David Price: “I thank the ranking member, and I rise in support of both amendments before us, amendments to assist the communities…”

“I thank the ranking member, and I rise in support of both amendments before us, amendments to assist the communities devastated by Hurricane Sandy. We in North Carolina remember Hurricane Fran and Hurricane Floyd, and we know how important it is for Congress to extend itself in such an hour of need. As ranking member of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, I note that DHS would receive $5.5 billion within the base $17 billion provision, accounting for only 54 percent of the administration's request for the Department. Also absent are $6.1 billion in emergency disaster relief and $300 million in disaster loans. Madam Chairman, without this additional $6.1 billion, FEMA estimates that the Disaster Relief Fund will run out of money in May of 2013, halting long-term rebuilding in places like Joplin and Tuscaloosa. Adopting only the $17 billion proposal does not even fully fund current Sandy estimates and, astonishingly, provides no funding for further disasters in 2013. The $17 billion package also shortchanges the Coast Guard by about half the request and doesn't include funding requested for CBP, ICE, or the Secret Service.…”