[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 14855-14856]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      DISASTER RELIEF FOR COLORADO

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Colorado (Mr. Gardner) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GARDNER. Mr. Speaker, over the weekend, this House worked to find 
a solution to the impasse over the continuing resolution, sending over 
various options to the Senate to try to jump-start negotiations to work 
through an agreement to find a solution to keep our government funded.
  In the early hours of this morning, we finally said to the leader of 
the U.S. Senate, Harry Reid, let's find a way to meet face-to-face, 
through a conference committee, to negotiate a solution and avoid a 
government shutdown. We've passed, three times now, measures to keep 
the government funded and a way to find solutions to this critical 
issue.
  But there are many people in Colorado who are struggling now because 
of the shutdown and who are worried about what happens to their 
situation, particularly those who may have been impacted by the flood. 
And that is why we must find a way to get government funded to find a 
solution to get government going back on track, while preventing 
policies that we know are bad for the economy.
  So let's work together and find solutions but also, at the same time, 
ensuring certainty to people who are suffering from Colorado's greatest 
natural disaster.
  That's why I bring to your attention a statement that the Vice 
President made on September 23 in Greeley, Colorado, after touring the 
damage and devastation that those floods caused.
  I stood 2 feet away from the Vice President of the United States as 
he addressed the people of Colorado and said this:

       None of the Federal assistance that we're providing, none 
     if it is going to be impacted even if there is a government 
     shutdown.

  So while people may try to use this as a scare tactic, try to 
politicize a disaster, the Vice President himself stood before the 
people of Colorado and said there will be no impact on flood recovery.

[[Page 14856]]

  And yet we have seen in the newspaper people are trying to scare 
people to try to take away any kind of certainty that exists, but you 
can't take those words back.
  That's why I also sent a letter this morning to the White House 
reminding the White House, Mr. Speaker, of the promise that the Vice 
President made to the people of Colorado. And we, as elected officials 
in Congress, in the Senate, the Governor of Colorado, we have a 
responsibility to make sure that the Vice President and the President 
keep their word, they're true to the people of Colorado; that we make 
sure that, indeed, this statement:

       None of the Federal assistance that we're providing, none 
     of it is going to be impacted, even if there is a government 
     shutdown.

  So while we work to resolve this issue before the government right 
now, while we work to make sure that policies are put in place to 
return to normal operations, we cannot let this be politicized. We 
cannot let the people of Colorado be forgotten, and we must hold the 
Vice President and the President accountable and true to their word.
  Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record the letter that I sent to the 
White House this morning, and also the statement, in full, of the Vice 
President's comments.
                                    Congress of the United States,


                                     House of Representatives,

                                  Washington, DC, October 1, 2013.
     President Barack Obama,
     The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: As you know, Colorado is recovering 
     from some of the most devastating floods in state history. 
     Catastrophic water levels caused over $1 billion in damage to 
     infrastructure and property throughout my district and other 
     areas in the state. More than 20,000 homes were damaged or 
     destroyed, eight individuals lost their lives, and 
     overflowing rivers left a path of devastation. I am grateful 
     for the recovery efforts led by the Federal Emergency 
     Management Agency (FEMA), National Guard, and others involved 
     in this process. Federal assistance is critical in this time 
     of need and I have fought to ensure that funds are available 
     for disaster relief. On September 30th, my legislation that 
     would raise the cap on disaster-related transportation funds 
     successfully passed the House.
       Unfortunately, Congress has not yet come to an agreement to 
     fund the federal government and the nation is now facing the 
     effects of a government shutdown. While I am working 
     diligently with my colleagues to resolve this funding gap, it 
     is vitally important that the people of Colorado do not 
     suffer as a result of gridlock in Washington. To this end, I 
     was pleased to hear Vice President Biden pledge to the people 
     of Colorado that ``none of the federal assistance that we're 
     providing--none of it--is going to be impacted even if there 
     is a government shutdown.'' This commitment from the White 
     House is reassuring for my constituents and others in the 
     state worried about the impact a shutdown might have on 
     disaster funds. I appreciate your support in this recovery 
     and look forward to working on behalf of the thousands 
     affected by these recent events.
       If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to 
     contact my office. Thank you for your attention to this 
     matter.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Cory Gardner,
     Member of Congress.
                                  ____



               Vice President Biden in Colorado--9/23/13

       Now a lot of you will hear probably on the national news 
     about the potential for a government shutdown. And it's 
     probably going to scare the living devil out of you. Well the 
     truth of the matter is there is reason to be scared but not 
     in terms of disaster relief. None of the federal assistance 
     that we're providing, none of it is going to be impacted even 
     if there is a government shutdown. I don't want folks that 
     are here in shelters watching on TV seeing the dysfunction of 
     Congress thinking that all, all the relief efforts that they 
     are now benefiting from or (inaudible) are likely to continue 
     to benefit from are going to shut down. They will not 
     shutdown even if the Congress doesn't fund the federal 
     government in a continuing resolution.

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