WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Rand Paul sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack expressing their support for Governor Steve Beshear’s request for federal disaster assistance for Kentucky’s agriculture community. 

The Governor requested that 37 Kentucky counties be included in a request for assistance from the Department of Agriculture. Since April 22, record flooding, high winds, and tornadoes have swept through the Commonwealth, and widespread flooding continues to devastate the area.

“The flooding has destroyed hundreds of thousands of households and farms, and as we determine the extent of the damage of the rainfall and resulting flooding, it is clear that the agricultural sector faces significant economic hardships in this region of Kentucky,” Senators McConnell and Paul wrote. “Such a declaration would provide needed assistance for Kentucky farmers to pay essential farm and living expenses.”

Under federal law, the governor has sole authority to request a U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretarial disaster designation.

NOTE: On April 28, Senators McConnell and Paul sent a letter to President Obama expressing their support for the Governor’s request for a federal major disaster declaration for Kentucky. The President approved that request last week. 

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