Sen. McConnell calling on FEMA to help eastern Kentucky flood victims more
The top Republican in congress joined in on calling for FEMA to do more to help flood victims in eastern Kentucky. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell made those comments on Monday during his stops in Louisville and Lexington.
McConnell's first stop was at the UPS offices in Louisville to talk about workforce issues with local business leaders. When he spoke, his top priority was inflation.
"I can assure you a Republican House and Senate, or House or Senate, will not be interested in passing any more of these mass spending bills," McConnell said.
He began his comments by blaming Democrats for stoking inflation. But he soon began discussing a concern Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has repeatedly voiced; that FEMA is not doing enough in eastern Kentucky.
"Honestly, I think the response of FEMA, at least so far, has not been up to speed," said McConnell. "I'd like to see if that has improved."
Many eastern Kentucky residents have complained that their FEMA payments are nowhere near enough to replace their homes destroyed by the flooding last month. Most of those residents didn't have insurance, either.
"This is a desperate situation. As awful as the tornadoes were, I think the floods, the aftermath and the recovery, are going to be even tougher," McConnell said.
Last week, state lawmakers sent $200 million in state money to eastern Kentucky. But those funds are only for roads and infrastructure, schools and public buildings.
"I think the governor and the legislature certainly made the right decision to go into special session last week to allocate what's likely to be the first tranche to finance the comeback," McConnell said.
He also said that lowering interest loans could help homeowners.
"We're not through. This is just the beginning," said McConnell. "The federal government is going to still have an ongoing responsibility down there. I think we're just getting started."