FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 19, 1997
CONTACT: Dana Hagerty 202/225-2165
WASHINGTON, DC -- Responding to recent statements by a Minnesota State official implying that Minnesota was being shorted federal disaster monies, Congressman Collin C. Peterson (DFL-7th District) today asked Minnesotans to separate fact from political fiction.
"This is NOT about flood victims getting their money or communities getting their money," Peterson said, "this is only about whether or not the State Government will be paying for any of it. In either case, flood victims and communities in Minnesota will get just as much disaster money as the flood victims in North Dakota."
Historically, the structure of Federal disaster payments is based on the damages that have occurred. The way money is being allocated in Minnesota is the normal structure of the program -- the Federal government provides 75 percent of the aid, while the State is responsible for a 15 percent match, and the local government covers the other 10 percent.
Under current law, there are special circumstances in which the Federal government would cover 90 percent, leaving 10 percent to be covered by the local government. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), when disaster-related damage meets or exceeds $64 per capita, then the 90-10 allocation formula can go into effect. Because they have a relatively small population, North Dakota is likely to qualify.
"When he visited East Grand Forks, the Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, did promise the Mayor of East Grand Forks that the flood relief legislation would provide Minnesota with a 90-10 allocation formula so that they would be equal to North Dakota," Peterson said, "but unfortunately this did not happen."
"To be fair, FEMA has opposed making a "special exception" to the law for Minnesota regarding the 90-10 split because of the precedent it would set. According to them, if an exception was made in our case, every other state would want an exception to the rule as well," Peterson concluded.