Political Quotes

“I rise today to highlight an important component of the bipartisan infrastructure legislation that we are now debating. This legislation includes new investments that will help communities in Michigan and across the country address the serious risk posed by severe flooding, shoreline erosion, and other natural disasters. As a result of climate change, we are continuing to experience an increase in the frequency and intensity of severe weather events. In June, Southeast Michigan faced yet another severe flooding event that, tragically, led to two deaths, damaged small businesses and thousands of homes, and devastated families. The Federal Government has spent many billions of dollars to help respond to and recover from disasters. However, until very recently, we chronically underinvested in mitigating the effects of disasters before they occur, despite the fact that it protects lives, safeguards property, and saves taxpayer dollars. In fact, studies show that every dollar invested in hazard mitigation or prevention saves as much as $6 for the taxpayers. This package provides critical investments to a number of mitigation programs, but I want to highlight just one in particular, the STORM Act. Last year, I authored bipartisan legislation to create a new revolving loan program to be overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.…”