On the recordSeptember 25, 2017
In hurricane-ridden places, DREAMers are extraordinarily scared for their families, for the ability to recover from damages; and I see it every day. It is imperative that Republicans sign this bill to save and protect our DREAMers, who are, in fact, Americans. Do it for all of those who are suffering. Then, Madam Speaker, let me explain to you that FEMA needs to address the poverty of my constituents, individuals who are calling me in their apartments when their 84-year-old mother and themselves have lost everything, and they cannot get a FEMA inspector to that apartment. I will be addressing this with FEMA Director Brock Long, but we cannot go this route. People are still in uninhabitable housing. Over the weekend, seniors were evicted from their housing with no place to go. I am engaged with our public housing authority, but we have got to have a system that is orderly for those who are living in uninhabitable housing. And, FEMA, you have got to enhance the inspectors. These people are waiting for over a month for you to come to their apartment or home to inspect, because they have no resources at all, and they are depending upon the FEMA dollars based upon your inspection for the loss of personal items. The hurricane is still on for my friends in Puerto Rico and Florida and the Virgin Islands and Texas. ____________________
