{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/schmitt-leads-missouri-lawmakers-in-letter-supporting-governors-disaster-declaration-request-following-devastating-floods/", "Schmitt Leads Missouri Lawmakers in Letter Supporting Governor\u2019s Disaster Declaration Request Following Devastating Floods", "2026-07-31", "2026", "2026-07", "Republican", "Senate", "MO", "Eric Schmitt", "S001227", "www.schmitt.senate.gov", "schmitt", "https://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "U.S. SENATE \u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) led Missouri lawmakers in sending a letter to President Trump supporting Governor Mike Kehoe\u2019s disaster declaration request following the widespread flooding that devastated communities across southern Missouri from July 9 to July 11, 2026.\n\n\u201cWe write in strong support of Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe\u2019s July 28, 2026, request for a major disaster declaration following the devastating storms that took place in Missouri from July 9th through July 11th of this year,\u201d the lawmakers began.\n\n\u201cBeginning late on July 9th, a series of slow-moving thunderstorms produced torrential rainfall in some areas across south-central and southeastern Missouri, equivalent to a 1-in-1,000-year event according to the National Weather Service\u2026 Floodwaters overwhelmed campgrounds and farms, washed out critical access routes, and forced emergency crews to evacuate families and children. Once again, Missouri\u2019s first responders more than answered the call of duty. In dark and dangerous conditions, these heroes worked around the clock to evacuate residents and visitors\u2026\u201d the lawmakers continued.\n\n\u201cAs you are aware, Missouri has repeatedly been faced with natural disasters in recent years. In 2025 alone, Missouri received five federally declared disasters\u2014the most of any state\u2014and in 2026, this trend has not changed. Today, Missouri is requesting its third disaster declaration of the year, already holding a declaration for storms that occurred from April 23rd through April 28th. To make matters worse, many communities affected by the July storms were still recovering from these previous disasters, compounding losses and stretching local capacity further beyond its limits\u2026 As such, we respectfully urge you to direct your administration to promptly review Governor Kehoe\u2019s major disaster declaration request for the July 9 through July 11 storms and submit it for your approval,\u201d the lawmakers concluded.\n\nSenator Josh Hawley (R-MO), Congressman Jason Smith (MO-08), and Congresswoman Ann Wagner (MO-2) joined Senator Schmitt in sending the letter.\n\nRead the full letter HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-01T07:27:26Z", "2026-08-01T07:28:22Z"]], "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://www.schmitt.senate.gov/media/press-releases/schmitt-leads-missouri-lawmakers-in-letter-supporting-governors-disaster-declaration-request-following-devastating-floods/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8789617568254471, "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"}