[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15782]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      IMPACT OF RECENT HURRICANES

  (Mr. BILIRAKIS asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, it was great to participate in this 
morning's board of delegation meeting, during which we discussed the 
impact of recent hurricanes on our State and unmet needs to require 
further attention.
  With the onslaught of natural disasters that have plagued our country 
in recent months, we must provide appropriate levels of Federal support 
to all who are suffering. However, we must also ensure that Florida's 
ongoing needs are not overlooked as we seek to fully recover.
  Our two largest industries, tourism and agriculture, have sustained 
significant losses, which will have a long-term impact on our economy, 
unfortunately. We also learned valuable lessons during the hurricane as 
it relates to the care for our most vulnerable citizens, our seniors 
and the disabled. These lessons need to translate to action in order to 
prevent future tragedies.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues as we evaluate the 
proposed natural disaster funding bill that will be voted on later this 
week and determine its impact on Florida.

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