Joe Crowley: “I thank the gentlelady for yielding me this time. In the days following Superstorm Sandy, many of my colleagues from…”

“I thank the gentlelady for yielding me this time. In the days following Superstorm Sandy, many of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle reached out to me, and I think they did the same to others throughout the quad-State region, expressing their sympathies and their concern. While they weren't able to see firsthand the devastation, everyone had a sense, I think, of that devastation by the footage they all saw on television and over the Internet. It was pretty powerful in itself. Everyone, I think, was astonished at the magnitude. We're not used to having such disasters in New York City; and everyone was shocked to see the extent of the damage, homes literally wiped away, businesses destroyed, flood waters consuming people's living rooms and completely overturning their lives. And the damage wasn't just in one city or one town or, for that matter, one State. From Breezy Point, Queens, to Edgewater in my district in the Bronx, from Manhattan to Brooklyn to Staten Island to Westchester to Long Island, from the coasts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, all of the way over to Connecticut, so many people's lives were wrecked by this powerful storm. While words are kind and they are very much appreciated, action behind those words is even more appreciated. Today, finally, I believe we'll have the opportunity to see action.…”