Political Quotes

“I rise in support of it. Our hearts again go out to the victims of natural disasters like the hurricane in the Southeast, but I would, with all due respect, suggest that we ought to start thinking about how we can do more. This is the second time we have done this in 2 months, but it is not just a once-in-a-century occurrence in Florida. In 2003, President Bush issued 56 major disaster declarations. So far this year he has already issued 46. During the 8 years I have been in Congress there have been at least 10 disaster supplementals, and we have appropriated over $20 billion in disaster relief funding in supplementals. CRS has testified that there is no systematic accounting of disaster relief funding, even just the Federal cost. Now these bills are popular and they are important. They make us feel better; they help people. But always acting after the fact we create a wider hole for the taxpayers, and we keep putting people in harm's way. We should not just continue to clean up after these tragedies and these messes. Congress has an opportunity to make a real difference to prevent some of the future damage when we have major legislation like this.”