Congressman Bell Spearheads Effort to Include Disaster Relief Funding in Any Supplemental Legislation

July 1, 2026

The letter urges House leadership to immediately put together a supplemental funding package to address needed disaster recovery funds for the St. Louis region

This effort builds on several other legislative initiatives Congressman Bell has championed to address the lack of federal support stemming from last year’s tornado

Congressman Bell sent the letter to House leadership, as well as the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee

Congressman Bell: “The tornado impacted communities already facing economic challenges and aging infrastructure, making recovery especially difficult in St. Louis's most vulnerable neighborhoods

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Wesley Bell (D-MO-01) led an effort urging House leadership and the Appropriations Committee Chair and Ranking Member to include disaster relief funding in any supplemental legislation brought to the House floor.

“As St. Louis communities recover from the 2025 storms, I urge you to bring supplemental disaster relief appropriations funding to the House floor as soon as possible," wrote the Congressman in the letter.

“The storm damaged or destroyed about 5,000 buildings, including homes, businesses, schools, and critical public facilities. More than 100,000 customers lost power, at least five people died, and dozens were injured. Local officials estimate total damages exceed $1.6 billion,” Congressman Bell continued.

This letter builds on Rep. Bell’s broader efforts to strengthen and modernize the federal government’s disaster relief and recovery response. In May, he introduced the Tornado Preparedness Act to improve the nation’s ability to detect, forecast, and respond to tornadoes, and to strengthen community resilience in high-risk areas.

“I urge Congress to act quickly to ensure our community receives the resources needed to rebuild and recover from recent disasters. Local governments continue to bear the burden of increasingly frequent and severe natural disasters and require sustained federal partnership to respond effectively and recover fully. I respectfully urge you to bring a comprehensive supplemental disaster relief appropriations bill to the House floor that provides the resources necessary for my district and the other communities nationwide recovering from recent disasters,” the Congressman concluded.

After the devastating tornadoes in Missouri last year, Rep. Bell pushed to hold the Trump Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) accountable and to ensure families received necessary assistance.

In October 2025, he introduced the FEMA Operations Continuity Act to ensure FEMA can continue providing disaster relief during lapses in government funding. In February 2026, he introduced the FEMA Accountability Act, requiring FEMA to publicly report monthly on disaster relief fund expenditures. Most recently, Congressman Bell introduced the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Automated Assessment Act, “CDBG AAA,” which seeks to improve how the federal government identifies and addresses unmet housing, infrastructure, and economic recovery needs after major disasters.

A link to the letter can be found HERE and the letter text is below:

“Dear Speaker Johnson, Leader Jeffries, Chairman Cole, and Ranking Member DeLauro:

As St. Louis communities recover from the 2025 storms, I urge you to bring supplemental disaster relief appropriations funding to the House floor as soon as possible.

On May 16, 2025, a severe weather system produced an EF-3 tornado that struck the St. Louis region and neighboring communities across Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. With peak winds of 152 miles per hour, the tornado traveled nearly 23 miles and became the widest tornado recorded in the St. Louis region since modern records began in 1950. The storm damaged or destroyed about 5,000 buildings, including homes, businesses, schools, and critical public facilities. More than 100,000 customers lost power, at least five people died, and dozens were injured. Local officials estimate total damages exceed $1.6 billion.

The tornado impacted communities already facing economic challenges and aging infrastructure making recovery especially difficult in St. Louis's most vulnerable neighborhoods. Congress has not enacted a comprehensive supplemental disaster relief appropriations package since the American Relief Act, 2025 (Pub. L. No. 118-158), signed into law on December 21, 2024. While FEMA and other federal agencies have provided critical assistance, significant unmet recovery needs remain. Supplemental appropriations are direly needed to help communities recover, restore housing and infrastructure, support local governments, and strengthen resilience against future disasters.

I urge Congress to act quickly to ensure our community receives the resources needed to rebuild and recover from recent disasters. Local governments continue to bear the burden of increasingly frequent and severe natural disasters and require sustained federal partnership to respond effectively and recover fully. I respectfully urge you to bring a comprehensive supplemental disaster relief appropriations bill to the House floor that provides the resources necessary for my district and the other communities nationwide recovering from recent disasters.

Thank you for considering this request. "