Thank you, Senator Lautenberg, for those excellent remarks and questions.

We are lending people money at 6 percent and 7 percent. We call that a low-interest loan.

I think that is what Senator Cochran, Senator Blunt, I, and others are saying, that after this historic flood, we need to take an assessment.

We want to help them to get back up, not only because it is the right thing to do, but economically, it is the smart thing to do.

I think it is going to be extremely difficult even with the array of other programs.

I think it would be very helpful for this subcommittee, and I know this is difficult, but you have in your staff a lot of experience.

I just want, again for the record, to be very clear to start with the number that you just gave, Administrator, that it was $7.3 billion that FEMA used last fiscal year; is that correct?

Okay, but you just testified that you need at least $2 billion----

It would seem to me that setting aside some emergency money for the Corps would be a wise way to operate.

Is there any chance that the number that we are working on now will go down?

I commit to work with the Senator of Vermont to make this business loan program the very best that it can possibly be.

I am going to ask you if $100 million is enough, and how many people you have had to tell no to when you ran out of that money.

Okay, you understand that in the continuing resolution that we are operating on, there is only $2.6 billion for disasters for 2012? Is that number sufficient, to your understanding to date?

I think, unfortunately, we have developed a habit and a pattern of underbudgeting for emergencies that we absolutely know, based on historical records, are going to occur.

I am proud that the Senate adopted a $6.9 billion disaster recovery that included all of your agencies.

Can you please give me an update--not now, but in writing, please--about this project?

So the bottom line is, when we fail to provide the adequate money to the DRF, you sometimes have to stop projects that are not easily restarted in some States, depending on their weather patterns, winter, et cetera?

But to have programs that people have hope for and not fund them I think is the cruelest of all.

And I think the Senator from Mississippi is absolutely correct.

Are there any other questions before we close this panel out?

So it is a $3 billion backlog?

located on the eastern edge of Louisiana, Washington Parish plays a central role in celebrating our State's unique culture and history. Every October, residents and leaders of the parish host the annual Washington Parish Fair, which marks…

Okay, thank you for correcting that.

Somebody needs to respond to this situation.

I wish to follow up on the remarks of Leader Reid by reminding everyone how unfortunate but in some ways necessary this situation is. This whole debate, in my view, is worth having. It is unfortunate it is so close to the end of the year…