[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 152 (Tuesday, October 29, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7598-S7601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Superstorm Sandy
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I rise today in recognition of the 1-
year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy's landfall in the Northeast and
the destruction it brought on a ruinous path through Connecticut, New
York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. I will be joined today on the
floor--and I ask unanimous consent that we be permitted to engage in a
colloquy--by my colleague from New York, Senator Schumer, and from
Rhode Island, Senator Whitehouse, if there is no objection.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I can scarcely capture in words the
awesome, monstrous power of this storm as it hit the Northeast as I
traveled there. I was near the coastline of Connecticut, traveling some
of the roads in the midst of this storm as it ripped through my State,
tearing apart communities along the coast, destroying homes and
businesses, displacing families, and forever altering the shoreline
itself. Anybody who questions the power of nature at its most
destructive should have seen this storm as it unfolded and the damage
it left in its wake--in fact, in Connecticut, $770 million in damages.
What I remember from touring Connecticut is not only the size and
magnitude of the destruction but also the resilience and strength of
Connecticut's people as they struggled through the pain and anguish of
coping with this devastation, wondering how they would ever rebuild. In
fact, they have rebuilt with the courage and relentless strength and
fortitude that have so marked the character of Connecticut and New
England and New York as they rallied around one another and exhibited
that sense of optimism and hope. It was as important as any material
resources that were brought to bear. They rallied around each other
with gratitude and with hope because they had each other, and they have
succeeded in clearing the debris, reconstructing, rebuilding in a way
that is inspiring.
I only wish Congress's response was as effective and courageous as
that of the citizens of Connecticut that I viewed in the storm's
aftermath. The Senate was slow to act, but it was before the House in
passing the $60 billion recovery package for the Northeast. The effort
was stalled in the House, quite bluntly, with bipartisan politics of
the worst kind and trivial obstruction.
There are lessons to be learned. No. 1 is that partisanship and
politics should have no role in our response to disasters, whether in
Oklahoma or Colorado or Louisiana or the Northeast. We are all in this
effort together when disaster strikes. We should rally around each
other as the people of Connecticut rallied.
Our response has to be quicker, smarter, stronger than it was in this
institution. We owe it to ourselves as well as to the people who
suffered the financial and emotional loss. For many of them, there were
physical injuries as a result of this natural disaster.
Those two lessons are reinforced by a third, which is that these
superstorms have become a new normal. We can no longer regard the once-
in-a-century storm as once every hundred years. They are coming once
every year because climate disruption is increasing their frequency and
force in a way that is awesome and alarming and astonishing. So another
lesson is that there has to be preparation to prevent damage and to
mitigate the effects of these storms when they strike, and the
investments--and they are investments--have to be smart and strong,
with means such as storm barriers, breakers, better shoreline
resilience.
Eventually, the Federal Government provided aid, and Connecticut has
put to good use the $200 million that was distributed through the
National Flood Insurance Program to homeowners and business owners.
Cities and towns around my State have used $42 million in FEMA
assistance, and more than $10 million has gone toward health services
and facilities. As our Governor announced yesterday, an additional $65
million has been granted to the State to supplement the initial $72
million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the
form of community development block grants for disaster relief. These
new Federal dollars are critical to the effort of rebuilding, and I
will continue to fight not only for additional funds but also against
the bureaucratic logjams and redtape that have prevented so many from
receiving more timely aid.
This aid has come too slowly, it has been too small, and it has been
behind the efforts--in time and strength--of the people of Connecticut.
I will continue to fight for increased aid, including from the $100
million that was announced yesterday and today--today's announcement of
the U.S. Department of Interior of $100 million in the coastline
resiliency project. I will support all qualified applicants from
Connecticut securing some of this competitive funding. We will fight
for a fair allocation of this money to benefit the important work
Connecticut is doing to strengthen our coastline so that we can prevent
and reduce the effects of these storms in the future.
I had the privilege to travel the State as a leader of a listening
tour for the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force this past May, just
over the half-year mark from the time Sandy hit.
The progress made with this help from the Federal Government,
combined with the good will, drive, and sense of responsibility toward
one another--exemplified by the people of Connecticut--has been
remarkable. We must resolve to do better at the Federal level, and I
hope that not only the storm itself but the shortcomings of the relief
effort will be a teaching moment for the Nation.
The evidence is irrefutable that climate disruption is impacting our
oceans and atmosphere and leading to an increasing number of severe
weather storm events across the country that we cannot control. We will
see more of such monstrous storms here and in other parts of the
country.
I thank my colleagues, Senator Whitehouse and Senator Schumer, who
have been strong and steadfast leaders in this effort to recognize the
effects of climate disruption and prepare for them.
Connecticut is in the process of upgrading our infrastructure to
strengthen our resiliency among the most vulnerable communities. We are
investing in microgrids, often powered by hydrogen fuel cells
manufactured in our State, to provide backup power for hospitals and
senior communities in towns such as Preston and Franklin, which I
visited in the aftermath of the storm.
In Milford, residents are using HUD funding to elevate their homes so
they can guard against these storm surges. Other coastal towns are
employing green infrastructure with marsh grass to slow surging waters
during storms.
In Stamford, CT, my hometown, the city is using Federal aid to
upgrade a 17-foot hurricane barrier by replacing manual pumps to ensure
against damage to the city's communities in future storms. I visited
the shoreline of Stamford, as I did up and down the coast of
Connecticut, and I have since, to see how Connecticut is learning these
lessons so we can reduce dollar costs as well as human costs. The
improvements taking place across Connecticut speak volumes to our
strength of will and mind and the determined character of our people in
Connecticut.
I express appreciation to colleagues, such as Senators Schumer and
Whitehouse and others in this body, who helped us in a time of need.
They came forth to provide encouragement and support. They assured the
people of Connecticut that they are not alone.
No one in the United States--whether it is in the Presiding Officer's
State of West Virginia or in the western most part of Hawaii--should be
alone after being struck by a natural disaster. We need to rally
together.
I thank the Presiding Officer, and I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Before I join the colloquy with Senators Blumenthal
and Schumer, I have two bits of housekeeping.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that at 5 p.m.
today all postcloture time on the Griffin nomination be yielded back,
and
[[Page S7599]]
the Senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate; the
motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no
intervening action or debate; that no further motions be in order; that
any related statements be printed in the Record; that the President be
immediately notified of the Senate's action, and the Senate then resume
legislative session.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is
so ordered.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, this is my 48th trip to the floor to
remind Congress that it is time to wake up to the threat of climate
change.
I am joined by Senators Blumenthal and Schumer because 1 year ago
today Hurricane Sandy struck our States with frightening force. Now, a
year later, communities across the Northeast have dug out and are
rebuilding, but Sandy left a permanent mark on our coasts and on our
consciousness.
To be sure, we cannot say that this devastating storm was
specifically caused by climate change. However, Sandy showed the many
ways we are vulnerable to the undeniable effects of climate change,
such as rising sea levels and warming oceans--effects that can in turn
load the dice for more damaging storms.
As evening fell on October 29, 2012, a storm surge from the largest
Atlantic hurricane ever recorded swept against Rhode Island's shores
about 5 feet above mean sea level. A few hours later, waters peaked
around New York City--about 9 feet above mean sea level. A harrowing
night followed for victims of Hurricane Sandy. It was a night that took
more than 150 lives and caused $65 billion in physical damage and
economic loss.
Hurricane Sandy, or Superstorm Sandy as many remember it, hit 24
States with direct effects. Floodwaters invaded homes and swept out
roads. High winds knocked out power to 8.5 million homes and
businesses, cutting a swath of darkness that could be seen from space.
An entire New York neighborhood was gutted by fires that emergency
personnel could not reach through the storm.
Sandy flooded nearly the entire coastline with beaches and dunes
driven down by the waves and wind. Displaced sand and stone covered
roads like here on Atlantic Avenue in Misqaumicut, RI. Houses were
swept off their foundations in Rhode Island's southern coast
communities like Matunuck, shown in this photo. Here we see Governor
Lincoln Chafee, a former Member of this body, surveying the damage to
these homes.
President Obama granted Governor Chafee's request for a Federal
disaster declaration covering four of Rhode Island's five counties.
More than 130,000 Rhode Islanders lost power. Eight cities and towns
implemented evacuation actions. Nearly one-third of all Rhode Islanders
were directly affected one way or another. In a close-knit State such
as ours, nearly everyone was touched by Sandy.
Rhode Islanders are resilient and we are recovering. Over $30 million
has been paid out to Rhode Islanders for more than 1,000 Federal flood
insurance claims. FEMA has approved more than 260 projects for
reimbursement. Over $12 million has been put to repairing our State's
parks, wildlife refuges, and historic sites. Individuals and families
received more than $423,000 in grants to meet their immediate basic
needs for housing and other essential disaster-related expenses.
The Federal Government will always play a central role for
communities such as ours, picking up after a disaster like Sandy. So it
would make sense for the Federal Government to learn from these events
and be smart as we plan for future risks.
The Government Accountability Office recently reported on the risks
to U.S. infrastructure posed by climate change. Roads, bridges, and
water systems are designed to operate for 50 to 100 years. Well, 50 to
100 years from now, our climate and our coastline will be very
different. Sandy threw at Rhode Island's shores Atlantic seas that had
risen almost 10 inches since the 1930s, against a shoreline that had
already retreated more than 100 feet in some locations. As climate
change progresses, more and more infrastructure will be exposed to more
and more risk.
Earlier this year GAO added to its High Risk List the United States
financial exposure to climate change. GAO, our congressional watchdog,
now warns that it is fiscally irresponsible to ignore the signs of
climate change. The President's Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force,
and his Climate Action Plan, both call for adaptation to this risk from
climate change--particularly for better coastal resiliency and
preparedness.
Here is an example of doing it right. When hurricane Katrina hit the
I-10 Twin Span Bridge that crosses Lake Pontchartrain near New Orleans,
it twisted and toppled the bridge's 255-ton concrete bridge spans off
their piers and into the lake. The bridge was rebuilt by using Federal
Highway Administration funding, but they built it stronger, better
engineered, and in some sections they built it more than 20 feet
higher.
It makes sense to make sure that our agencies repair American
infrastructure to the commonsense standard that it is ready for future
risks. Rebuilding to the specs that failed is not common sense. Being
deliberately stupid in order to deny climate change is a losing
proposition.
Congress can do something smart right now. We could pass the Water
Resources and Development Act with the resiliency and restoration
provisions that were in the Senate-passed bipartisan bill. Congress
could support the President's Climate Action Plan, using our wise
Earth's natural protections for our coastal infrastructure.
Of course, even robust climate adaptation won't let us off the hook
in some places. New England can build levees and dams to hold the
waters back, but the vast low areas of southeastern Florida are porous
limestone. Even if you built a giant dike, the water would just seep in
through the underlying limestone.
A study last year found that 3 feet of sea level rise, which is what
we presently expect, will hit more than 1.5 million Floridians, and
nearly 900,000 Florida homes--almost double the effect on any other
State in the Nation. So Florida should want to prevent as much climate
as possible, and that means cutting carbon pollution.
Ultimately, for the open market to work, we need to include the full
cost of carbon pollution in the price of fossil fuels. Anything less is
a subsidy to polluters. What Florida should want is for Congress to
enact a carbon pollution fee to correct the market, and then return
that fee to American families.
Ultimately, inaction is irresponsible, and Americans get it. Eighty-
two percent of Americans believe we should start preparing now for
rising sea levels and severe storms from climate change.
Young Americans, in particular, see through the phony climate denial
message. Three-quarters of independent young voters and more than half
of Republican young voters would describe climate deniers as
``ignorant,'' ``out of touch,'' or ``crazy.'' Let me repeat that. The
majority of Republican voters under 35 would describe climate deniers
as ``crazy,'' ``ignorant,'' or ``out of touch.'' Continuing the climate
denial strategy is not a winning proposition for our friends on the
other side. Even their own young voters see through it.
Congress should wake up to the alarms that are ringing in nature and
to the voices of the American people. One of the loudest alarm gongs
was Hurricane Sandy. Voltaire said: ``Men argue, nature acts.'' Well,
nature acted, driving epic winds and seas against our shores, and she
will continue to act if we continue to tip her careful balances with
reckless carbon pollution and shameless subsidies to the big polluters.
We need to wake up as a Congress and take responsible action to
protect our homes and communities. We need to remember Sandy and learn
her lessons.
I yield the floor for my distinguished colleague from New York.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New York.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I thank my colleague, the Senator from
Rhode Island, for calling Senator Blumenthal and me and others together
and for taking action on climate change. There has been no one in this
body who has done more to sound the alarm about climate change.
I have enjoyed his regular ``time to wake up'' speeches. I guess this
is number 49--excuse me, 48. One of them was
[[Page S7600]]
so good I read it twice. He has been relentless on this issue in a
positive, articulate, and superb way.
There could not be a better day to talk about climate change than
today because we are at the 1-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy.
Senators Whitehouse and Blumenthal and I remember it vividly. We each
visited our communities on the days afterwards and saw the terrible
blow that Sandy delivered to New York and the whole east coast. It
created such damage and upheaval to communities and lives. Sandy was a
horrible event, but the one silver lining in this large awful cloud is
that people take climate change more seriously. I think most Americans
agreed that climate change is real, but there was not a sense of
urgency about climate change pre-Sandy. People said, well, it is
happening 25 years from now or 50 years from now. Unlike Senator
Whitehouse, who has a sense of passion and a sense of urgency daily and
immediately about this, most people said we can let things wait.
Unfortunately, despite the efforts of the Senator from Rhode Island
and others, our bodies are not doing enough on climate change. But when
Sandy occurred, a sea change occurred. Americans understood--those of
us in the Northeast probably more than anybody else--that we cannot
afford to wait. It took 10 years to get the American people to accept
the fact that climate change is real. It took one storm to get them to
understand that we had to move immediately.
Sandy was awful. In the days after the storm, I toured places such as
the Rockaways and Long Beach, Staten Island, Lindenhurst. Whole
neighborhoods were leveled and thousands of New Yorkers were homeless.
To see an elderly gentleman, Mr. Romano, sitting in front of his lot in
Great South Bay in Lindenhurst, his house totally destroyed, sitting in
one of his few possessions left, a little lawn chair, was devastating.
I asked Mr. Romano: Are you going to move?
He said: Look at the view.
Two days after Sandy, the skies were peaceful, the Sun was beautiful,
and it was reflected off of Great South Bay. He said: Every year I have
had 364 good days and 1 bad day. I am not moving.
That story can be repeated, but the devastation was real. To drive
down the streets in the Rockaways or the streets of Long Beach or of
Staten Island, the South Shore of Staten Island, and see house after
house with piles in front of the houses of not just furniture, although
that was a problem--we all have our favorite chair, a favorite place to
sit. But people's lives were out there: heirlooms that had been in the
family for generations, pictures and albums gone, like that.
This is an example of one of the places hurt the worst: Breezy Point,
a hardy community of cops, firefighters, teachers, EMT workers; the
heart of New York City's middle class. They are the very same people--
many did from Breezy Point--who rushed the towers on 9/11, and some
lost their lives. They were the people who were devastated here. A fire
erupted, 120 houses--it looked like Dresden after the bombings in World
War II--and all that was left was this religious shrine. I will never
forget that scene and having the local firefighters showing me what had
happened.
Of course, our local infrastructure was terribly damaged as well.
Here we have the R train, which Secretary Fox and I just announced is
going to be up and ready in 1 year. The tunnel had millions of gallons
of water--brackish water, salty water--that not only ruined the
infrastructure of the tunnels, but the signals that depended on
electric functioning--gone. These scenes are repeated over and over.
What Sandy did is make climate change real to New Yorkers in a
horrible way. The same is now happening across the country. So what
Sandy did was not alert us to the fact that climate change exists but
alerted us that it was a call to action. While climate scientists try
to avoid blaming any single weather event on climate change, we know
that a warming planet can load the dice for more frequent and extreme
storms. As sure as we all are sitting here, there will be other storms,
unfortunately, and God forbid but in all likelihood, of Sandy's
devastation that will affect different parts of the country. As I and
others have said in the days after Sandy, we have had far too many
events over the past 3 years in New York, including Irene, Lee, and
then Sandy, to think we can ignore the impact of a warming planet and
the impact that is having on our communities.
Even if one denies the scientific reality of climate change, there is
little dispute over the stark challenge facing our country. The weather
is more dangerous than ever and threatens our economy. According to
recent polling, Americans now support taking action on climate change
to protect our children and grandchildren.
So we need to do two things at once. We need to decrease our reliance
on fossil fuels to slow down the warming of the planet, and we have to
start investing in real climate adaptation projects in the most
vulnerable parts of the country.
My colleague from Rhode Island talked about the devastation in
Florida. He is right. The Florida delegation should be up in arms. I
know some of our colleagues--they tend to be on this side of the
aisle--are, but we hear silence from the other side of the aisle on
climate change. In just a generation, a good percentage of Florida will
be out of commission. Miami, one of the largest cities in the country,
is virtually unprotected when it comes to climate change.
So we have to do both of these things. One year after Sandy, I am
pleased we have made some progress.
First, the Hurricane Sandy relief law we passed earlier this year
provided an injection of billions of dollars into mitigation for the
east coast. When we rebuild this subway line, the signals are going to
be higher up so if, God forbid, there is another flood, they will not
be out of commission. At the entrances to the various tunnels--hundreds
of thousands of people take these every week--there will be gates or a
certain kind of airbag that can instantaneously prevent the tunnel from
being flooded. We are elevating homes and building new floodwalls and
dunes to prevent damage from the next Sandy.
So one thing we are doing is mitigation. Those of us--Senator
Whitehouse, Senator Blumenthal, and others from New Jersey and Maryland
and Pennsylvania and Delaware and New York and Connecticut,
Massachusetts and Rhode Island delegations made sure in this
legislation there is ample money for mitigation, so that if or when,
God forbid, another storm such as Sandy occurs, we will be better
protected.
Second, the President took a bold and important step in releasing his
climate action plan, a critical blueprint for reducing carbon
pollution. The plan also lays out a framework for implementing new
mitigation plans for Federal, State, and local governments by tying
Federal funding to new standards on climate adaptation. We now know a
simple economic truth from many years of investing in mitigation
projects: They save money. According to research, for every $1 we
invest in mitigation, we save $4 down the road because of what will be
protected and taxpayers will not have to shell out the same dollars
again and again and again.
So it doesn't matter what side of the climate change debate one is on
when it comes to investing in mitigation. Being promitigation makes
good fiscal sense for the Federal Government.
A recent study found that Federal taxpayers spent $136 billion on
disaster relief in just the 3 years of 2011, 2012, and 2013--$400 per
household. The only way we can shrink this burden for the American
people over time is to make critical mitigation investments at the same
time we fight climate change by cutting carbon pollution.
I wish to specifically mention one piece of legislation which my
colleague from Rhode Island also mentioned. He is on the EPW Committee
and he has championed it with many of our colleagues. WRDA, the
bipartisan Water Resources Development Act, got 83 votes in the Senate
and will be a real boost for investment in climate adaptation.
In this bill, there is a new program called WIFIA. The very
successful TIFIA Program which, for instance, without the local
taxpayers spending a nickel, will bring our subway system all the way
over to the far west side. I look forward to opening it with the mayor
soon. Modeled on that program is WIFIA. It helps local governments
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invest in mitigation projects by providing low-interest loans and a new
banking design to attract private investment into these projects.
There are also new authorities that will allow the Army Corps to
expedite and prioritize hurricane protection studies and project
recommendations. I thank my colleagues, led by Senator Boxer, of the
EPW Committee for working with us to draft some of this language.
These new policies are very important for New York and the States
affected by Sandy. I urge our colleagues in the House to work with us
to include these items in the WRDA conference.
We need to use the tragedy of Sandy to learn how to make our cities
and towns stronger for the next storm. We know it is coming. We have to
work at the local level in terms of mitigation. We have to work at the
macro level to reduce the amount of carbon that has poured into our
atmosphere that will just devastate the planet if we continue to sit on
our hands.
I will close my remarks by borrowing a simple refrain from my friend
from Rhode Island. As his poster says, it is time to wake up.
Superstorm Sandy was New York's wake-up call. Let's honor the thousands
of victims of that event by investing in our future.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, before I depart the floor, and while
Senator Schumer and Senator Blumenthal are still here, I wish to add a
point that is a personal observation of mine as a Senator; that is,
first the Senator from New York is widely and properly regarded as one
of the more formidable presences in the Senate. Having witnessed the
difficulties that Senator Blumenthal discussed at getting the Sandy
disaster relief out and done, I will say we learned Senator Schumer has
an even higher gear when it comes to the urgent needs of his home State
and of his coast. When his New York City lies battered and drowned by
storm, the work that he did to make sure a reluctant House passed this
relief for us was an exercise in legislative craftsmanship and personal
vigor that many of us will long remember.
Of course, I have seen Senator Blumenthal fighting for his people in
Connecticut, both after Hurricane Sandy and, of course, after the
terrible tragedy that Connecticut experienced when a crazed gunman went
into an elementary school and began to murder its children. So Senator
Blumenthal, in responding to those cares, concerns, and crises of his
home State of Connecticut, has been truly exemplary. It has been a
privilege for me as a Senator to see these two Senators in action in
their causes I just mentioned.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, will the Senator yield?
Mr. WHITEHOUSE. I yield the floor.
Mr. SCHUMER. I am sure Senator Blumenthal joins me. I wish to say to
my dear friend from Rhode Island--and he truly is a dear friend--that
his generosity of word and spirit is only equaled by his intelligence,
his diligence, and his foresightedness, not only on this issue but on
so many other issues on which we are working. In fact, we are going to
make a call in a few minutes--he and I and a few of our colleagues and
I think Senator Blumenthal as well--to talk about another of his
issues. He is just such an intelligent thinker, and he is thinking
ahead of the curve on climate change. But delivery system reform in
health care is another issue on which the Senator from Rhode Island has
taken leadership.
So I thank him for his kind words and just say ``right back at you,
baby.''
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I thank both of my colleagues. I am
not sure I can match their eloquence in describing their gifts and
their contributions on this issue and so many others, but I hope they
and others will join me in meeting with the present Sandy task force in
seeking to remedy or correct perhaps some of the logjams and redtape
and deficiencies in process that led the people of our States to wait
for so long before they saw relief in practical terms.
I thank them for their eloquence today and for their truly formidable
contribution on the issue of climate change and global warming and to
thank them also for the very powerful contributions they have made on
the response to Superstorm Sandy that affected so many people in
Connecticut.
I thank the Chair. I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.