Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise to present H.R. 3672, the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, which is the third bill in our final appropriations package for fiscal year 2012. This bill provides a total of $8.1 billion in funding for critical aid and recovery assistance for disaster emergencies. Of this total, $6.4 billion will go to FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund. This includes funding for fire assistance, emergency declarations, major disasters, surge operations, and disaster readiness support. {time} 1310 In addition, these funds will help cover costs from large-scale previous disasters such as the summer 2011 tornadoes and Hurricane Irene. We've had a historic chain of disasters in this country over the last year or so. The legislation also provides $1.7 billion in funding for disaster recovery assistance through the Army Corps of Engineers. This funding will help repair damage to critical infrastructure caused by recent storms and floods and will help prepare for future disaster events. This total adheres to the total disaster funding level agreed to under the Budget Control Act this past summer. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, to provide our communities and families with the support they need as they recover from these devastating natural disasters. I reserve the balance of my time.”