Amid New Flooding, Carbajal, Panetta, California Delegation Call for Delay of Tomorrow’s FEMA Storm Aid Application DeadlineCalifornia lawmakers: “families cannot afford to miss out on any federal relief due to the unfortunate timing of the deadline and current emergencies.”
San Luis Obispo,
March 15, 2023
Today, Central Coast Congressmen Salud Carbajal (CA-24) and Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) joined 24 members of the California congressional delegation in calling for a delay of the March 16 deadline for families impacted by January’s severe storms to apply for federal aid. Amid multiple new storms that have caused renewed flooding and displacement of families on the Central Coast, the bipartisan group of lawmakers asked the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency today to extend tomorrow’s deadline for direct support to offset costs of home repairs, temporary displacement, and other costs associated with the January storm. “Our constituents are currently facing yet another flood event, and many have been displaced right before the March 16, 2023 deadline. Extending this deadline will allow victims to focus on their safety, instead of paperwork, as they continue to experience the fallout from current winter storms,” the lawmakers wrote. “We are confident that FEMA did not anticipate this current storm when setting the current March 16 application deadline. We urge you to extend this deadline for our constituents who have been unable to recover between historic storms and have faced emergencies and losses twice in the past three months.” Carbajal and Panetta successfully urged President Biden to unlock the FEMA aid for residents of San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties earlier this year. While President Biden has approved a federal emergency declaration for the most recent storms hitting the Central Coast, applications for FEMA disaster relief cannot be used for damage caused by the most recent flooding events. Additional Members signing the letter include; Reps. Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44), Ami Bera, M.D. (CA-06), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), Judy Chu (CA-28), J. Luis Correa (CA-46), Jim Costa (CA-21), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Anna G. Eshoo (CA-16), John Garamendi (CA-08), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Josh Harder (CA-09), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Doris Matsui (CA-07), Grace F. Napolitano (CA-31), Katie Porter (CA-47), Adam Schiff (CA-30), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Mike Thompson (CA-04), and David G. Valadao (CA-22). The full text of the letter can be found here. |
