Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. PELOSI. I thank the gentlelady for yielding. I congratulate her on assuming the ranking position on the Appropriations Committee and how good it is for our country and for the people affected by Superstorm Sandy that Congresswoman Lowey, now Ranking Member Lowey, is in the position she is to fight for their needs as the senior Democrat on the Appropriations Committee.

Thank you for your leadership, and thank you, Mr. Rogers, for yours as well.

This should be a day that we shed all of our disagreement about political differences and the rest and come together to prayerfully meet the needs of the people of our country.

Whether it's California with the earthquakes, drought, fire, floods, whatever; whether it's Iowa with the floods; Joplin, Missouri, was so affected; of course the challenge of Katrina is emblazoned in our mind; and Hurricane Ike on the heels of that, all across our country we have experienced natural disasters which have had a direct impact on the lives of the American people.

I really do believe that for all of the purposes that people send us to Congress or elect us to public office, whether it is a county executive or a Member of Congress, they expect us to do what is right for them when they are most in need of our help. Many things we can do for ourselves; but some things are just beyond the most determined, resourceful operational person to do, and that is when a natural disaster strikes.

So while we have had our conversations about what should be in the bill and how the bill should be bifurcated, or in this case trifurcated and the rest of it, let us hope when we have this bill today, it will sweep away some of the concerns that people have about whether this assistance is going to actually show up. Seventy-nine days. It's been 79 days since Hurricane Sandy struck the region. It's been a one-two punch. Last year it was Irene that struck much of the same area, and some of the people haven't really fully recovered from that, whether it was a small business owner or homeowner, whatever. And now Sandy hit with just tremendous force.

Others have talked about how do you mitigate for such a thing; how do we address issues that relate to climate change. We'll save that conversation for another day, but recognize it is important in this discussion. How do you mitigate for rebuilding, and that's important in terms of the resources that we're putting to bear on this problem.

So let us today try to extract from the minds and the hearts and souls of the people who are affected any thought that the assistance will not be there. They know there's a lot of making up they have to do to restore the lives and businesses and homes that they had before. They should also know that when we say let us pray for the victims of Hurricane Sandy, we're not just saying a prayer and saying that should be a substitute for us honoring our commitment as a country to our people, but that our prayers are accompanied by our best intentions and our best actions--actions, not just words--for them.

This is one of the longest delays in congressional action in response to a major natural disaster in recent history. For many of us who have seen or can confirm the aftermath of a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, whatever, we know that every single day is too long to wait. Hope can never come fast enough. We cannot let another moment, hour, day go by without giving the biggest possible vote of confidence and hope to the people of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and some, I understand, in Pennsylvania.

So we've had our say. We've made our points known. The justification has been established. The documentation of need is clear. The bipartisan support of the Governor of New Jersey, the Governor of New York, the Governor of Connecticut and others stand ready to implement these resources with the most integrity, the most effectiveness, certainly the most speed. Witness the actions of the mayor of New York. I smile when I say that because mayors just like to get a job done, and Governors, too.

So let us, as these executives and county executives and the rest weigh in, let us do our part to honor the social compact that we have with the American people that the Federal Government will be there in time of natural disasters, that this is an emergency and we recognize it as such, and that we honor the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of the people affected by it.

I hope that we can have an overwhelming bipartisan vote, because from a practical standpoint, I think ideally, our sense of idealism, that would be the right thing to do. But as a practical matter, you just never know what Mother Nature may have in store for you in your region, and you would certainly want the embrace of the entire Nation around you and your area for your constituents, for your communities, for our country.

So I urge a very strong bipartisan vote. I thank our colleagues on both sides of the aisle for making this vote today possible. Again, I urge an ``aye'' vote.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source