Issue Position: Hurricane Sandy & Disaster Relief

Issue Position

Superstorm Sandy was the second largest natural disaster in our nation's history and the most devastating and costly to affect New York and Long Island. New York State alone experienced $32.8 billion in damage, more than $8.4 billion of which was on Long Island. In many respects, the damage was worse than Hurricane Katrina. In New York alone, over 305,000 housing units and 265,000 businesses were damaged or destroyed by the storm compared to Katrina and Rita, which damaged 214,000 and 18,000 units, respectively. More than 2 million people lost power and more than 171,000 people remained without power more than ten days after the storm.

Congress' behavior in the aftermath of the storm was reprehensible. After a grueling fight, I led the successful effort to secure an aid package that provides roughly $60 billion for the Northeast.

The recovery process will be long and painful at times. Please do not hesitate to contact my office should you have any questions or require assistance

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