DES MOINES -- Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said Tuesday he's seeking more than a billion dollars in disaster recovery aid from Congress.

Culver, meeting with Congressional leaders and federal officials in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, said during a telephone conference call with reporters that recent estimates put Iowa's unmet recovery needs in areas like housing at about $1.2 billion.

He said a supplemental appropriations bill from Congress could go a long way in covering those costs.

"It's my hope that that's what we'll get from this supplemental ultimately at the end of the day," he said.

Congress previously approved a $2.6 billion supplemental appropriation for disaster relief in the Midwest.

Culver said he's also pressing for Congress to grant disaster victims some emergency tax relief, as he said happened in New York after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and in the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

He said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Charles Grassley, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, can both play influential roles in securing the tax breaks.

Culver spoke with each member of the Iowa congressional delegation Tuesday before meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat.

He was also scheduled to meet with Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel.

Culver echoed statements from Lt. Gov. Patty Judge that FEMA-supplied mobile homes discovered to have mold in them must be removed and replaced with better designed housing units.

FEMA inspectors discovered mold in a number of the trailers meant to provide temporary housing for flood victims last week. The trailers have since been ordered out of the state despite a housing crunch for victims in Cedar Rapids and other hard-hit communities.

"The bottom line is the health and safety of the Iowans that are living in these mobile homes is our top priority," Culver said.

Contact Fred Love at

(515) 243-0138 or

fred.love@lee.net.