Hearing of the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee - Hurricane Sandy Funding

Hearing

This morning we welcome Administrator Craig Fugate to discuss the response and recovery to Hurricane Sandy. Administrator, thank you for joining us.

Last week, Mr. Price and I traveled to New York to see first hand the impact of Hurricane Sandy and to review the status of the recovery from the devastation of the hurricane and the widespread flooding that so many areas experienced as the storm pushed inland. It is very obvious to me that while much as been done; there is still a long road ahead for the thousands of organizations and families that are struggling to find a new normal.

We look forward to hearing from you today on the status of FEMA's response and recovery efforts and what challenges you will face as long term recovery begins.

The recently passed Hurricane Sandy supplemental provided you with new authorities that will enable FEMA to provide communities with additional options for recovery to include cost estimates for public assistance grants and new debris removal programs. We look forward to hearing how these new authorities will allow for a quicker and more cost effective recovery.

Further, we want to hear how we can continue to find more efficient and effective ways to respond and recover from disasters. This is vitally important as our Nation confronts its fiscal crisis.

Administrator, your written statement will be placed in the record, so I ask you to take five minutes to summarize it. I would now like to recognize Mr. Price, our distinguished Ranking Member, for his opening remarks.

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