Authorizing Funds for Emergency Relief Projects
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. DeGETTE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gen tle lady for yielding.
As you can tell, not just from what everybody from our congressional delegation has said but also from the many, many news reports that we've seen in the last week, this flood really was one of the worst floods in Colorado's history.
I'm a fourth-generation Coloradan, and I remember some of the previous floods: the flood in 1965 when I was a little girl. In the terrible Platte River flood that flooded Cherry Creek and the Platte, my home was right by there, and we had flood damage. And then, of course, the tragic Big Thompson flood where many, many people were killed. This is what happens to us in the West sometimes.
Colorado's recent flood is so dramatic that it really was a 500-year flood, or worse. And we feel terrible for the eight Coloradans who have died. Many are still unaccounted for, and we pray for all of them that they may be safe and that their homes may be preserved by the time the snow flies, which is any minute now.
On September 15, President Obama issued a major disaster declaration for Colorado, ordering Federal aid to supplement State and local recovery efforts.
You just cannot overstate the scope of this damage. As you heard from the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Perlmutter), Mr. Gardner's and Mr. Polis' congressional districts were severely impacted by this; but all the rest of us were severely impacted in our districts, too.
Boulder had over 16 inches of rain in the course of 5 days. Communities in El Paso, Fremont, Jefferson, Logan, Morgan, Pueblo, Washington, Adams, Larimer, Weld, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Clear Creek, and Denver were all impacted by this. It really was a State issue. Residents have lost their homes. Businesses have been devastated. Communities have been destroyed. Our friends, relatives, and neighbors still are without power. Many of them can't drink their water.
And as you've heard from all of my colleagues, the devastation goes everywhere, from mountain highways to agricultural properties on the plains.
Over 50 bridges have been damaged or destroyed, and over 200 miles of Colorado roads have been impacted by the flooding. In the mountain areas, what happens is the roads go along the creeks; so when the creeks turn into raging rivers from this terrible rainfall, then the roads are completely wiped out and the mountain communities are isolated.
As you've heard from my colleagues, the funds for the Emergency Relief program under the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013 are restricted to $100 million per State per incident, unless the funds are being used to repair damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Ms. NORTON. I'm pleased to yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Colorado.
Ms. DeGETTE. If we remove the cap on the Federal Highway Administration Emergency Relief funds, Colorado can get the assistance and relief we need to rebuild. And since this does not authorize new appropriations, is not an earmark, the budget score is zero.
So I really respectfully request that we all come together and vote for this legislation. It's much needed.
And by the way, this is a good example, Mr. Speaker, of how, if Congress really wants to put its mind together to work on something, we can do it in a civil and efficient and speedy way. This is a thought we should keep in mind as the week progresses in front of us.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source