Calling for Vote on Disaster Funding
Floor Speech
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Mr. RIGGLEMAN. Madam Speaker, to my colleagues, I rise in support of them and the incredible work they have done for disaster relief, and I also rise today to speak about my district, the Fifth District of Virginia, which borders North Carolina, which was devastated last year by two hurricanes, first Florence and then Michael. The damage was immense, and the impact on families was tragic, including the loss of lives.
This is not an issue I take lightly. In fact, I pledged to make a donation to Drakes Branch Volunteer Fire Department in Charlotte County, which was an area the hurricanes hit particularly hard, actually, with the collapse of the volunteer fire station back into the river--and the fact is they had nowhere to actually do fire emergency work.
Applications for FEMA aid were filed in Charlotte County, Danville City, Franklin County, Halifax County, Lunenburg County, Mecklenburg County, and Prince Edward County. And many additional counties in my district were affected by these hurricanes.
Unfortunately, the effects were not limited to my district, and the lasting damage done by these storms lingers in these communities today. Yes, they are rebuilding and recovering, but we cannot ignore the opportunity to prevent this from happening again.
There are other things we can do not only with disaster relief and supplementals, but also working on issues like I am in the Financial Services Committee by addressing issues in the National Flood Insurance Program.
The NFIP is a necessary Federal backstop for flood insurance, but substantially increasing private participation will help Americans better prepare for potential future flood emergencies.
I would also like to take this time to commend the great work done by so many emergency responders and volunteers who helped the communities of the Fifth District and throughout the other States and in my colleagues' districts, helped them dig out and move forward after these hurricanes.
I have visited with many of these brave men and women who put themselves at risk to help their communities. I commend the strong folks who make up all of these communities, linked not only by hurricanes but by their ability to move on with great resilience.
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