Political Quotes

“As you know, Mr. President, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee left a trail of devastation all across New York. I saw firsthand the impact that they left on our communities: complete homes ruined, entire streets 7 feet of water, all people's belongings on their front yard, small businesses basically uncertain as to whether they could rebuild, whether they could rehire employees, crumbling bridges, washed-out roads, heating oil soaking into buildings and into the ground, farms with no feed for livestock, crops and livelihoods vanishing in a single day. This farm in Middleburgh is just a snapshot of what our farmers are facing. Debris covers the land, most crops washed away. Whatever was left, contaminated. The Van Allers, who own this farm, told me that the worst sound they had ever heard was their cows suffering as the water rose. This year has been unprecedented disasters striking agricultural regions all across the United States, not just in New York. In order to help these rural agricultural communities rebuild in my State and across the country, I am offering an amendment No. 869 to fund the backlog of State applications for the Emergency Conservation Program and the Emergency Watershed Program. I call up this amendment now. This funding will help more than half the States in this Nation with the disasters they have experienced so far this year, from the flooding in the Midwest to the droughts in Texas to the devastation that happened all across New York State.…”