Political Quotes

“I would like to join Senator Snowe and my other Colleagues from the Northeast in thanking Senator Stevens and Senator Byrd for agreeing to include emergency Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding in the disaster supplemental. This funding is desperately needed to assist in recovery in areas where there are significant gaps in existing disaster programs. On January 9, the Northeast was hit by an ice storm of an unprecedented scale. The storm downed trees and power lines throughout the northeast. In Vermont, one power company alone replaced more than 50 miles of power lines and 200 power poles. Crews came from as far away as Hawaii to aid in the effort to restore power to the 10,000 people left without electricity for up to 11 days during what is traditionally one of the coldest months of the year. Damage to Vermont utilities was extensive in the six counties declared disaster areas, with storm damage totaling over $9 million. Of that, only $552,648 was covered by FEMA. The storm was unique in the type of damage it inflicted--buildings, roads, and water and sewer systems were left largely untouched, but electric utility lines and trees were wiped out completely in some areas and suffered significant damage throughout the region. This is not the kind of damage traditional disaster programs were designed to address, as the 'Blueprint for Action' report FEMA produced after the storm makes clear.”