Political Quotes

“on behalf of the distinguished chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Inouye, I have introduced an emergency supplemental and disaster aid bill. This is to respond to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy. The eyes, ears, and hopes of tens of millions of our fellow Americans who were in this storm's path are now trained upon the U.S. Senate. And with us in this effort, as well, is the good will of the entire Nation. I say that because in my almost 38 years here, I have been on this floor time and time again--different Presidents, sometimes in the majority, sometimes in the minority--where there has been devastation in different parts of this country, and in every single instance--every single instance--the Senate has come together to provide relief to those hit by hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, earthquakes, or anything else. Superstorm Sandy was remarkable, and I use that in the broadest sense of the word. It hit the east coast 7 weeks ago. What it did is it swelled to become the largest Atlantic hurricane in history. It was hundreds of miles wide, much wider than my own State of Vermont. Its reach was greater than even that of Hurricane Katrina along the gulf coast. Sandy claimed the lives of more than 120 of our fellow Americans. It destroyed more than 340,000 homes and 200,000 businesses. More than 8.5 million families were without power in 15 States and the District of Columbia. The scale of the damage is almost hard to fathom.…”