David Price: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3702, the Reforming Disaster Recovery…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3702, the Reforming Disaster Recovery Act of 2019. I want to thank the bill's bipartisan sponsors: Mr. Green, and Mrs. Wagner, and also Chairwoman Waters, and Ranking Member McHenry for their leadership. I approach this as a Representative of a disaster-prone State. Citizens in my State of North Carolina have a special reason to appreciate this bill. We have been hit hard by national disasters. Hurricanes Matthew and Florence made landfall in 2016 and 2018, just 2 years apart. The storms upended lives, destroyed homes and businesses, and caused billions of dollars in damages. Many communities in my State are still recovering more than 3 years after these storms. As the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, I have worked with colleagues in our delegation, and colleagues from other impacted States and territories, to secure tens of billions of dollars for HUD's CDBG-DR program. We have worked on this for years. We know the need for this legislation. These flexible funds help facilitate long-term recovery. They can be used to repair and rebuild housing, to improve infrastructure, and to revitalize local economies. Unfortunately, Congress has never formally authorized this program but this bill fixes that.…”