{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://ezell.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=254", "Miss. Delegation Urges Biden to Approve Federal Disaster Declaration for Mississippi", "2023-07-25", "2023", "2023-07", "Republican", "House", "MS", "Mike Ezell", "E000235", "ezell.house.gov", "ezell", "https://ezell.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "The Mississippi congressional delegation today shared their strong support for Governor Tate Reeves\u2019s request for a federal disaster declaration after extreme weather tore across the state in June. If approved, the disaster declaration would unlock additional federal resources to supplement state recovery efforts.\n\nU.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and U.S. Representatives Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., Trent Kelly, R-Miss., Michael Guest, R-Miss., and Mike Ezell, R-Miss., sent President Biden a letter endorsing the Governor\u2019s request for a major disaster declaration for the State of Mississippi, and for assistance for Jackson, Jasper, Claiborne, Copiah, Covington, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Rankin, Scott, Simpson, Smith, and Wayne counties.\n\n\u201cIn the wake of recent extreme weather that brought severe thunderstorms and tornadoes to the State of Mississippi, we request your full consideration of Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves\u2019s request for a federal disaster declaration,\u201d the lawmakers wrote.\n\nThe letter follows a preliminary disaster assessment which highlights the extent of loss of life, injuries, and damage.\n\n\u201cAvailable resources from state and local governments and volunteer organizations are inadequate to meet the state\u2019s recovery needs. Significant federal assistance and cooperation are needed for Mississippi to rebuild,\u201d the lawmakers wrote.\n\nSee the full letter here or below.\n\nDear President Biden,\n\nIn the wake of recent extreme weather that brought severe thunderstorms and tornadoes to the State of Mississippi, we request your full consideration of Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves\u2019s request for a federal disaster declaration.\n\nWe appreciate the efforts of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help Mississippians recover in the aftermath of the severe tornadoes that struck the state in March and April, and we anticipate expeditious support from the agency in assisting state and local officials as they continue assessing the severity of damages.\n\nInitial damage reports indicate Mississippi experienced severe weather from June 14 through 19, 2023, including an EF-2 tornado with 130 MPH winds. As Governor Reeves requested, the Joint Public Assistance damage assessments demonstrate that at least 380 homes, businesses, and other structures were destroyed or suffered significant damage.\n\nThis declaration includes a request for individual assistance for Jackson and Jasper Counties. Additionally, it contains a request for public assistance to assist local governments primarily with debris removal in Claiborne, Copiah, Covington, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Rankin, Scott, Simpson, Smith, and Wayne Counties.\n\nAvailable resources from state and local governments and volunteer organizations are inadequate to meet the state\u2019s recovery needs. Significant federal assistance and cooperation are needed for Mississippi to rebuild.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:18:03Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://ezell.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=254"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.552920952439308, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}