[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 173 (Wednesday, January 2, 2013)]
[House]
[Page H7578]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HURRICANE SANDY RELIEF

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Pelosi) for 2\1/2\ minutes.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, here we are again today in wonder over the 
decision that we think has been made by the Republican leadership in 
the House not to bring legislation to the floor that addresses the 
needs of those affected by Sandy.
  Here's the thing: Everyone who heard about this since last night, 
when so many Members from the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, 
Pennsylvania, other delegations came to the floor to speak about this, 
said, Don't tell me that. Don't tell me that. Don't tell me that, even 
though everyone has seen very clearly the devastating damage that was 
caused by Sandy and the need for people to have assistance, the House 
would not take up the bill.
  Don't tell me that, even though the Senate passed a very strong bill 
addressing the well-documented needs of the people of the affected 
region, the House is not taking up the bill.
  Don't tell me that, although the region, the leadership, the Governor 
of New York, Governor Cuomo; the Governor of New Jersey, Governor 
Christie; the Governor of Connecticut, Governor Malloy; the Mayor of 
New York, Mayor Bloomberg; and others have immediately addressed the 
needs to the extent possible by them in their areas and have documented 
the needs very carefully as to what Federal participation was needed, 
don't tell me that the House of Representatives is going to ignore 
that.
  Mr. Speaker, much has been said about the need for more civility in 
politics and in government, and that civility perhaps relates to how we 
speak to each other and how we curb our enthusiasm about issues we care 
a great deal about and question, perhaps, motivation of others.
  But the real civility that people expect is how this Congress treats 
them and treats their needs. And never is that tested more clearly than 
in time of a natural disaster, because that's when people feel the most 
helpless. That's the time when they see whether the government is there 
for them or not. That is the time where--they're not going to be made 
whole, most of these people. Hopefully, what they replace will be a 
good substitute, and maybe it can open a door to something new for 
them.
  But by and large, it's a long road back. But that first few steps of 
it, the emergency relief that was provided by the localities and now 
needs to be compensated for, the next stage of recovery is so essential 
to the character of a community.
  As Mr. Tonko said after the storms last year, it affected the 
character of the communities in his district, and that was 2011. Here 
we are at the end of 2012, having some of the same regions hit again by 
nature with the suddenness and the severity and the power of water and, 
in some places, fire, and just earth-shattering earth, wind, fire in 
terms of how it affects people.
  So as I said last night, nature pulled the rug out from under people, 
literally and figuratively, in their communities and in their homes, in 
their schools and in their workplace, and then are we to say to them, 
Now Congress is going to pull the rug out from under you in terms of 
your hopes and expectations of meeting the needs?
  Don't tell me that. We can't tell our constituents that. That would 
not rise to the level of civility for us to turn our backs and ignore 
their needs. It's just plain wrong.
  So I'm hopeful that perhaps those making this decision have not been 
affected by--almost everyplace, whether we're talking about Katrina or 
California, with earthquakes, drought, flood, fire, you name it, we get 
it all. With the Northeast being hit, once, twice, within 2011 and 
2012, with Missouri, with Iowa--I visited Iowa and saw the effect of 
the floods there. It was devastating. It's really hard, unless you see 
it, to understand the impact that it has.
  The most compelling reason is the look in the eyes of people who ask, 
What are we going to do to help? How can we help them? And what is our 
answer? We're just too busy. It's not a priority.
  That's just not civil.
  So let's honor our responsibility, which is, again, the place where 
people place their trust. They ignore government. They don't like 
government. They don't want this; they don't want that. But in times 
like this, in time of emergency, is really when we prove our worth.

                              {time}  1140

  Let's prove our worth and urge the Speaker to bring this legislation 
to the floor and quickly deal with it while the Senate is still there, 
it can be sent to the President for his signature, and hope can flow 
from here, instead of a sense of wonderment, of ``Don't tell me that.'' 
Let us be able to tell people we feel their pain. We know what they're 
going through. We can never really know, but we can certainly 
appreciate their interest in our doing what is right for them.
  So, again, I hope and pray. Because we pray for these people. We pray 
for them all the time. They're in our prayers. Some have lost loved 
ones. We pray for them. How much prayer would it take for this Congress 
to find it in their hearts and in their heads to do the right thing? 
Let's pray that we don't have to tell them that we weren't there for 
them.

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