Paul Tonko: “Sure. Thank you, Representative Garamendi. Thank you for bringing us together for this hour on the floor, where I think…”

“Sure. Thank you, Representative Garamendi. Thank you for bringing us together for this hour on the floor, where I think it's important to pay attention to the needs out there as they relate to the damages that were brought upon certain areas of the country by Mother Nature. Yes, there's been a lot of focus with this on Superstorm Sandy. That really had its presence felt just to the south of my given congressional district. However, there was some damages in the northern reaches of upstate New York, the more northern sections as we traveled north of the metro area. But suffice it to say, the need here for assistance by not only New York, but New Jersey and Connecticut, where the proper of New York, the metro area of New York City, Long Island, Westchester County, were impacted severely by this storm. As I said, on the fringe elements in my area, not as much. But certainly, New Jersey and Connecticut were hard hit. But just over a year before that storm, you're absolutely right, we were impacted by Irene and Lee, a double dose of damage that really impacted my given congressional district severely. It looked like a war-torn area, as was the case here with Superstorm Sandy. And this Nation, whenever impacted by natural or manmade disasters, found a response from Congress, that the President, whoever that person might be at the time, working with Congress, expedited the assistance, wanted to get that aid there with a high degree of urgency.…”