Two House Democrats are pushing President Joe Biden to declare a drought disaster in the western U.S.
The move comes from Reps. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., and Joe Neguse, D-Colo., who sent a letter to Biden and Deanne Criswell, administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, on Wednesday.
Neguse posted the letter on his Twitter account Wednesday and said: "Drought conditions across Colorado have reached historical levels. I’m leading my colleagues in urging the federal government to declare a drought disaster declaration and ensure robust federal resources to make the west more resilient to drought."
In the letter, the two congressmen wrote: "We write in strong support of the request by the governors of California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah and Washington for a federal major disaster declaration for the drought in these states. Federal resources are needed to address these conditions and support our western communities.
"The western United States is experiencing record-setting temperatures, coupled with historic dry conditions and devastating wildfires. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasts that these conditions and high temperatures could last until November..."
In the letter, Neguse and Huffman noted the Bureau of Reclamation recently declared a water shortage in the Colorado River Basin as a result of the drought
And they said: "There is little to no livestock feed available…farmers are considering selling their livestock or land and many species of wildlife are suffering from wildfires and lack of water."
Axios noted nearly all of the states in the west are experiencing some form of drought. The Biden administration did not immediately respond to an Axios request for comment.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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