I have lived in the State of New Jersey my whole life. I have never seen the type of devastation that exists in the State.

I fully expect that now that for the first time we have the type of devastation that others have suffered and should understand, that we are going to have the type of response that others have received.

So a good part of the portfolio that we have been suffering with here certainly took place prior to this administration.

Well, Mr. Chairman, let me close, if I may, with your indulgence, because of the nature of this issue, by saying, number one, we await what the supplemental looks like, and we will reserve judgment until them.

Amazingly, the bridge can be repaired, but many of the surrounding homes were lost and part of that highway will need to be rebuilt.

This is the first time we have had the experience. I have lived in the state my whole life and I have never seen the breadth and scope of devastation that the state has faced after Superstorm Sandy.

And I would simply say that in a time in which the housing market, although we see some indicators moving upward and prices, values moving upward, it is still a very significant challenge.

We lost 34 lives during the storm. It was the largest mass transit disaster in our nation's history.

I feel like I have to be Houdini to accomplish this, so--but we are going to do this.

If we have a northeaster, our defenses are so far down that it would be like a person's immune system being susceptible to any type of illness.

the use of a commercial port for forward projection from the East Coast is the Port of New York and New Jersey, and when it cannot operate well, it is part of a national security imperative as well.

Over 50 ships were diverted that were headed for New York and New Jersey. Those ships were carrying over 15,000 cargo containers and almost 10,000 automobiles.