[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 130 (Friday, August 1, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1660]]
    INTRODUCTION OF THE ``WHATEVER IT TAKES TO REBUILD ACT OF 2008''

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 31, 2008

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, today I am reintroducing the 
``Whatever It Takes to Rebuild Act of 2008''.
  A disaster can leave the tax base of an affected community eroded, 
necessitating Federal assistance to pay for essential services. These 
essential services, including police, fire, and school personnel, are 
even more critical in the wake of a disaster. To aid communities, 
Congress created the Community Disaster Loan Program. While this 
program has worked with great success, there are two significant issues 
that need to be fixed. The first issue is that this assistance is 
delivered in the form of a loan and the second is that any loan is 
limited to $5 million. Providing this aid as a loan can further delay 
the recovery of a local community and the $5 million cap does not allow 
for adequate assistance for medium or large communities.
  The ``Whatever It Takes to Rebuild Act'' would repeal the requirement 
that disaster affected communities repay the assistance they receive 
under the Community Disaster Loan Program. This legislation would 
permanently repeal the $5 million cap on these loans, would make states 
eligible for this assistance, repeal the cap that limits loans to 25 
percent of a municipality's operating expenses, and would provide this 
assistance as grants when a disaster has been declared an ``Incident of 
National Significance'' under the National Response plan. All of these 
provisions are aimed at giving the federal government the tools and 
flexibility we need to fully respond following a disaster.
  This program was used most recently immediately following Hurricane 
Katrina in New Orleans. While it was able to provide significant 
benefits, repayment requirements have raised significant hurdles for 
many recipient communities. In the wake of a disaster, the government 
should give American communities the financial assistance they need to 
get back on their feet with no strings attached. That is why I am 
reintroducing the ``Whatever It Takes to Rebuild Act.''

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