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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Communities across the State of Illinois were | ||||||
| 3 | devastated and 8 people were killed in tornadoes which struck | ||||||
| 4 | the State on November 17, 2013; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Hundreds of homes and businesses were damaged or | ||||||
| 6 | destroyed by the storm; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Local governments incurred millions in | ||||||
| 8 | storm-related costs, including damage to public facilities, | ||||||
| 9 | overtime, equipment rental, emergency sheltering and | ||||||
| 10 | protective measures, and additional costs relating to cleanup | ||||||
| 11 | and recovery; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, On November 26, 2013, the President declared that | ||||||
| 13 | the storms were "of sufficient severity and magnitude to | ||||||
| 14 | warrant a major disaster declaration under the Robert T. | ||||||
| 15 | Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act"; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, The federal government subsequently disbursed | ||||||
| 17 | more than $23.5 million in aid to assist individuals and | ||||||
| 18 | businesses hit hardest by the storms; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, On March 4, 2014, the federal government declared | ||||||
| 20 | that the costs incurred by first responders and other State and | ||||||
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| 1 | local government agencies were not sufficient to warrant | ||||||
| 2 | federal help under the Public Assistance section of the | ||||||
| 3 | Stafford Act; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, The formula for determining eligibility under the | ||||||
| 5 | Stafford Act is based on the population of a state, thereby | ||||||
| 6 | setting Illinois' threshold much higher than the threshold of | ||||||
| 7 | most other states in the nation; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, This exceptionally high threshold has caused | ||||||
| 9 | Illinois to be denied federal assistance for disasters striking | ||||||
| 10 | in primarily rural areas frequently during the last decade; and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, Members of the Illinois congressional delegation | ||||||
| 12 | have introduced legislation to correct this unfair federal | ||||||
| 13 | disaster assistance threshold formula; therefore, be it
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| 14 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 15 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 16 | we urge the members of the United States House of | ||||||
| 17 | Representatives to correct this outdated and unfair system by | ||||||
| 18 | passing H.R. 3925, the Fairness in Federal Disaster | ||||||
| 19 | Declarations Act; and be it further
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| 20 | RESOLVED, That we urge the members of the United States | ||||||
| 21 | Senate to pass S. 1960, the Fairness in Federal Disaster | ||||||
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| 1 | Declarations Act; and be it further | ||||||
| 2 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 3 | delivered to the members of the Illinois congressional | ||||||
| 4 | delegation.
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