Jill Tokuda: “This week, the House will vote to keep the government open until December. While millions of Americans can rest assured…”

“This week, the House will vote to keep the government open until December. While millions of Americans can rest assured that critical services will continue, disaster-stricken communities like Florida, which is currently facing another hurricane, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Vermont, and yes, my community in Maui, have once again been denied the additional support they need and they deserve. This continuing resolution is yet another missed opportunity to give my Maui constituents some certainty in their long road to recovery. Just last week, Congressman LaMalfa and I led a bipartisan coalition of Members, all representing disaster-affected communities, in calling for Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funding and the Disaster Tax Relief Act to be included in government spending legislation. Instead, Congress will leave town this week with little to offer. Any year-end government spending package must include disaster recovery funding. We cannot delay further, not when far too many communities like Maui are still waiting and hurting. We owe it to them and all our disaster-stricken communities to get this done, and I will not stop fighting until we deliver the support they so desperately need. ____________________”