On the recordDecember 19, 2024
I rise today to speak about the concern everyone in this Chamber has about the jeopardy of disaster assistance to the communities that so desperately need it. We had an agreement. We had an agreement that was reached between House Republicans and Democrats--a bipartisan agreement--here in the Senate. And it was to provide desperately needed disaster relief to citizens who were in the eye of storms in Vermont, in North Carolina, in Iowa, in Texas--$100 million. And what that meant in Vermont was that communities that had put money out to fix culverts, to repair bridges, to realign roads, and who were expecting the money from FEMA in this disaster assistance suddenly are on hold. Will they get it? We don't know at this moment. Farms, where farmers had lost their crops in July of 2023--and we had another flood in July of 2024--and where couples who were running these farms and making existential decisions about whether they could keep farming--and we need them; we need them to be able to keep farming; we need it for Vermont; and we need it to show respect for our farmers-- are awaiting an answer as to whether this disaster relief will come through. This is going to have a huge impact on Vermont.…
