Safeguarding Tomorrow Through Ongoing Risk Mitigation Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues, and while I am happy to support measures to improve resiliency in the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, a committee on which I serve, I am disappointed that this bill is not inclusive of U.S. territories other than Puerto Rico in the normal operation of this new resiliency program.

Under the Stafford Act, the Virgin Islands and all other U.S. territories and the District of Columbia are defined and treated as States. This legislative amendment to the Stafford Act should be no different. That is why the House version of this bill was amended in committee, so that this new program is equally inclusive of all jurisdictions that are already treated as States by the Stafford Act. That was not what was approved by the committee but passed by this House in H.R. 2, the Moving Forward Act.

Madam Speaker, the Virgin Islands and the other smaller territories have been devastated by unprecedented natural disasters in recent years. All of these American jurisdictions have tremendous need for hazard mitigation projects that reduce risks for homeowners, businesses, nonprofits, the cost of insurance claims, and Federal relief payments from extreme weather-related disasters.

I believe it is unfair to have a program that first makes grants to Indian Tribes, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia to improve resiliency, and then tells the four remaining smaller jurisdictions, defined as States already, that they get to have what amounts to pennies maybe left over from the 2 percent set aside of funding that first is going to be spent on administrative costs and technical assistance to give the resiliency program to everyone else.

Madam Speaker, as a practical matter, of course, that will amount to nothing left for the people of my district, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Marianas, and the smaller territories.

Madam Speaker, I understand and have been told that the committee is willing to work and try to find a technical fix to this both in the House and the Senate. I urge that that occurs. While I support this measure, once again, you cannot continue to forget the smaller territories.

Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I do say, first off, I truly appreciate the words and the passion from my good friend from the U.S. Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett). I am disappointed to see that this bill came back from the Senate without the provisions that we supported on her behalf in the committee.

Madam Speaker, I, too, would like to echo to the Senate and to the House as we move into the future: Let's address this concern. There is bipartisan support for what Ms. Plaskett is asking for.

These are the types of bipartisan issues that we usually try and solve in the House, but, unfortunately, we got this from the Senate. We will let them be the ones to admit they screwed this up with a technical error.

But let's fix it. That is the key. Let's work together to make that happen.

Madam Speaker, in closing, S. 3418 will help support critical mitigation projects in local communities, including rural communities that are hit and devastated by these natural disasters. This will save lives and prevent damage and loss to farmers, businesses, and homeowners across the country, and it is also going to save, long term, billions upon billions of taxpayer dollars that are going, time and time again, to help communities recover from events we know are going to happen.

Let's do something on the front end and save taxpayer dollars for the next generation on the back end.

Madam Speaker, I would be remiss if I didn't thank the staff on both sides of the aisle for their work to get this bill to a good place and with the Senate: on the majority side, Aaron Davis; on our own side, Johanna Hardy; and in my office, Jimmy Ballard. I really appreciate all these folks and what they have done to help districts like mine.

I also thank some folks who really worked hard on this bill, too, that are with me here today from the committee: Corey Cooke and her number one fan, her puppy, Coda Cooke; and also Tara Hupman and her number one fan, her puppy, Chester Hupman. I certainly hope my number one fans, when I get home, Rider and Julia Davis, one day get a chance to meet theirs.

But it takes people working together to get things done, and these are the types of issues that show our success in this institution.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source