Senate Finance Committee chair Lorraine Berry said Monday the federal government should provide assistance to the territory without the local match that is standard procedure when Federal Emergency Management Agency aid kicks in after a natural disaster.
Speaking on a paid political broadcast on WVWI/Radio One Monday morning, Berry said, "As a government, we must identify ways to recover financially from the effects of the storm."
One way, she said, is to request 100 percent federal assistance, rather than the 75 percent federal-25 percent local match established by law. "We simply cannot afford the 25 percent match at the present time," she said.
Just last week, Berry said, Congress was attempting to initiate a financial plan to assist another disaster-stricken area, North Carolina, that suffered flooding and severe damage earlier this year. "If they can do it for North Carolina, they definitely should also do it for us," she said.
The veteran Democratic St. Thomas-St. John District senator also suggested that lobbying be undertaken in Washington to get FEMA to forgive the $200 million in community disaster loans still owed by the territory from previous hurricanes.
"We are U.S. citizens and our young men continue to register for the draft," Berry said. "Therefore, we should request the help needed from the federal government."
