — has been denied.
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he’s disappointed that Governor Branstad’s request was denied by the Obama Administration. Grassley says that after Tuesday’s Agriculture Committee hearing, where he listened to testimony from producers who were affected, he says it’s very clear that this outbreak caused a “significant magnitude of damage throughout the state.”
Grassley goes on to say that the Administration’s own chief veterinarian said that it was the largest animal health emergency in the country’s history. He says those in attendance heard from one Iowa producer who lost two-thirds of his birds to the disease, and he is not alone.
The Senator goes on to say that granting a disaster declaration would have made several forms of federal assistance available to these producers. Iowa has suffered great losses from this catastrophic outbreak, says Grassley. And he says he’s “very disappointed that a disaster declaration wasn’t granted to help deal with the impact.”
Sioux County was one of the counties included in the disaster declaration request.
