I think some of the people that I represent are still shocked to know that some of the temporary housing in trailers... amounted to anywhere between $70,000, I think, and $90,000.

I think managing the expectations of what the Federal Government is going to do versus what the State is going to do versus what the local government is going to do is critical after a disaster.

I am very happy to conduct this hearing this afternoon to focus on continued reform of the Stafford Act.

I mean, on one hand, I understand about not having these classifications so tightly drawn that you limit flexibility in the event that something like Tennessee is so obvious.

Well, I think it is a very important question to answer because it is just so troubling.

Should we look at a more specific Disaster Block Grant that either HUD or FEMA could issue that might be a little bit more effective or efficient than just trying to use a program that wasn't created for the disaster?

for every dollar invested in mitigation projects, the Federal Government saves four dollars in averted disaster assistance

the law, I understand, not policy, limits the disaster loans to $5 million.

I cannot do any of this going forward without the Disaster Recovery Fund being replenished with supplemental

If we had more mayors like you, we wouldn't have nearly the problems that we have.

We want to make sure that the government agencies like the Small Business Administration, like Commerce, like other industries, can step up and help us through this difficult time.

I want to call on this committee again to relook at the revenue-sharing proposals that have been put before this committee.

the Small Business Administration yesterday has made clear that on an individual basis the 6,000 small business disaster loans that are still pending in the same area from the last disasters we had can be deferred

Thank you, Madam Chair, thank you for taking the initiative to hold this hearing today.

We owe the workers of this industry a debt of gratitude for what they do.

We must find out what went wrong, hold BP accountable, and on the record they said they will be accountable, under oath, for all economic damage.

Are the requirements, Mr. Newman, which you say you exceeded, that MMS requires for this deepwater drilling--are our requirements the highest internationally or are there other nations that require higher safety standards than what MMS is…

As the responsible party, BP must be held accountable, and the Federal Government should ensure that BP upholds its financial obligations.

Revenue sharing is very important from the billions of dollars generated from this industry to make sure it is safe.

We need to ensure that techniques utilized in recovery efforts are safe and that we continue to do everything possible to protect our environmentally sensitive areas.

the last thing we want to do is for a region that has been hammered by storms and other disasters, is to have this be another economic disaster for the people of this region.

I believe it would be a terrible mistake to retreat from domestic energy production.

We need to examine closely the extent to which each of these systems failed to do what it was supposed to do.

But we need the oil that comes from offshore to keep this economy moving.

We need to plan for the long-term impacts this accident will have on the Gulf Coast.