The letter is four Republicans asking a Republican president to sign a routine paper, and its first factual sentence is the reason: "Tragically, two West Virginians lost their lives" in the July 21 flooding. [2]
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, Sen. Jim Justice, Rep. Carol Miller and Rep. Riley Moore sent it on July 25, to the president and to FEMA Region 3 Administrator Andre McCoy, backing Gov. Morrisey's expedited request for a major disaster declaration: Individual Assistance for seven counties, Barbour, Doddridge, Harrison, Lewis, Pleasants, Ritchie and Upshur; Public Assistance categories A through G; hazard mitigation statewide. [2]
Six days later, as of Friday, there is no declaration. "We haven't heard yet (that) the president has done that," Capito told reporters. "We are pressing daily with the White House to make sure that declaration comes as quickly as possible." [1]
The waiting has a ledger, and it comes from the government's own damage assessments, quoted in the delegation's letter. In Lewis and Upshur counties alone, the two assessed so far: 33 homes destroyed, 91 with major damage, 235 with minor damage, 182 otherwise impacted. That is 541 homes, in two of the seven counties. Initial assistance need for those two counties: nearly $4.9 million. The letter's own caveat: "these figures capture only a fraction of the destruction." [2]
What the missing signature means in practice is the part worth being precise about. A major disaster declaration is the legal switch that opens FEMA Individual Assistance, the grants that let a family with a destroyed house apply for temporary housing and repairs. Until it is signed, there is no application to file. The Weston grocery store reopening in Friday's local coverage is what recovery looks like when private owners can self-fund. [1] The 33 families with destroyed homes are in the other category.
Fairness requires the unknowns stated. Declaration requests undergo review, ten days is not unprecedented for the process historically, and the White House has issued no refusal, only silence so far as the public record shows. A report circulating Friday suggested approval could come early next week; we could not verify it and do not print it as fact. What the record does hold: an expedited request, a unanimous delegation of the president's own party, two deaths the letter names, 541 assessed homes, and a tenth day ending with the senior senator's status report at "pressing daily." [1][2]
We have filed this one for follow-up. Either the signature comes, and we will report the date and the gap, or another week passes, and the gap becomes the story.
