Roy Blunt: “my colleague, the Senator from Illinois, and I live in a part of the country where these terrible weather…”

“my colleague, the Senator from Illinois, and I live in a part of the country where these terrible weather events--tornadoes and other things--are not unusual for us. But as Senator Durbin has pointed out, we did have them last night in a number of places in southern Missouri, including Branson, the tourism strip, at one theater and one tourism location after another, as well as in Branson, Lebanon, Dallas County, and other places in southern Missouri. We had way too much experience with this last year. As my friend has pointed out, the Federal Emergency Management people are quickly there. We had a year of experience with this, particularly after the Joplin tornado. They were terrific. We want to remember too the first responders are always our neighbors, and neighbors are coming forward to help families whose houses were lost and possessions were scattered, and even in this particular case where there are occasions where people are injured and lives have been lost as well. Senator McCaskill and I join with Senator Kirk and Senator Durbin in their efforts in this regard. Amendment No. 1520 Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to engage in a colloquy with my Republican colleagues for 60 minutes. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.”