Bill Nelson: “I want to comment before the Senator from Louisiana leaves the floor. It is kind of like we have seen this movie before.…”

“I want to comment before the Senator from Louisiana leaves the floor. It is kind of like we have seen this movie before. If I recall, it was Friday. The Senator from Louisiana and I were out here with this chart talking about the same thing, showing all of these paths of hurricanes and how those folks who live along the gulf and the Atlantic coast understand what natural disaster is. We are playing with people's lives when we threaten not to fund FEMA, which can respond to these. How many of these do we have to have to get through to these decisionmakers who are blocking the funding of FEMA because of some ideological position? There are people out there who are hurting in Tuscaloosa, AL; in Joplin, MO, all throughout New England, and along the Atlantic coast--and who knows what is going to happen? Hurricane season goes until the end of November. I want to tell the Senator from Louisiana how much I appreciate her bringing this to our attention over and over again. We need to remind people that there are certain things that only the government can do, and this is one of them. When people are in need, they have to rely on emergency functions from their government. That is one of the main reasons of having a government. Hopefully, that message will get through. Mr. President, I want to speak about, basically, this budget conundrum in which we find ourselves.…”