WASHINGTON   –  As the Federal Emergency Management Agency declined to adjust Missouri’s cost share for expenses related to the February ice storms that caused widespread damage and outages in Southern Missouri earlier this year, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (MO-08) said the agency doesn’t understand the situation faced by residents, businesses and Southern Missouri communities.

“This was literally the most damage I have seen in 13 years representing the Eighth Congressional District,” Emerson said.  “All across the state, power lines came down, trees were destroyed, damage of all kinds was done to houses and other structures, and days of operations were lost at businesses all over. Our state, our counties, our municipalities and our families suffered losses and had to make emergency plans because of this storm, and it took place during an extremely difficult time in our economy.”

Emerson said the cost share adjustment, which would have shifted the entire amount of disaster programs to the federal government, was warranted in particular due to the stretched budgets ordinarily dedicated to disaster response, debris removal, and other emergency operations.

“FEMA knows the extent of the damage, I am sure, but our disconnect is taking place over their understanding of just how difficult it is for local communities to afford these costs.  I’ll continue seeking a resolution to this matter, but it appears FEMA considers this matter to be closed.  They think we can handle these enormous expenses in places where the ice storm was the third or fourth major storm to wreak havoc in just a few months; and we simply can’t,” Emerson said.