Political Quotes

“H.R. 3348 demonstrates the lasting impact of the blizzard of 1996 when cities throughout the northeast were faced with unprecedented snow removal costs. My own city of Philadelphia ran up a bill of $11 million for snow removal for which we have received Federal reimbursement of $4 million. Many other cities from the Canadian border to our Nation's Capital had equally staggering costs for which they were totally unprepared. These cities looked to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for help and many were disappointed with FEMA's response. FEMA, which has done an outstanding job under Director James Lee Witt, is currently working on a snow removal policy, which is scheduled to be released in draft form on October 1. There are some complicated issues involved in this rulemaking, as was shown by the ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Oberstar], during our subcommittee hearing on H.R. 3348 last week. Mr. Speaker, I want to emphasize the tremendous job that Mr. Witt has done at FEMA. I have been involved in the oversight of FEMA for several years and it is clear that he has turned this Agency around. Under Director Witt, there is an unprecedented level of professionalism and responsiveness.”