Hoyer Floor Remarks on the FAA Reauthorization Legislation and Provisions to Help Communities Rebuild Stronger After Natural Disasters
Press Types
Press Release
For Immediate Release:
September 26, 2018
Contact Info:
Mariel Saez 202-225-3130
WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) spoke on the House Floor today in support of a bipartisan, five-year reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, which includes changes to the Stafford Act he has called for to ensure communities can rebuild stronger and more resilient following a natural disaster. Below is a link to the video and transcript of his remarks:
“I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise in strong support of [Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee] Bill Shuster. I'm also supporting the bill. But I want to say thank you, Bill. I want to thank you for being a person who is constructive, visionary, and works across the aisle with constructive ideas. You've made a difference in this House; your father made a difference in this House; and I thank you for your service.
“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. It includes key changes to the Stafford Act that I’ve been working on with [Majority Leader Kevin] McCarthy and [Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee Rob] Bishop for many, many months. I advocated for over the past year to permit federal disaster aid funding to be used to not only reconstruct what stood before, but to build to 21st century standards.
“Importantly, the bill puts an emphasis on pre-disaster mitigation. The emphasis is on actions taken to lessen the impact of future disasters. Last year, natural disasters cost the nation a record $306 billion, eclipsing it's previous record of $265 billion set in 2005.
“If we fail to do this, if we fail to mitigate, then we will have forsaken the lessons of Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, Maria, Irma, and now Florence or the devastating wildfires in the West. For every dollar spent mitigating future disasters, we save between four and eight dollars in avoided future recovery efforts. This just makes sense.
“Last year, when I traveled with Majority Leader McCarthy to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands with Mr. Bishop, the Chairman of the [Natural Resources] Committee, to see the aftermath of Hurricanes Maria and Irma, I saw Americans struggling without power, access to clean water, basic health services, or shelter over their heads. The Majority Leader and I came away from that visit determined to help these communities, and Chairman Bishop joined with us.
"So I thank the [Transportation and Infrastructure] Committee. I want to thank [Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Peter] DeFazio, too, who like Mr. Shuster, is a constructive, positive Member who wants to make a difference for our country. And my constituents thank you, Peter, and the country thanks you. So I come to support a bill that was fashioned by two people who wanted to make sure we did positive things in this House. The American people can be proud of our work today, and I yield back the balance of my time.”
Click here to watch the full remarks.
“I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise in strong support of [Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee] Bill Shuster. I'm also supporting the bill. But I want to say thank you, Bill. I want to thank you for being a person who is constructive, visionary, and works across the aisle with constructive ideas. You've made a difference in this House; your father made a difference in this House; and I thank you for your service.
“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill. It includes key changes to the Stafford Act that I’ve been working on with [Majority Leader Kevin] McCarthy and [Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee Rob] Bishop for many, many months. I advocated for over the past year to permit federal disaster aid funding to be used to not only reconstruct what stood before, but to build to 21st century standards.
“Importantly, the bill puts an emphasis on pre-disaster mitigation. The emphasis is on actions taken to lessen the impact of future disasters. Last year, natural disasters cost the nation a record $306 billion, eclipsing it's previous record of $265 billion set in 2005.
“If we fail to do this, if we fail to mitigate, then we will have forsaken the lessons of Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, Maria, Irma, and now Florence or the devastating wildfires in the West. For every dollar spent mitigating future disasters, we save between four and eight dollars in avoided future recovery efforts. This just makes sense.
“Last year, when I traveled with Majority Leader McCarthy to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands with Mr. Bishop, the Chairman of the [Natural Resources] Committee, to see the aftermath of Hurricanes Maria and Irma, I saw Americans struggling without power, access to clean water, basic health services, or shelter over their heads. The Majority Leader and I came away from that visit determined to help these communities, and Chairman Bishop joined with us.
"So I thank the [Transportation and Infrastructure] Committee. I want to thank [Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Peter] DeFazio, too, who like Mr. Shuster, is a constructive, positive Member who wants to make a difference for our country. And my constituents thank you, Peter, and the country thanks you. So I come to support a bill that was fashioned by two people who wanted to make sure we did positive things in this House. The American people can be proud of our work today, and I yield back the balance of my time.”