Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), the chair designate of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. Ms. McCOLLUM. Madam Chair, I rise in support of this funding package, and I am pleased that, within the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee's jurisdiction, the bill provides more than $2 billion for recovery from devastating natural disasters. This includes $849 million to rebuild drinking water and wastewater systems to a state of resiliency against future storms, $50 million for coastal resiliency projects to reduce ecosystem and community vulnerability to help with sea level rise and with the flooding and erosion caused by storms. The bill provides funds to repair Federal facilities that were destroyed or damaged, such as the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, funds for historic preservation grants to repair culturally significant sites and properties, and funds to clean up hazardous and solid waste sites. A critical provision in this bill provides $720 million to fully repay the U.S. Forest Service for funds it was forced to borrow in the last fiscal year to cover the cost of wildland fire suppression. An additional $103 million will help the Forest Service to address damage to national forests and treat hazardous fuel loads.…”