[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 56 (Monday, April 1, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S2161]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
H.R. 268
Mr. PERDUE. Mr. President, as an outsider to this political process,
it is easy to be frustrated with how slowly the Senate moves. It is
easy to find fault with colleagues. As an outsider here, it is very
easy to think we are not focused on getting results. I usually try to
temper that with some rational thought about, well, this is the way
things work, et cetera, et cetera, but I didn't see that tonight, and I
am very frustrated with the vote. What we just witnessed on the floor
of the U.S. Senate was nothing but pure partisan politics.
Our colleagues across the aisle blocked our disaster relief bill
because they said it didn't include enough for Puerto Rico. That was
one of several reasons. To date, $40 billion in Federal disaster relief
aid has already been allocated for Puerto Rico, and it is eligible for
another $50 billion-plus, potentially, which has already been
allocated.
How much aid did the farmers in the Southeast receive after Hurricane
Michael just 6 months ago? Not one dime. Now, why is that critical? You
say: Well, OK. It takes time. Yes, it takes time. These farmers lost
their livelihoods, and it hit them at the very time when their harvests
were coming due last fall, October 10. It has been 6 months now. They
have not received a dime from the Federal Government. The State has
moved in with minor help, but these bridge loans these farmers have
been using are running out; therefore, we were hoping this bill tonight
would have given them some direct relief.
Let's put this in perspective.
Congress appropriated $136 billion for 2017's natural disasters
across our country. That was for Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria,
Hurricane Harvey, and the California wildfires--in 2017, $136 billion.
Before then, in 2013, $50.5 billion was appropriated for Hurricane
Sandy, mostly for New Jersey.
In this bill from tonight, we were only talking about $13.45 billion
for unprecedented hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and wildfires
over the last year. Listen to the number of States we were talking
about: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Alaska, Hawaii, California, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, and Kansas. That
is right. This $13.45 billion included only $3 billion for farmers
across five States in the Southeast.
President Trump visited that damage, and Vice President Pence visited
that damage. I was personally privileged, as was Johnny Isakson, to
travel with him that day to see this damage. You only have to see it to
understand how ravaging this was to the businesses that have been built
up over generations with regard to these family farmers.
President Trump has done his part. He has been very reasonable in
this negotiation. He stepped up and did the right thing with regard to
Puerto Rico. He agreed that because the nutrition benefits were running
out under the prior allocations that we just mentioned, he stepped up
and said, yes, he would support $600 million in further assistance for
Puerto Rico nutrition so that those benefits would not run out and so
that it would, hopefully, in the negotiations, break the logjam.
It did no such thing. This $600 million was exactly what Puerto Rico
needed, and President Trump saw that. I give him high marks for
stepping up and taking the political risk to go ahead and do that in
addition to what had already been done for Puerto Rico over the last 2
years. In fact, Puerto Rico's own Representative in Congress, Jenniffer
Gonzalez-Colon, supports this disaster relief bill that Senator Isakson
and I and others sponsored.
She said:
I urge for the swift Senate passage of $600 million for
nutrition assistance. Over 1.3 million of my constituents are
already experiencing cuts in their food benefits. Puerto Rico
needs this funding and needs it now.
When you listen to pleas like that, I can only think of one word for
our colleagues across the aisle in this episode, and that is that it is
very similar to what has happened on the border. It is hypocritical to
me to think that they asked for that and then voted no against it. What
we see here is pure partisan politics.
The American people are not stupid. It is clear that this had nothing
to do with Puerto Rico and that it really hadn't had much to do with
disaster relief. This vote was really pure partisan politics. It had
everything to do with obstructing this President and preventing him
from keeping his promise of helping the American people recover from
the tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, and floods that have ravaged our
communities.
The Democrats ought to be ashamed. They are holding our farmers
hostage right now for the political gain they foresee in their having
taken this position. It is unacceptable. They are gambling with
people's lives, and I don't overstate that. Some people will not
recover from this. They will get out of farming. For those who stay in,
it will take a decade to recover even with this government assistance,
and many will have to get out of the crops they were growing to just
survive in the next year.
We have farmers in Georgia whom I know personally who are on their
second bridge loan. As an individual businessperson, I have done those
in my career. I know how hard it is to go back after one bridge loan
and ask for an extension or for another bridge loan to get to the point
at which, hopefully, the Federal Government will step in and provide
much needed assistance to back up these bank loans. These farmers are
coming to the end of their ability to do that. I empathize with the
bankers as well. They have a very difficult time giving bridge loans in
addition to what they have already done until they get some degree of
certainty about what it is we in Congress are going to do.
It is unacceptable that this intransigence in Washington continues to
threaten the livelihoods the very people who sent us here to represent
them. Because the Democrats chose to play politics today, farmers
across the Southeast may, indeed, lose their businesses. Puerto Rican
families will not have access to the food benefits they desperately
need. California wildfire victims will not get any Federal assistance
to help rebuild until we get this done. The list goes on.
I challenge each of the Senators in this body who voted against this
disaster relief bill tonight to go down to Georgia, to Florida, or to
South Carolina and look the farmers in the eye and tell them that,
tonight, we chose politics over helping Americans in need. It is a
shameful night in the American Senate.
I thank Senator Shelby, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee,
and its ranking member, Senator Leahy. They have worked diligently to
try to find a compromise in here, but it is hard to compromise when
there is only one party playing.
In conclusion, I want farmers across the Southeast to understand that
I, Senator Isakson, Senator Rubio, Senator Scott, and many others--
Senator Tillis, Senator Burr, Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Tim Scott
from South Carolina, and even one of the Democrats, Senator Doug
Jones--are all committed, along with Senator Marco Rubio and Senator
Rick Scott of Florida, and are not giving up. This is not the end of
this tale. I want the farmers and the bankers in these five States to
understand we are going to continue this fight.
I thank Leader McConnell for continuing to give us this opportunity.
It took a lot of time to get to this vote on the Senate floor tonight,
and I thank him for that.
For the people of these States who were affected, don't lose heart.
We will get this done eventually.
I yield the floor.
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