Patty Murray: “you know, over the past week, my home State of Washington has experienced catastrophic and recordbreaking flooding due…”

“you know, over the past week, my home State of Washington has experienced catastrophic and recordbreaking flooding due to an ongoing atmospheric and winter weather event. It has been devastating. And with more rain coming and further evacuations underway today, it remains dangerous. Earlier this morning, we saw the first reported death connected to the flooding, a tragic and sobering reminder of what is at stake. And as response and recovery efforts continue across my State, I want to take a moment to recognize the valiant effort of first responders and teams at all levels, coming together to get lifesaving information out to our communities so people can prepare and evacuate and to go in and rescue people whenever and wherever needed. Last week, I led the Washington State delegation in requesting an expedited emergency declaration to get Federal disaster response resources out to our State. I was glad to see that request quickly approved by FEMA. That is how it should always work. We should always come together in times of tragedy and focus on helping people.”