Celia Israel: “I thank my very good friend and colleague from New York for the time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule. It…”

“I thank my very good friend and colleague from New York for the time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule. It has been 80 days. For 80 days New Yorkers and other Americans have been waiting for help. Their businesses have been damaged, their homes have been damaged, their land has been damaged, their co-ops and condos have been damaged. They need the help. It is one thing to be devastated by a weather storm; it is another thing to be devastated by a political storm. We need to put both storms behind us and move on and provide this help. We have shown bipartisanship in my area, Mr. Speaker. The gentleman from New York (Mr. King), a Republican, and I and other members of our delegation have worked with Governor Cuomo and Governor Christie and with Mayor Bloomberg to move forward, despite the politics and despite the political winds. We have our two county executives from Long Island--County Executive Bellone and County Executive Mangano--in Washington today, with residents who are Democrats, Republicans, conservatives, liberals, and independents. This isn't about party; this is about solutions. This is not the time for recriminations about what went wrong. It is the time for recovery, about how to get this right. This is not the time for partisan posturing. It is a time for solutions.…”