WASHINGTON, D.C. – All three members of North Dakota’s congressional delegation sent another letter urging the Trump administration to approve storm disaster declaration requests made by Governor Kelly Armstrong.
The two presidential major disaster declaration requests were made by Armstrong to cover storm damage suffered in the state during the months of June and August.
Both requests are still pending approval.
Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak, Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, who all jointly sent their first letter related to the June 20-21 derecho event, have now sent a second calling for the administration to also “swiftly approve” Armstrong’s request to help with storm damage suffered on August 7th and 8th.
“While North Dakotans are extremely resilient, the August 7-8 severe storm system, coupled with the previous June 20-21 derecho event, has compounded the need for federal recovery assistance in areas of our state,” the delegation wrote.
“We support the State’s request and respectfully request you approve it as soon as possible so the necessary Federal resources can be made available to North Dakotans.”
The second letter comes on the heels of an Associated Press report finding several states, including North Dakota, have waited a month or more on average for President Trump to approve such requests.
Flag Family News reached out to Governor Armstrong about the AP analysis, and if there’s any frustration related to the wait.
“If an additional week or two to review requests means more prudent use of federal dollars, he can live with that,” communications director Mike Nowatzki responded in a written statement.
