OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Hurricane Sandy Relief

Floor Speech

Date: Jan. 1, 2013
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: National Security

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I do join my colleagues in asking that the Speaker reconsider. I want to thank Majority Leader Eric Cantor who has worked tirelessly through these many days right up to the last couple of minutes. Today, families lack housing, businesses are in shambles, and municipalities have been decimated; 346,000 housing units were damaged or destroyed in New Jersey with 22,000 units today uninhabitable. Approximately 100,000 new storm-related unemployment claims have been filed in New Jersey--100,000--and over 235,000 people have already registered with FEMA for individual assistance.

This is a dire crisis. People are hurting. I talk to people in my district who have been mal-affected, and they're looking to us for help, and they're looking for timely help. We need to pass this.

Please, Mr. Speaker, reconsider.


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