[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 31, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5660-S5661]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Supplemental Disaster Funding

  Mr. WELCH. Madam President, Vermonters are experiencing a lot of 
anguish now. This photograph depicts flooding that we had in Barre a 
year ago and is here with us again. A year to the day, we had a return 
of flooding. We had devastating flooding in 2023.
  Parts of the Northeast Kingdom, 2 weeks later, would flood again. 
They were hit with 8 inches of rain--heavy rain--which caused more 
flash floods in the Northeast Kingdom. And today--today--6 more inches 
of rain is in the forecast.
  I come to the Senate floor tonight, when Vermont is in crisis, and I 
am asking for my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle in the Senate 
and in the House of Representatives, for us to come together and 
approve the President's supplemental disaster funding request. It will 
help Vermonters rebuild from heavy rains, flash flooding, and mudslides 
that have brutally devastated our State. It will help other communities 
around the Nation that have had their own weather events that have done 
so much harm to their communities.
  One year ago this month, the heavy rainfall required 214 swift boat 
water rescues--literally, some of our first responder folks showing up 
in boats to help people get out of their homes. Infrastructure was 
really hit hard, with 409 miles of rail, 64 State bridges, and 46 State 
roads closed. Madam President, 139 of our municipalities experienced 
flood-related damage. There was $553 million in public assistance need 
reported and $118 million for businesses on their damages. We also saw 
18 drinking water and 33 wastewater systems damaged. Three wastewater 
systems were totally destroyed.
  President Biden has revised his disaster supplemental request to 
account for Vermont's disaster last year. That will help us immensely, 
but Vermont absolutely needs the increased funding. The Department of 
Transportation Emergency Relief Program and the Housing and Urban 
Development Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program 
and the Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster Relief Fund all 
need supplemental funding, as well as more funding for the Department 
of Transportation CDBG disaster recovery grants. Those are flexible and 
really help the communities. That is needed very, very much.
  And today I joined with my colleagues from Vermont, Senator Sanders 
and Representative Balint, in urging congressional leadership and 
bipartisan Appropriations Committee leadership to advance a 
supplemental package quickly.
  We need Federal dollars to help support our farms. Our businesses 
need help. Families need help. So many families, hard-working 
Vermonters, were hit by these floods; 18 shelters opened, and over 
3,000 households were approved for FEMA housing assistance.
  And this is really, really tough, Madam President. Vermont is on a 
long road to recovery. We are resilient, and we believe that brighter 
days are ahead. But for many families, this is the second time in 2 
years. And how much can they really endure, especially when getting 
answers down the road from FEMA gets very complicated, very 
bureaucratic, and inflicts a lot of emotional pain that could be 
avoided if we could be quicker and faster.
  I have promised Vermonters that I would bring their voices to the 
Senate with me and share their stories. In the past month, I have been 
to Montpelier, Hardwick, Barnet, St. Johnsbury, Peacham, and 
Lyndonville to visit with homeowners, businesses, farms, and 
communities impacted by the flooding.
  Hardwick lost four bridges in flooding this month. Three of those 
bridges were wiped out last year--the second time in 2 years. And these 
are small communities where folks on the select board are also the 
emergency responders; they are also the health officer. And they are 
incredible, what they do. The Presiding Officer knows this from her own 
service as Senator and as Governor. It is amazing how resilient they 
are. But they can't do it alone. They need our help.
  I met with a Vermont farmer in Hardwick, somebody who started years 
ago what has become a very successful enterprise but also a farm-to-
table, farm-to-farmstand business model in Vermont. He lost topsoil, 
and many of his crops were destroyed. A restaurant owner in Lyndonville 
had to make the tough decision to close instead of reopening. And 
Lyndonville was hit again in the middle of the night just 2 days ago.
  Healthcare leaders in the area are also very worried about mental 
health and the stress on families. Every time they see a homeowner--
parents--where their homes have been wiped out, the overriding concern 
they have is for the well-being of their kids and the stability that 
they need to restore to their kids. And when that happens 2 years in a 
row, that is asking a lot.
  In Peacham, I talked with two families whose homes were so damaged 
that there is no reasonable prospect that they will be repaired. They 
can only hope for the home to be bought out. But, again, that takes 
response that we are not getting, oftentimes, down the road with the 
bureaucracy, unfortunately, that we have to, I think, fix.
  In Barnet, I met farmers who were trying to salvage what they could 
and

[[Page S5661]]

make the best of the remainder of the season.
  And again, I am speaking to the Presiding Officer, who just knows 
this from our shared border. The folks on the Presiding Officer's side 
of the river and my side of the river have a lot in common, and we 
admire them; but we have got to do our part here in Congress to help 
them help themselves.
  I have sat down with small business owners in Montpelier and across 
the State, and they are struggling with the high cost of recovery from 
last year's flooding. Many have been hit twice or three times over. 
Those spared by the flooding are feeling, nevertheless, the impacts of 
the lost revenue because business has declined in the area.
  Madam President, the Federal funding is really, really critical for 
Vermont. It is not just Vermont. I know my colleague Senator Schatz 
from Hawaii, who is chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee, is 
working very hard because it is his community, it is Vermont, it is 
Houston, it is communities throughout the country that are being 
affected by these once-in-100-year weather events that are coming every 
year or every 2 years. It is really happening.
  We can't recover without that Federal help. I just can't stress this 
enough. We need Congress to step up, and we need the help of all of us 
here because, while it is Vermont this time, it may be New Hampshire 
next time; it may be Texas next month. And I believe all of us have to 
help one another when an event occurs causing such harm to people we 
represent and it is through no fault of their own.
  Now, it is disappointing to me, to say the least, that Congress is 
getting ready to go on a recess without having gotten this done. It is 
my hope that getting disaster funding will be a top priority when we 
come back in September--not just for Vermont but for all of the 
communities around the country that need Congress to act.
  Vermont's communities and communities across the country are counting 
on us. I implore my colleagues, all of us: Let's do this, first order 
of business, when we return in September.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.

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