Political Quotes

“I appreciate the recognition. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of a bill introduced by my Colorado colleague, Cory Gardner, to help Colorado rebuild from the floods that have ravaged our State in recent weeks. The flooding damaged at least 17,000 homes and other structures, several thousand of which were destroyed outright. Millions of dollars of public infrastructure have been washed away. Specifically, over 200 miles of Colorado roads, and at least 50 bridges, have been damaged or destroyed. The floods consumed an area of Colorado that is twice the size of Rhode Island. Currently, the law caps emergency funding for highways and bridges at $100 million per State. According to a preliminary estimate from the Colorado Department of Transportation, the cost to rebuild our State's roads and bridges is several times that amount. We are not asking Congress to appropriate any additional funds. We are simply asking that we be able to access money that Congress has already appropriated for reconstruction after a natural disaster. This legislation has a Congressional Budget Office score of zero, meaning it does not add a dime to our national debt. The flooding was worse in the northern part of the State, but there were heavy rains and flooding even in the southern part of the State, which I represent, and two people, unfortunately, were swept away and lost their lives. I do thank my colleagues for their consideration of this bill to help the great State of Colorado to rebuild.”