I want to respond to my Republican colleague who just spoke. I respect him tremendously, but I want him and everyone to understand that this really is emergency relief that we're talking about, and I want to give you some examples from my…

I thank my good friend for yielding. Madam Chair, I rise in strong support of the amendment offered by my good friend and colleague, Mr. Runyan, to ensure that the funding in this bill is targeted to those fishery disasters resulting from…

I thank my good friend for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule. When emergencies strike, large or small, Americans can always be counted on to assist and to support the victims. At our core, we are a Nation of Good…

Three-quarters of New Jersey businesses were hurt by Sandy. When asked, they put the small business loss at $8.3 billion. No wonder 100,000 storm-related unemployment claims have been filed. The Governor's office points out that public…

We either act now, or we wait for the consequences of the terrible silence of the decent. And many folks from both sides of the aisle have worked together. It can be done, not only on this issue, but many other issues. This was a tragedy…

I heard the words a few moments ago about a grab bag. I can assure you that the Governors who introduced itemized lists went into them very deeply with the consultation of local officials. It's no grab bag. That's an insult to the…

Let me first congratulate my colleague and all of my colleagues from New Jersey for their hard work. This unprecedented storm has hurt New Jersey to the tune of 41,000 people; 41,000 families are currently impacted. Over 300 municipalities…

I thank my good friend for yielding, and I strongly support Mr. Frelinghuysen's amendment. Madam Chair, gaps in homeowners insurance coverage and a growing realization that there will be major tax receipt losses from towns that have had…

As I sat here, I was thinking that maybe there is a bias against the northeastern States of this country. This devastation can happen to any State, and no one State has the money to make sure that the people who were injured in this storm…

You would think, Madam Chair, that we're having a Sadie Hawkins dance here today and we're patting each other on the back. The real sponsor of this legislation are the people who have been hurt. And let's be honest about it. It took only…

I want to thank my colleague from New York. Madam Speaker, this action by the House Republican leadership is too little and too late. I have to say I'm still very upset--and I think it was deplorable--that the Speaker did not bring this…

Let me thank Mr. King, my colleague from New York, for his remarks. I really appreciate what he said--that this is not a Republican or Democratic issue. It shouldn't be politicized. Natural disasters and responding to them are what I've…

I want to wish you the best. I'm glad there's one more Democrat, but I'm not glad that you're leaving. You're a gentleman. Look, I don't think that this is time for a pedantic debate. As we say in Jersey, it is time calmly, cooly to take…

The two-tiered amendment disaster relief bill that we had hoped to bring to the floor to get us to the $60 billion that is desperately needed to assist families, businesses, and municipalities devastated by Superstorm Sandy. Our…

The American people are the real winners here tonight, not anyone who navigates these halls. Let's make that clear. We don't have a perfect bill in front of us--in fact, we've never had a perfect bill in front of us--but this is a bill…

I do join my colleagues in asking that the Speaker reconsider. I want to thank Majority Leader Eric Cantor who has worked tirelessly through these many days right up to the last couple of minutes. Today, families lack housing, businesses…

I ask to have a ``yea'' vote on this legislation so we can all be proud and be happy for a change when we wake up in the morning.

Let me lend my voice to those who previously spoke, particularly Mr. Hoyer. My district was devastated by the storm. I have thousands of people who do not have homes, who are living in temporary circumstances. I have municipalities that…