Mr. KING of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise to reflect on the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall one year ago.
Super Storm Sandy was the second largest natural disaster in our nation's history and the second costliest. New York State alone incurred $32.8 billion in damage, $8.4 billion of which was on Long Island. 305,000 homes and 265,300 businesses in the state were damaged or destroyed. While these numbers are shocking, they don't begin to tell the story of the suffering my constituents experienced.
This devastation was exacerbated by the failure of Congress to provide immediate aid to the affected communities. The Northeast was forced to wait more than three months for a federal aid package, thereby delaying the region's recovery. Fortunately, this assistance is beginning to flow and communities are in the process of rebuilding.
While we have made progress, the road to recovery remains long and difficult.
Thousands of New York and New Jersey residents are still displaced and others are living in partially repaired homes. Infrastructure throughout the region awaits repair and needs to be hardened. I am confident that with the continued commitment of state and federal partners, our communities will rebound and come out stronger than ever.