Political Quotes

“I thank Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith for his leadership and also his support on this legislation, and I thank our colleague, Judy Chu, for joining me in introducing what I think is an important piece of legislation. This bill, the Filing Relief for Natural Disasters Act, H.R. 517, is a bipartisan bill and a commonsense bill. It will provide relief to Americans who have been impacted by natural disasters and emergencies. Just about every Member of this body at some point has seen their State, their district, or their constituents impacted by a natural disaster or an emergency. Mr. Speaker, just last month, Obion County, which is in my district in Tennessee, was devastated by severe flooding following a levee failure. The disaster displaced hundreds of my constituents and left the town of Rives in Obion County basically underwater. After the initial flooding, I visited Rives with our Governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee, to survey the damage and to meet with local officials and residents. For the Rives community, recovering and rebuilding is not going to be easy and is not going to happen overnight. I am sure that my colleagues who have toured disaster areas in their own districts know exactly what I mean. For communities that have been impacted by disasters, it is critical that they have timely access to the support they need to begin the recovery process and get their lives back on track. This also, Mr. Speaker, includes regulatory relief.…”