David Price: “I thank our Appropriations chair for yielding this time, and I rise in support of this disaster supplemental, which will…”

“I thank our Appropriations chair for yielding this time, and I rise in support of this disaster supplemental, which will provide $17.2 billion in long overdue assistance for North Carolina and for other States and territories that have suffered from devastating natural disasters. North Carolina has been hit by two hurricanes in as many years, with thousands of people displaced, homes destroyed, and livelihoods lost. Meanwhile, typhoons, tornadoes and wildfires, have wreaked havoc on millions of Americans in the South, the Midwest, California, and several territories, including Puerto Rico. The bill before us ensures the Federal Government will remain an active partner in the recovery effort. It provides comprehensive resources for: flexible community development block grants, highway and bridge repairs, Army Corps construction along our coasts and rivers, Department of Agriculture crop and livestock relief, repairs to our military installations, and many other critical recovery activities. We all know that these resources are desperately needed. We all know that they should have been provided months ago. The House passed a similar package back in January that stalled in the Republican- controlled Senate. The President has complicated our efforts, to put it mildly, and he has complicated them in a particularly unfortunate way. He is obsessed with Puerto Rico. He is determined to punish the island for offenses, real or imagined.…”