Political Quotes

“while I appreciate the concerns of the Senator from Oklahoma, let me clarify one point that I think may be somewhat confusing. The funding in this amendment is to reimburse FEMA and to cover costs for disasters occurring in this and prior fiscal years, not in future fiscal years. It would simply allow us to begin fiscal year 1999 without an enormous, outstanding disaster relief requirement. In particular, this $1.6 billion appropriation includes funds to cover the costs of disasters anticipated to occur in the balance of fiscal year 1998. This amendment is not about advance funding, but is intended to provide the necessary funding only for disaster relief requirements for fiscal year 1998 and prior years. The Senator from Oklahoma has expressed his concern about the cost of disaster relief. No one has been more concerned about the cost of disaster relief than I. In our subcommittee, we have held a number of hearings focused almost solely on FEMA reform and the exploding costs of disaster relief. In response to these hearings, we demanded that the administration and FEMA submit a responsible package of Stafford Act amendments. While FEMA has provided a package of FEMA reform amendments, these are a difficult sell, although we remain hopeful that the authorizing committees will work to implement these and other reforms.”