John Mica: “I want to spend a second and also echo my appreciation to the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young), to both sides of…”

“I want to spend a second and also echo my appreciation to the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young), to both sides of the aisle, for bringing forward this legislation; to the leadership of President Bush and his administration, who have acted, in advance of both this latest storm and the previous storm we had; for the leadership, the fantastic assistance provided Governor Bush. He has just been on the job working day and night. And I would be remiss if I did not mention all of the local officials. I represent some six counties, and many of those people have been through two disasters now, and they have worked nonstop. So, again, my congratulations. This money that we are sending from Washington is part of the great strength of our Nation, part of the strength of a Federal system, and it is the people's money, the taxpayers' money. And when we have a need, it is appropriate that we do provide assistance from the country to an area that is hard hit, whether it is Florida; Richmond, Virginia; or other parts of the Nation. So it is one of the great strengths of our Nation and our people. Finally, I want to say that Florida is open for business.”