"If we have a northeaster, our defenses are so far down that it would be like a person's immune system being susceptible to any type of illness."
"And I would simply say that in a time in which the housing market, although we see some indicators moving upward and prices, values moving upward, it is still a very significant challenge."
"I fully expect that now that for the first time we have the type of devastation that others have suffered and should understand, that we are going to have the type of response that others have receive..."
"I feel like I have to be Houdini to accomplish this, so--but we are going to do this."
"Number two, regardless of the size of the supplemental, we need flexibility in being able to seek the recovery that we all want."
"I have lived in the State of New Jersey my whole life. I have never seen the type of devastation that exists in the State."
"Amazingly, the bridge can be repaired, but many of the surrounding homes were lost and part of that highway will need to be rebuilt."
"your leadership in this committee and the Appropriations Committee is going to be so critical to the reconstruction of New Jersey"
"Over 50 ships were diverted that were headed for New York and New Jersey. Those ships were carrying over 15,000 cargo containers and almost 10,000 automobiles."
"It took a lot of work to restore service on New Jersey Transit which suffered disruptions on every rail line."
"the use of a commercial port for forward projection from the East Coast is the Port of New York and New Jersey, and when it cannot operate well, it is part of a national security imperative as well."
"This is the first time we have had the experience. I have lived in the state my whole life and I have never seen the breadth and scope of devastation that the state has faced after Superstorm Sandy."
"We lost 34 lives during the storm. It was the largest mass transit disaster in our nation's history."
"I know that there has got to be enormous frustration, enormous heartbreak in what you have seen."
"It is hard to imagine, but the water was 6 feet high."
"Superstorm Sandy is a sign of things to come. In this changing climate, the intensity of storms has increased making extreme weather like Sandy more and more common."
"The damage to our infrastructure did not just cause structural problems, it shut down our region."
"Before we start, I would like to acknowledge the Deputy Secretary of Transportation, John Porcari."
