On the recordSeptember 17, 2013
I thank the Chair for the recognition, and I rise today to talk about the unimaginable losses all of us in Colorado have experienced over this last week. While much of the Nation's attention was focused on Syria or on the activities here in Washington, those of us in Colorado watched rain fall for 1, 2, 3, and 4 days straight with no end in sight. Creeks, such as the one that runs behind my home in Eldorado Springs, swelled. Culverts, such as those in Commerce City, quickly filled with rushing water. Rivers, such as the Big Thompson near the beautiful town of Estes Park, turned into walls of water that threatened entire communities. From the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to the Eastern Plains, rivers overtopped their banks--crumbling highways, drowning family homes, and transforming entire farms into lakes. Many Americans have seen photos like this one that show the widespread and indiscriminate path of the floodwaters. In some places even today entire communities are still underwater, with families and homes uprooted by the ferocious strength of nature. We say that water makes the West possible, but this past week Mother Nature gave us rain for 5 straight days, and now at least eight people are dead and hundreds are still missing or in need of rescue. We pray that we find every single one of those missing persons alive and in good health.…





