Obama signs disaster declarations for NJ, NY

Early this morning President Obama signed disaster declarations for both New York and New Jersey in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

The declarations basically say that "a major disaster exists" for both states and federal assistance (money) will be immediately available to those states. Here's the definition of "federal assistance," according to the declarations:

"[G]rants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster."