Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North Carolina for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from Texas, the gentlewoman from Missouri, and everybody working on this. We have had one of the most intense periods of disasters in American history in recent years: Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, Michael, and Florence pounding Texas, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. We have seen impacts in South Carolina and Georgia, as well. But there is not another State that has been as disaster-impacted as south Louisiana, there is not another State: Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav, Ike, Isaac. We have had record-high water in the Mississippi River 2011, 2016, 2018, and, this year, 2019. There is not a more impacted State, which means there is not a more experienced State in terms of dealing with disasters. Number one, Mr. Speaker, the committee in this Congress that has jurisdiction over disasters is the Transportation Committee, and the Transportation Committee had no consideration of this bill whatsoever-- none. We made some major reforms just last year in the Disaster Recovery Reform Act that made major changes in how we handle disasters. You see people out there advocating this legislation who do not represent disaster victims, and I don't mean that in a mean way. I am just telling you that the folks who have actually dealt with disasters understand this is flawed, and let me explain why.…”