Political Quotes

“If you've ever had a natural disaster affect your area or if you have ever visited a natural disaster, be it in California, my home State, or on the east coast or in the Midwest, whether Iowa and the floods or Missouri in recent times, and spoke to and listened to the pain in the voices and saw the fright in the eyes of the people affected, you would wonder why we are not bringing this legislation to the floor. It isn't about a natural disaster; it's about a human experience. When I was a very new Member of Congress in the late eighties, we were affected in California by the Loma Prieta earthquake. I bring that up because the very next day after the earthquake, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Mr. Jamie Whitten, came to the floor of the House without anyone going to him or asking him. He went to the floor of the House and said to the people of California, Congress will honor our responsibility to the American people. We will put forth what meets the needs of the people. We need to work together to get that done. It was such a comfort. These were just words. It was such a comfort to the people just to hear that and to know that a chairman would act upon that. And for the past few weeks, I know that our colleagues from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, some in Pennsylvania and other surrounding areas, have been assuring their constituents and the people of their areas that the Federal Government would be there for them. It is a social compact.…”