Political Quotes

“On Monday, the Rules Committee met and reported a rule for consideration of H.R. 152, the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013. The rule is a structured rule that allows the House to work its will and decide the appropriate amount of aid for the devastation as a result of Hurricane Sandy. It allows for an up-or-down vote on the first $17 billion in aid, along with an amendment by Mr. Mulvaney which would offset the cost. Additionally, the rule allows the House to consider Mr. Frelinghuysen's amendment for an additional $33 billion. The rule also makes in order 11 other amendments. Additionally, this rule directs the Clerk of the House to add H.R. 219, a bill to improve and streamline disaster assistance for Hurricane Sandy, which passed the House yesterday by a vote of 403-0, as a new matter at the end of H.R. 152. Mr. Speaker, as I review the rule and the underlying legislation, my own opinion is shaped by a variety facts: First, there's no question that an enormous disaster has taken place and hit the northeastern portion of the United States and that the dimensions of that disaster are truly extraordinary. There's a lot of different estimates that are floating around about how much, but one is as high as $85 billion, and that doesn't begin to calculate the human suffering in addition to the enormous financial cost. Second, there's clearly a Federal responsibility to act in this case. We've always acted after disasters.…”