Political Quotes

“in my maiden floor speech on May 9, I spoke on behalf of thousands of Mississippians suffering from consecutive months of catastrophic flooding in the South Mississippi Delta. Today I rise again to speak on behalf of thousands of Mississippians who are still suffering from catastrophic flooding, which started in January and continues to disrupt the lives of residents in the Mississippi Delta and my State overall. Floodwaters must recede before damages can be fully assessed, but we already know that more than 600 households have suffered severe damage, nearly 400 families have been displaced since February, and agricultural losses will likely exceed $800 million. Much of the necessary infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and drainage culverts are beyond repair. In June, LaTamela Taylor--13 weeks pregnant--and Darron Wilson died when their car lost control and sank into the floodwaters. Something must be done. My colleagues might ask: How could an area more than 11 times the size of Washington, DC, remain underwater for nearly 7 months? How could floodwaters swamp more than half a million acres of homes, businesses, highways, forests, and farmlands spanning six Mississippi counties for so long? The answer is quite simple. Similar to New Orleans, a complex system of levees and floodgates constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers protected the roughly 1,446-square-mile Yazoo Backwater area in West Central Mississippi.…”