SF2308 updates Iowa’s disaster response by allowing the Governor to accept federal grants for expenses local or state funds can’t cover. The state will contribute up to 25% for disaster aid and 10% for hazard mitigation, with the rest funded by applicants or federal support. Iowa can also request federal advances, to be repaid later.
The Iowa State Senate passed SF2308 on April 3, 2024 by a vote of 48 to 0. We have assigned pluses to the nays because, as President Grover Cleveland stated in his 1887 veto message for the Texas Seed Bill, “I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the Constitution, and I do not believe that the power and duty of the General Government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering…. Though the people support the Government the, Government should not support the people.” Both that bill and SF2304 intended to secure government assistance for local disasters. However, it is not the government’s role to solve every problem; these issues should be addressed by the private sector, the generosity of our friends and neighbors, and the principles of individualism.