Disaster Relief
Floor Speech
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Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on another matter, as I have discussed many times on the floor, powerful natural disasters have devastated communities across America. Many are still in need of aid as they struggle to rebuild.
My colleagues know all too well the destruction that was brought to States across the Southeast, the gulf coast, and Puerto Rico by a bad hurricane season: tens of billions of dollars in damage to buildings and infrastructure and thousands of people left without shelter or access to clean water and electricity.
We remember the record wildfires that swept across our western regions, the tornadoes that tore through the Deep South, and the rampant flooding that sunk entire communities across the Midwest and affected many of my fellow Kentuckians as well.
We have seen the pain caused by nature's worst. Now it is time for Congress to finally--finally--demonstrate our commitment to America's best. It is time to deliver supplemental resources for the rebuilding efforts that, in many cases, have been inching--just inching--along for months. It is well past time to show the relief workers, the volunteers, and the families still picking up the pieces that we have their backs.
In recent days, important progress has been made to deliver on this overdue commitment. Chairman Shelby, Ranking Member Leahy, our colleagues on the Appropriations Committee, and their counterparts over in the House are continuing their hard work to reach a bipartisan solution that meets the most pressing needs of all of these affected communities. That includes promising steps toward bipartisan agreement to deliver critical resources to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis at our southern border. The status quo is completely-- completely--dysfunctional, so I am glad the agreement seems to be converging on more resources.
I expect to discuss our progress in greater detail as the week unfolds, but it is my sincere hope that in both parties and in both Chambers we will finally--finally--be able to reach a meaningful consensus that can become law and deliver on the priorities of communities that are in need all across our country.
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