Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2019

Floor Speech

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Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Chair, I thank my dear friend, the chair of the Appropriations Committee, for yielding me this time.

Madam Chair, I rise in support of H.R. 268, the emergency disaster recovery package.

National disasters across our Nation devastated the lives of millions of Americans this past year. A few ranked as the worst and most severe incidents around the world.

It is the top responsibility of Congress to provide these hard-hit communities with the strength, hope, and support to recover. This supplemental will provide necessary aid to these ailing communities.

This Nation needs a better strategy to mitigate damage in future disasters, especially as year after year we see accelerating numbers and severity of national disasters due to climate change. This bill also includes funds for future mitigation.

From our subcommittee's energy and water accounts, we have seen recent hurricanes and storms devastate existing infrastructure. Included in this supplemental is $470 million to repair damages at Army Corps of Engineer projects across our Nation.

Given the Corps' important role to help protect communities nationwide and in the territories against national disasters, we also included $750 million for the Army Corps to accelerate construction on flood risk mitigation projects.

Americans should not have to worry whether their community can provide adequate power to our homes and businesses, but across our Nation, fire- and flood-ravaged communities need funds to repair extensive damage and to strengthen electric grids. This bill ensures the Department of the Interior and Department of Energy have the resources needed for this assistance.

Now, let me be clear. This administration has considered reprogramming funds appropriated for disaster recovery projects. These funds are appropriated to rebuild and strengthen America's resiliency against future disasters. They are intended to protect American families and communities from natural disasters.

I am actually appalled that this administration would raid money for communities broken from actual disasters.

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Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Chair, in conclusion, this nation must confront, head-on, the reality of strengthening storms. We must help all communities recover from disasters, as we never know when it will hit our own backyard.

Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support the disaster package.

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Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Chair, I thank Congresswoman Velazquez for her daunting and unparalleled leadership in trying to help the people of Puerto Rico.

And I thank our very distinguished ranking member for his interest in helping to solve the real challenge of Cano Martin Pena.

I have to say to the people of Puerto Rico and our fellow citizens, those who reside in Puerto Rico and those who reside stateside here: We are very aware, from Congresswoman Velazquez's work, how devastated Puerto Rico is. She has spent so much of her substance in trying to educate the membership here. We are very fortunate for her abiding leadership.

We all need to stand up for the residents of Puerto Rico. I appreciate her work, and all of our colleagues' efforts, to do just that.

I am committed to working with her to address any issues with this amendment as we move forward. Its intent is absolutely on point. I think that, working together on a bipartisan basis, we can find a way to help heal our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico and bring a better way of life there in the future.

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