Michael Bennet: “I wish to thank my colleague, the senior Senator from Colorado, for his remarks and for his commitment to this important…”

“I wish to thank my colleague, the senior Senator from Colorado, for his remarks and for his commitment to this important issue, and I rise today to speak briefly about the disaster bill that is in front of the Senate and to address an issue of enormous importance to the people of Colorado. We have in front of us a disaster bill to respond to the widespread damage caused by Hurricane Sandy along the east coast, and we should obviously pass this bill to help our fellow citizens in their time of need. It is in that exact same spirit that the Senate passed a disaster relief bill at the end of last year that helped victims of natural disasters all across this country--not just the victims of Hurricane Sandy but also the victims of the devastating wildfires in my home State of Colorado and other States across the West. We worked very hard to get that money into the bill the Senate passed in December. With the leadership of Mark Udall, we were able to successfully make the case that Colorado has a significant need for resources to help protect communities affected by the wildfires. We worked closely with the Senate Appropriations Committee, and they answered Colorado's call for help, and I thank those Members--Members from both sides of the aisle--who supported us. That was hard to do. It was hard to do, but in the end the idea that we are all in this together prevailed.…”