Durbin, Duckworth, Budzinski Secure Funding For Disaster Preparedness In Illinois

Durbin, Duckworth, Budzinski Secure Funding For Disaster Preparedness In Illinois

CHICAGO - U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and U.S. Representative Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13) today announced $118,945 in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture's (NIFA) Smith-Lever Special Needs Competitive Grants Program going to the University of Illinois.

The Smith-Lever Special Needs Competitive Grants Program supports innovative, education-based approaches to address disaster preparedness. The University of Illinois will be receiving this grant to support TEND: Training for Enacting Nature-based Solutions for Disaster mitigation.

"Illinoisans have seen flooding and severe weather impact our state, especially in rural communities," said Durbin. "This grant will allow the University of Illinois to research and share nature-based solutions to help our communities prevent damage when these disasters occur."

"When an emergency situation strikes, it is essential that our public health systems and first responders are adequately prepared to successfully manage the situation," Duckworth said. "I'm proud to work with Senator Durbin and Congresswoman Budzinski to secure federal investments that will support research at the University of Illinois to help us discover ways we can strengthen our emergency preparedness and keep folks safe in the future."

"Downstate Illinois communities know the devastating impact of flooding and severe weather all too well," said Congresswoman Budzinski. "Strengthening our emergency preparedness is critical to protect folks' lives and livelihoods and I was proud to work with Senator Durbin and Senator Duckworth to deliver these funds for the University of Illinois. This investment will help put innovative solutions into action by supporting research and helping train our first responders and public officials who provide the first line of defense in a severe weather event. I'll continue to work to ensure our communities are ready to respond, recover and rebuild when natural disasters strike."

Durbin and Duckworth previously introduced the Fairness in Federal Disaster Declarations Act to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) disaster declaration process to make it more transparent and equitable to small and rural communities in larger states like Illinois.

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