Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today I am introducing the Fairness in Federal Disaster Declaration Act. I am introducing it on behalf of myself and my colleague, Senator Mark Kirk. What we are trying to achieve is fairness in FEMA's consideration of whether a community will be granted Federal assistance after a disaster. I think this legislation is essential because of what just happened in my State. From 2007 to 2011, Illinois was denied Federal assistance three times. Texas was denied nine times. The damage was caused by everything from wildfires to tropical storms. California was denied five times during that 5-year period. Florida was denied four times, including for damage from Hurricane Ike. And unfortunately, as I mentioned, in my home State of Illinois, the communities of Harrisburg and Ridgway were denied. This is the damage I saw when I went down to Harrisburg, IL, after a recent tornado. This was a shopping mall, but it was virtually collapsed by winds of 175 miles-per-hour intensity. That is the second highest intensity of recorded winds in a tornado. This property damage, of course, is just a minor part of what actually happened. The major part was the loss of life. Seven people were killed as a result of the tornado damage. I grew up in the Midwest. I have seen tornadoes all my life. I lived waiting to hear the air raid sirens and head toward the basement. But I never saw anything quite as devastating as what I saw in Harrisburg.…”