On the recordDecember 12, 2012
You can't walk two steps in this Capitol without getting into a discussion these days about the fiscal cliff. The fiscal cliff is comprised of a lot of very serious issues, but it is a metaphor. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of my constituents and hundreds of thousands of people in the States of Connecticut, New Jersey and New York are suffering as a result of a natural disaster which was anything but a metaphor. Hurricane Sandy devastated communities across those three States. Traditionally, when our constituents were homeless, when they were hungry, when they were standing amidst the wreckage of their homes, they looked to this body for help and this body always said, yes, we will help. As we speak, there is a bill in the Senate that would provide that assistance to so many distressed constituents, Republican and Democrat, rural and urban. When that bill gets to this House, I urge my colleagues to remember that whether it was Hurricane Katrina or Andrew or the earthquakes of the west coast, we have always set aside considerations of the budget, or offsets, or whatnot, to do the decent and moral thing and help our constituents. Let's do it again. ____________________
