Cord Byrd: “as every Senator is aware, over the past winter and now into spring, the Nation has been besieged by numerous natural…”

“as every Senator is aware, over the past winter and now into spring, the Nation has been besieged by numerous natural disasters that have wreaked havoc on hundreds of communities across the country and have affected the lives of hundreds of thousands of our citizens. The damages from these disasters in terms of financial losses run into the billions of dollars. Many people have lost many, if not all, of their worldly possessions, things that they worked for for a lifetime. Not only their homes and personal possessions have been destroyed, but in many cases, entire communities have been wiped out, leaving many citizens with no means of livelihood. It is only fitting that the President and the Senate should move as quickly as is humanly possible to address the financial costs of these disasters and thereby, hopefully, help to lift the spirits of those who have lost so much. The bill now before the Senate contains more than $5.5 billion for the various disaster assistance programs throughout the Federal Government to provide relief for the communities and the citizens of those communities who have suffered devastation from these historic natural disasters.”