WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today announced a $2,304,120 Department of Labor National Emergency Grant for Greensburg and Kiowa County, Kansas. The funding will be used to hire support staff to help the people of Greensburg and Kiowa County reconstruct their communities.

"The tornado that hit Greensburg and Kiowa County last May was one of the largest in the history of the State of Kansas," said Brownback. "Greensburg in particular faces the daunting task of rebuilding their community from scratch since the storm wiped out nearly every physical structure in town. This grant will allow city officials to hire technical experts who are familiar with building urban areas from nothing, and in the end will help lay the groundwork for an energy efficient and economically prosperous city and county."

This National Emergency Grant will allow the City of Greensburg to hire an Assistant City Administrator, a Recovery Finance Manager, a Community Development Official, a Community Planner, an Economic Development Director, and other support staff positions. Additionally, the grant will help Kiowa County hire a County Administrator for Emergency Management and a Deputy Director for Emergency Management.

This funding is available for hiring these technical assistants due to a waiver that the Kansas Congressional delegation placed in last year's Omnibus Appropriations bill. Before this waiver was written into law, areas affected by last year's storms were not able to hire administrators to help them formulate their reconstruction plan.

Brownback is a member of the Appropriations Committee.

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