[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 152 (Tuesday, October 29, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7604-S7605]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Superstorm Sandy

  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Today it has been exactly 1 year since Superstorm 
Sandy hit my home State of New York and the surrounding region. Today 
is a very solemn day where we pause to ponder the unimaginable loss of 
61 precious lives and the great collective pain as countless other 
lives were shattered. Over 300,000 homes were damaged or destroyed and 
businesses lay in rubble. Over 250,000 businesses were affected, many 
of which are still unable to open their doors.

[[Page S7605]]

  There is something else to remember today. In the days and weeks that 
followed Superstorm Sandy, we also saw the absolute best of New York. 
We know New Yorkers are a resilient bunch. We get knocked down, but we 
get right back up.
  As I traveled all across New York City, I saw neighbors coming 
together, going door to door to help the homebound, donating resources, 
volunteering their time, clearing debris. In the Rockaways I saw 
hundreds of residents create an impromptu bustling plaza of hot food, 
clothing, and anything people might need.
  I remember talking to one small business owner in Staten Island whose 
restaurant was nearly split in two by a boat from a nearby marina, and 
he simply said to me: ``We will rebuild this better than it was 
before,'' before agreeing to have dinner together this time next year 
in that very spot where that boat was resting. He said yes, and we had 
lunch at his restaurant only a few months ago. It was amazing.
  In Westchester, a small business owner gave me a hug, and she vowed 
she would rebuild. She said defiantly, ``This is our community.''
  On Long Island, I walked the streets of Lindenhurst, Massapequa, and 
visited Long Beach and Fire Island. While the devastation I saw was 
awful, I have never met more resilient and compassionate people. I 
witnessed homeowners struggling to pick up their own pieces and to get 
it out of the way to help neighbors, sharing food, sharing water 
supplies, giving each other rides to the stores, sharing generators, 
and clearing each others' debris.
  While the road to recovery is very long and very hard, New Yorkers 
will rebuild. They will rebuild stronger, but we all have to do our 
part. Too many communities are still recovering and rebuilding. Some 
families are actually still homeless, living in trailers or confined to 
the second floor of their homes and still waiting for additional 
assistance. Too many homeowners have not yet received the funding to 
repair their homes and their businesses. Too often, those who are 
struggling to rebuild have been caught in redtape.
  Throughout the past year, I have pushed to change some of the Federal 
policies that have stood in the way of recovery. We have had some 
successes. We were successful at pushing FEMA to extend critical 
deadlines for Sandy survivors to document their losses, so that those 
who have had trouble getting back into their homes are not prevented 
from filing flood insurance claims.
  We were able to get the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
to relax regulations that would have prevented substantially damaged 
homes from accessing critical recovery funds. We received assurances 
from the Army Corps of Engineers that they will fund critical shore 
protection projects at full Federal expense, ensuring that these 
projects can move forward quickly without having to wait for our 
communities to find the matching funds out of very tough and local 
struggling budgets that are already stretched too thin.
  That is not enough. For all of our successes, we are still facing so 
many challenges. There is still far too much redtape getting in between 
families and recovery. My office hears every single day from homeowners 
and families who are struggling just to move forward.
  Many of us are working on a bipartisan bill to postpone the 
potentially disastrous flood insurance rate increases coming into 
effect as a result of the Biggert-Waters flood insurance reform law. I 
urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass this bipartisan bill that was 
introduced by Senator Menendez and Senator Isakson that would delay the 
premium increases set to go into effect until after FEMA has completed 
a study and provided Congress with a plan to make the rates more 
affordable. Our families working so hard to rebuild, frankly, deserve 
nothing less.
  Some homeowners, even as they do rebuild, have started seeing their 
rates increase. This would cause so many of our constituents to be 
forced out of their homes and communities that they love, that they 
have lived in their whole lives. This is why the Menendez-Isakson bill 
is so critical and why I strongly urge my colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle to support this commonsense legislation.
  As we focus on providing communities with all of the resources they 
need to rebuild from Sandy, the Federal Government is partnering with 
States, local governments, the private sector, and academia to develop 
solutions that will protect us from the next disaster. We know that for 
every dollar spent to make our homes, businesses, and infrastructure 
more resilient, $4 is saved in potential recovery costs down the road.
  Earlier this year Senator Wicker and I introduced the STRONG Act, 
which stands for Strengthening the Resiliency of Our Nation on the 
Ground. This bipartisan bill seeks to build on the progress that has 
been made locally by requiring the Federal Government to develop a 
national resiliency strategy, assess where there are gaps and 
opportunities for improvements. It also creates a new information 
portal for both the public and private sectors to share information 
about how to strengthen our communities and protect against future 
extreme weather threats.
  We have come a long way in the past year, but I am very sad to say we 
have so much more work to be done. Our communities are working as hard 
as ever to recover, but we have to work equally as hard toward 
rebuilding and being better prepared for the next storm.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.