Patrick Leahy: “before I begin, I wanted to acknowledge that this morning, countless Floridians woke up to a world turned upside down in…”

“before I begin, I wanted to acknowledge that this morning, countless Floridians woke up to a world turned upside down in the wake of Hurricane Ian. Hundreds of thousands in Puerto Rico remain without power more than 10 days after the storm that ravaged the island. I want them to know that Vermonters will stand by your side as you rebuild your communities and your lives, and so will Republicans and Democrats in this Chamber. Now, the continuing resolution we are about to consider contains $18.8 billion for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund, which would bring available resources in the fund to approximately $35 billion to respond to these and other disasters. We likely are not going to know the extent of the damage for several days. Every time you watch the news you hear of more damage. But I remind my colleagues that we are the United States of America, and I am ready to work with my colleagues to respond with what is needed. I do not care whether a State is represented by Democrats or Republicans. You are part of the United States of America, and as chairman of the Appropriations Committee, I will work with you during the months ahead to get the funds you need. Now, that said, I am glad we have reached an agreement to fund the Federal Government through December 16, and I want to thank my good friend Vice Chairman Shelby for working on this. But I especially want to thank Leaders Schumer and McConnell for their work and cooperation in reaching this point.…”