Political Quotes

“I thank the Senator from New Jersey for adding his strong and powerful voice to this. I wished to clarify a few points that I think are important for people to understand. First, for those who might be engaging in or listening to this debate, we are going to have a vote in about an hour or so, and if we do not get 60 votes, we will likely not be able to replenish the FEMA coffers that are virtually empty. The Federal fiscal year, to remind everyone, does not start January 1. It starts October 1. We run on a fiscal year, not a calendar year. We are coming to the end of our year in September, this month. FEMA has run out of money in the last 11 days. I wish to submit for the Record--this is just an 11-day count, $387 million worth of projects that have been halted because FEMA is stretching the few dollars it has have left to cover the emergency needs, literally, of meals and shelter for the people on the east coast. In other parts of the country where there are jobs underway, rebuilding highways, rebuilding libraries, rebuilding schools, rebuilding sewer systems, water systems, et cetera, those projects have been sent a pink slip, basically, from Washington saying cease and desist. You know what the worst thing about that is, it is not necessary if we would immediately act and refill this coffer so these projects can get started immediately.…”