Political Quotes

“this is an emergency supplemental. Let me cite some emergencies for our colleagues: Hurricane Floyd, Hurricane Andrew, Hurricane Hugo, the wildlands fires in California and in the west States of Oregon and Washington, the Midwestern States. How about the World Trade Center bombing. How about the Murrah Building bombing in Oklahoma City. How about the earthquakes at Loma Prieta and North Ridge. Or how about the recent fire that killed 5 firefighters in Worcester, Massachusetts, or just last night in Fort Worth, Texas where a tornado in downtown Fort Worth killed 4 people. What is common with all of these emergencies, Mr. Speaker? They were all handled by our domestic defenders, our 1.2 million fire and EMS people who have not received one dime of support from this body in the past. Today, an amendment will be offered that will, for the first time, provide $100 million for the fire and EMS personnel across America, 85 percent of whom are volunteers, 32,000 departments, on average, 60 to 80 in every congressional district represented in this body.”