[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 173 (Wednesday, January 2, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H7573]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HURRICANE SANDY RELIEF

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Bishop) for 2\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise in solidarity with my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle against the House Republican 
leadership's outrageous decision to refuse emergency assistance for our 
States to recover from the strongest storm to ravage our region in 
generations.
  It's simply unconscionable that this Chamber would walk away from a 
region desperate for assistance in its greatest hour of need. We cannot 
accept this shockingly callous indifference of the leadership to the 
human suffering that our constituents and their fellow citizens 
continue to endure.
  The leadership's decision stands in stark contrast to the immediate 
decisions to provide relief in the wake of every disaster that has 
befallen this Nation over the past many years. It comes in stark 
contrast to our Nation's call to provide well over $100 billion to 
Louisiana and the Gulf States following that tragedy, the first $62 
billion of which was on its way to the Gulf States within 2 weeks of 
the storm.
  More than 2 months after our region was struck, our constituents are 
still waiting for help. Our States are overextended and our 
constituents have reached the limits of their tolerance. They deserve 
more than the Federal Government's refusal to help, particularly after 
the Senate's strong bipartisan approval of the aid we need.
  Our leadership has decided to pass up an important investment against 
future losses. Many of our districts remain exposed to future damage. 
My own district, for example, experienced two relatively routine storms 
in late December, but, nonetheless, those storms compounded the massive 
erosion along the south shore of Long Island. We simply cannot afford 
any further breaches, flooding, overwashing, or storm damage without 
incurring significant losses to our infrastructure and to our economy.
  Mr. Speaker, let me close with this:
  What do I say when I go home to my constituents in Mastic Beach, a 
working class community on Moriches Bay with a little over 5,000 homes, 
about a thousand of which sustained damage, a great many of which are 
unrepairable? Do I tell them that the Republican leadership of the 
House considers it entirely appropriate for their tax dollars to be 
used for recovery and repair in New Orleans, in Tuscaloosa, in Joplin, 
or anywhere else in this country where a natural disaster has occurred? 
Or do I tell them that when it's in their hour of need, the Republican 
leadership has decided to simply walk away? That's precisely the 
message that the Republican leadership is sending to my constituents.
  They deserve better. The residents of all of the States that were 
ravaged by this storm deserve better. We must bring this bill to a vote 
immediately.

                          ____________________