On the recordDecember 21, 2017
I thank my good friend for yielding time to me and for his tremendous bill. It is a great bipartisan piece of legislation. Mr. Speaker, after Superstorm Sandy, I and others saw how leaders and volunteers of churches, synagogues, and other religious centers helped feed, clothe, and shelter tens of thousands of victims, yet they were left out and left behind when it came to repairs of their own facilities. The FEMA policy was and is unfair, unjustified, and discriminatory. Over 4 years ago, the House came together in the wake of Superstorm Sandy and passed legislation that I authored by 354-72. Surprise, surprise, the Senate never acted, so the policy continues to this day. I want to thank the chairman for including a provision in this bill that will ensure that houses of worship, churches, and synagogues get the kind of help they need on an equal basis with other nonprofits. I also want to thank him for including language that will get rid of this misnamed duplication of benefits clause. Imagine this: men and women who are victimized by Superstorm Sandy or any other storm, they go to FEMA, they are advised to take out an SBA loan, then a little later in the recovery time, they are told that there is a HUD grant available, and they are precluded from getting that grant to even pay off the SBA loan.
