Federal Emergency Management Agency Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Thank you very much, Ranking Member Price, for yielding this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.J. Res. 85. This is the latest in a string of measures that the Republican majority has brought to the floor in an attempt to cherry-pick what gets funded in the Federal Government, or a piecemeal approach to running government.

Later this weekend, Tropical Storm Karen is expected to hit the gulf coast. Last night, there were strong reports of tornados in Nebraska, and a strong storm is expected in our area. I guess that explains this cynical exercise where FEMA is funded in a mini-CR.

When the majority learned that tourists could not visit our national monuments, they whipped up a mini-CR for the national parks. A storm is coming so their answer is a mini-CR for FEMA. The way the majority does business, there will need to be another West, Texas, explosion before they try to fund CFATS.

We can't fund the government crisis to crisis. FEMA should have its full staff available this week to begin preparations for Tropical Storm Karen. Instead, FEMA is beginning to recall furloughed employees today--a rush to prepare for the storm.

And as we know, restoring FEMA's funding alone is not enough to ensure a successful disaster response. We need the full resources of the Federal Government--from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the Small Business Administration. We also need the full resources of the Department of Homeland Security.

It's time to stop the games. The events on Capitol Hill yesterday should have served as a wake-up call. The Speaker must allow a vote on a clean CR.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.

Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Federal employees who return to work to help to respond to Tropical Storm Karen, the forecasted tornados, or any other disaster that strikes should be able to do that work with the peace of mind that their paychecks are coming and that their bills will be paid. All Federal employees deserve that.

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