Securing Growth and Robust Leadership in American Aviation Act
Floor Speech
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Mr. WELCH. Mr. President, I want to join my colleague from Hawaii, Senator Schatz, whose reasons for avoiding a shutdown are points that we all share, as his State also has suffered a devastating fire now in Maui, where we in Vermont have suffered a major flood this summer and need FEMA aid.
There are a couple of things I just want to say. No. 1, I want to express my gratitude to my colleagues in the Senate who have come together--Leader Schumer and Leader McConnell--in bipartisanship, where we have a way of passing a bill to keep the lights on, to keep government functioning. No good comes out of a shutdown, to quote Senator McConnell.
Like Senator Schatz, I have been through it before. And as Senator Schatz has said, when you ask the folks who literally explicitly favor a shutdown, ``What is next?'' they don't have any answer and don't seem to think they need to have an answer.
And we do. The consequences of a shutdown are really devastating in large ways and in small ways. A shutdown means our men and women in uniform don't get paid. Seriously? We are going to condone asking people who are protecting the safety of this Nation to do it without pay? That is what shutdown advocates are saying. It is no big deal to them.
And on some small things, I got a letter from a Vermonter whose heart has been set on taking his family to a hike in the Grand Canyon. I don't know if any of you have ever done that hike. You have to go on the website. It is almost like a lottery. You have to get a permit to hike. He got a permit to hike and camp for 2 nights for his family. That is, I think, October 5 and October 6. If we are shut down, that family hike is not going to happen. Well, do you know what? That is cruel. It is such a wonderful thing that our families can enjoy the Grand Canyon. They won't be able to do it.
But I want to talk specifically about what happens to Vermonters, and this is a situation that Senator Schatz and Senator Hirono share with Hawaii. We got hammered in this flood. FEMA has done a tremendous job. The FEMA fund needs to be replenished because, as a result of the low amount of money in the FEMA fund, they have had to cut back on their efforts of recovery that have already been promised.
Just yesterday, the Washington Post reported that FEMA is delaying $2.8 billion in disaster aid to keep from running out of funds. They have to have some money available if there is another event that requires immediate response to save lives. We understand that. That is the right decision for them. But it has real consequences for us in Vermont.
Repayment of these long-term recovery projects that are being halted are not from last month. They are from last year. Just think of what that means for my State of Vermont, which is in the throes of recovery now. FEMA's transition to ``immediate needs'' funding has paused 13 projects in Vermont, totaling about $7.5 million. As of September 15, Vermont has incurred $291 million in flood-related infrastructure damages, and we need over $160 million from FEMA and $131 million from the Department of Transportation. On top of that, the State has estimated that it has incurred $225 million in damages related to FEMA public assistance activities, $75 million for FEMA public assistance hazard mitigation for 406 mitigation activities, $48 million for the Severely Damaged or Destroyed Residential Property Mitigation or Buyout Program, $20 million in damages related to FEMA individual assistance activities, and $11 million for the Minor Residential Damage Repair Program.
Again, it was so reassuring to me that Republican colleagues approached me and said: Peter, we are going to be there to help you because we know, but for the grace of God, it could have been in my State. Thank you, colleagues.
But there is a small group in the House that has this notion that it is no big deal if we literally shut down government.
Well, it is a big deal for those folks in Vermont who need FEMA relief. It is a big deal for those men and women who serve in the U.S. military services when they won't get paid. And it is a big deal to that family that wants to have this dreamed-about hike in the Grand Canyon and won't be able to do that if, in fact, we are shut down on October 5 and October 6.
So, thank you to my colleagues. I believe we are going to pass the bipartisan bill. Bipartisanship is the only way you can avert a shutdown and for us to have an opportunity to negotiate other issues down the road. And I thank my colleagues for their assistance in our effort.
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