Sanford Bishop: “Once again, I rise to support this bill. On October 10, 2018, my district took a direct hit from Hurricane Michael, one…”

“Once again, I rise to support this bill. On October 10, 2018, my district took a direct hit from Hurricane Michael, one of the most powerful storms to make landfall in U.S. history. It slammed into the Florida Panhandle, drove through much of the Southeast leaving a path of destruction all the way up to Virginia. In Georgia, many producers suffered nearly 100 percent crop losses. Hurricane Michael killed more than 2 million chickens and devastated the Georgia cotton crop, which was nearing peak harvest, and was on track to be the best crop in years. This was the third straight year hurricane damage has caused significant losses to the pecan, peanut, cotton, vegetable, landscaping, and agritourism industries. The Carolinas also suffered billions in damages a month earlier, from Hurricane Florence. Californians had another devastating fire season, including both the largest and deadliest fires on record. In Hawaii, volcanic activity caused pineapple farmers nearly $30M in damages. Americans in the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa were also hit by violent cyclones. To meet these needs, this House passed and sent to the Senate an emergency supplemental appropriations bill on January 16, 2019 that allocated $14.17 billion in emergency spending to help families and communities recover from these hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural disasters.…”