Press Releases

Today, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) and U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright (D-PA-8) sent a letter to President Joe Biden pushing him to grant Governor Josh Shapiro’s appeal of a December 2023 decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to deny Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wyoming Counties a major disaster declaration following serious flooding on September 9, 2023. The Members of Congress emphasize the case for Northeastern Pennsylvania’s eligibility for a major disaster declaration in light of new damage assessment figures from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Administration (PEMA) not included in the data used by FEMA prior to its decision to deny the request for federal funding to aid recovery efforts.

“This damage exceeds the capacity of the impacted local governments’ recovery capabilities if federal assistance is not provided, especially when the high concentration of damages is considered. These new estimates demonstrate that it is critical for FEMA to reevaluate Governor Shapiro’s request for Public Assistance funding,” the Members wrote. “…we also recognize that a robust recovery will require funding from many sources. However, we would like to reiterate that those dollars should be a complement to rather than a replacement for the FEMA resources dedicated for recovery assistance.”

If granted, the declaration would authorize emergency grants to help communities in Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wyoming counties rebuild damaged or destroyed infrastructure.

The full text of the letter to President Biden is below and the signed PDF can be found HERE.