The two-tiered amendment disaster relief bill that we had hoped to bring to the floor to get us to the $60 billion that is desperately needed to assist families, businesses, and municipalities devastated by Superstorm Sandy. Our appeal--and it's a bipartisan appeal--is that there is still time to bring this vital legislation to the floor for a vote back to the Senate and then down to the President for signature. Numerous towns in my district, Mr. Speaker, as well as well as our friends in New York and further north, are still coping with and recovering from the most destructive storm ever in our region--and perhaps the second or third most costly in all of American history. Today, families lack housing. Businesses are in shambles, and municipalities have been decimated. In New Jersey, some 346,000 housing units were damaged or destroyed, with 22,000 units rendered absolutely uninhabitable. {time} 1130 An estimated 11,000 housing choice vouchers will be needed to ensure that residents at least have a roof over their heads this winter. Approximately 100,000 new storm-related unemployment claims have been filed in New Jersey, 100,000, attributable to the storm. Over 235,000 people in New Jersey have already registered with FEMA for individual assistance.…
Share & report
More from Chris Smith
I would like to express my strong support for the Uyghur Policy Act, of which I am a proud cosponsor. But more than expressing strong support for this necessary piece of legislation, all of us must continue to show strong support for the…
For over three decades post- Tiananmen Square massacre, Congress was deeply divided; not between Republican and Democrat, but among the majority here and in the Senate who favored unfettered engagement and trade without serious human…
With the recent largest-ever homicide spike in the history of our Nation, our first responders and law enforcement officers are facing unprecedented threats on the job at severe staff shortages as they are simultaneously met with radical…
I respectfully ask the House today to adopt my amendment--the Kyle Mullen Naval Safety Enhancements--that directs the Secretary of Defense to conduct an appraisal of and provide recommended policies for improved medical care and oversight…





