[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 173 (Wednesday, January 2, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H7575-H7576]
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. Reed) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. REED. I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to join my colleagues on the 
other side of the aisle. I come from a district in New York that was 
not impacted by Hurricane Sandy, but I come to this floor today to 
express my frustration and my disappointment in the decision that was 
made to not bring up the Hurricane Sandy supplemental aid for the 
people of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut--our fellow citizens, 
Americans, who have suffered devastating impacts.
  Now, I understand what some of the dynamics of this bill are about. I 
understand that the Senate has put forth a bill that many on my side of 
the aisle have expressed concern about--pork-type of activity that the 
Senate continues to engage in with fisheries and Smithsonian funding 
and things like that that don't really have much to do with Hurricane 
Sandy. But that's a separate issue that could have been addressed and 
should be addressed by this body in cleaning up that bill and in 
getting the aid, getting the resources to the people who are suffering 
today.
  That was the intended plan, that we were going to let the will of the 
House speak--clean up the bill that the Senate had produced but, most 
importantly, do what is right for our fellow citizens because there is 
not a better purpose of the Federal Government, which is for the 
Federal Government to stand with our citizens when they are suffering 
the most, especially when they are suffering from a natural disaster 
such as Hurricane Sandy.
  I join with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle in, again, 
asking

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for our leadership to change the decision that was made to let the 
clock run out on this Congress and deal with this issue tomorrow. We 
don't have the luxury of waiting until tomorrow. These people are 
suffering today.
  I talked to my colleagues of the districts that were impacted by this 
devastating storm, and I have heard the horror stories, and I've heard 
the stories of suffering of the many millions of people who were 
impacted in New Jersey and New York outside of my district. I think it 
is right and it is just and it is proper for us to hear the stories of 
those individuals and to make sure that we stand with them and take 
this bill up now rather than kick it to the next Congress. God knows 
when we will actually get to it in that congressional session.
  So I join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Let us do what is 
right, Mr. Speaker. Bring this bill to the floor, and get on with the 
business of attending to our fellow citizens as Americans.

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