Bill Pascrell: “We have a problem here. My record is very, very clear. I am providing assistance to any place in this country. In fact…”

“We have a problem here. My record is very, very clear. I am providing assistance to any place in this country. In fact, my record is 100 percent. So I have some credibility to come to the floor to discuss this with my friend from Florida, and I hope he will listen. My heart goes out to those impacted my Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria the past several weeks. I am committed to providing for Federal response and recovery. I was pleased to support aid to those affected by Harvey and Irma, and I will continue to do so. We urgently need to deliver relief and assistance to those currently impacted by Hurricane Maria in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, where the entire island has lost power or many are without water. However, this bill today does not provide that needed relief. Let's be clear: we in New Jersey are not some Johnny-come-lately on disaster tax relief. This is not a question of you got yours and I want mine. We have been working on disaster tax issues since 2012, based, in part, on how we addressed helping victims of Hurricane Katrina more than a decade ago. Let me remind you: Hurricane Sandy devastated the northeastern United States in 2012, cost 233 lives, and caused $75 billion in damage. At the time, it was the costliest storm after Hurricane Katrina.…”