Sen. Cornyn calls on FEMA to follow suit as USDA designates Texas a disaster area

On the heels of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) designating Texas as a natural disaster area due to severe drought, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, has issued the following statement urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to follow suit and finally issue a disaster declaration for Texas in light of devastating wildfires:

“Not only have Texas officials and our first responders on the ground made repeated calls for FEMA to issue a disaster declaration for Texas, we now have another arm of the Administration recognizing that conditions on Texas lands merit a disaster designation. I encourage FEMA to take note of the USDA’s designation, and finally act on issuing a disaster declaration for the wildfires that have ravaged our state.  And I join all farmers, ranchers, business and homeowners around Texas in the continued prayer for rain.”

The state of Texas has appealed FEMA’s decision to reject the state’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration related to ongoing wildfires. Sen. Cornyn and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison wrote to the President in support of the state’s appeal. Since the beginning of the year, more than 10,860 individual wildfires have burned more than 3,215,000 acres in Texas.