Political Quotes

“I want to thank the subcommittee chair, Senator Murray, and the ranking member, Senator Collins, for all the assistance they provided to me on several issues that are important to Vermont, especially in the wake of Hurricane Irene's massive devastation a few weeks ago. I have talked on the floor many times about what happened in Vermont with Hurricane Irene. I was born in Vermont. I have never seen anything like this. It reminds me of the story my grandparents told me of a flood in the early 20th century. We have seen roads, bridges, businesses, homes, farms all over the State wiped out, with repair estimates topping nearly $900 million. My wife and I have gone all over the State. I have gone with the Governor, adjutant general, and others, seeing things that literally brought me to tears in our beautiful State. Getting hit like that, it is very clear, as I have talked to the people working, that everybody has pitched in. Whether they are from the town that got hit or the next town over that might not have been hit, everybody has pitched in. It is clear in our little State of 660,000 people we are stretched to the limit. If we don't have adequate Federal disaster recovery aid, Vermont will not have the resources needed to rebuild the lifelines destroyed--the homes, roads, and businesses represented in the daily lives of so many Vermonters and their communities. Several Federal disaster programs are woefully underfunded.…”