Political Quotes

“I am here with a sense of disappointment in that the President of the United States today is visiting my State and, particularly, visiting areas of the State that have recently been ravaged by an unprecedented series of wildfires. I regret that because of the schedule of the Senate, particularly the votes we have just taken this morning and those we will take later in the day, I was unable to accept the President's invitation, which he had generously extended to my colleague, Senator Mack, and myself. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to make a statement to my colleagues as to the circumstances in Florida. Mr. President, next month--on August 24--Floridians will observe the sixth anniversary of one of the worst natural disasters in recent memory: Hurricane Andrew. Many of my colleagues will remember that Andrew roared ashore in the middle of the night and vented its fury on the people of South Florida. The storm severely disrupted the lives of thousands of families. It damaged 128,000 homes and left approximately 160,000 people homeless. The insurance industry estimates that Andrew cost our state nearly $30 billion. Perhaps even more sobering than these numbers is the knowledge that the devastation and loss of life would have been even worse had the storm struck just twenty miles to the north, in the heart of downtown Miami. These facts demonstrate the unprecedented nature of Hurricane Andrew's destructive force.”