Paul Tonko: “It is. I think it highlights exactly the concern that many of us have in terms of the response to what is--what has…”

“It is. I think it highlights exactly the concern that many of us have in terms of the response to what is--what has pretty much rendered some areas of our country to be acknowledged almost as a war- torn area where craters have been created by the force of water, where roads are no longer in play, where businesses have been shut down, where homes have been lost totally to the waters, to the rivers that flow in their communities. And when you look at that devastation, you would think that the first thing we would do is respond in earnest and quickly and with a depth of acknowledgment that appropriates resources to get things going again. Well, our farmers need assistance, and they're not getting it through the response here with the concurrent resolution. It's a trade almost that we are asked to make about offsets that we can find. These are people that are looking for their children's school clothes in the rubble. They're searching for pictures of grandparents to have something to cling to in the aftermath of that devastation. They are wondering if they will ever open their business again, and we're not responding fully. We're looking for ways to cut so as to slide dollars over. Are you going to cut that youngster who now has no home? Are you going to cut her education? Are you going to cut his health care? Are you going to disavow any need for public safety?…”