BY CHRIS CASTEEL
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WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and members of Congress pledged Tuesday that tornado-stricken Oklahoma would get all of the federal relief necessary, and the president approved a major disaster declaration to help small businesses and people who lost their homes.
The president also dispatched key federal officials to the state to view the damage and coordinate federal recovery efforts.
“So the people of Moore should know that their country will remain on the ground, there for them, beside them as long as it takes,” the president said in remarks at the White House.
“For there are homes and schools to rebuild, businesses and hospitals to reopen, there are parents to console, first responders to comfort, and, of course, frightened children who will need our continued love and attention.”
The president's disaster declaration will provide rental assistance, grants and loans to cover uninsured losses; unemployment benefits for people not covered by the state program; and aid to state and local governments for cleanup.
Federal disaster aid is available to affected individuals in Cleveland, Lincoln, McClain, Oklahoma and Pottawatomie counties.
Several members of Oklahoma's congressional delegation flew back to the state Tuesday to join Gov.
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