Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bipartisan measure before us today. H.R. 1471, the FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act of 2015, as amended, contains several provisions important to State and local governments and emergency managers. I will only highlight a few of them. I also want to acknowledge Chairman Barletta and my good friend, Ranking Member DeFazio. Mr. Speaker, in my opinion, the most important aspect of this bill is that it clarifies compensation and liability issues for urban search and rescue team members. These members provide critical services and put themselves in harm's way to help others involved in a disaster. In Indianapolis, my city, our own urban search and rescue team, which consists of firefighters, paramedics, civilians, and others responded to Hurricane Sandy. They did so despite the uncertainties that they would be covered for any injuries. These protections, Mr. Speaker, are long overdue. Team members can now rest assured that they will be taken care of when activated for Federal service if they are injured. Another important provision grows out of the individual States' and local governments' need to know that they can rely on FEMA's decisions and reimbursement amounts. Local governments make major decisions during the disaster recovery phase in reliance on FEMA's initial approval. There comes a time, Mr.…”