Lynn C. Woolsey: “earlier this year our country faced the disaster of floods and tornadoes that ravaged homes and businesses all across…”

“earlier this year our country faced the disaster of floods and tornadoes that ravaged homes and businesses all across our Nation. In my district in California, the Russian River flooded our communities not once but twice this year. The damage was devastating. It devastated homes, businesses, agricultural lands, and the environment. It played havoc on the tourism industry at the Russian River. However, Mr. Speaker, in the Congress today we have a disaster of our own. This time the disaster has been caused by the flood of partisan game-playing and a tornado of political maneuvering by the majority party. It has been over 2 months since the President requested emergency aid for flood victims. But my colleagues on the other side of the aisle continue to hold disaster relief funds hostage. They have loaded down this supplemental appropriations bill with pet political projects and extraneous provisions and stopped this bill dead in the water. Mr. Speaker, the consequences of this delay are enormous. Disaster victims across America cannot reconstruct their businesses, their homes, their lives. They cannot clear their fields for new crops. They cannot get on with the job of rebuilding their lives and their environments.”