All six members of Arkansas’ congressional delegation have sent letters to President Barack Obama and the Federal Emergency Management Agency supporting Gov. Mike Beebe’s request for a disaster declaration.
The lawmakers said the letter sent Friday supports Beebe’s request for the declaration for 15 counties affected by a Dec. 5-6 winter snow and ice storm that left at least two people dead in weather-related accidents.
The letters were sent by U.S. Sens. Mark Pryor and John Boozman and Reps. Rick Crawford, Tim Griffin, Tom Cotton and Steve Womack. Pryor is a Democrat, and the other five are Republicans.
Beebe’s request includes Crawford, Franklin, Independence, Johnson, Logan, Madison, Marion, Montgomery, Newton, Polk, Scott, Searcy, Sebastian, Sharp, and Van Buren counties.
The declaration would make Arkansas eligible for federal aid to help areas recover from infrastructure damage. If approved, it would be the fourth federal disaster declaration issued to the state in 2013.
Arkansas, Pages 14 on 12/29/2013