Pallone Statement on Cruz Claims on Sandy Relief Aid

Washington, DC- Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) made the following statement following Senator Ted Cruz’s August 28, 2017 comment on the 2012 and 2013 votes for Sandy relief aid.

“In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, some of my Congressional colleagues chose politics over the needs of disaster victims. Never before has our nation refused to come together and provide the needed resources to recover and rebuild, yet the victims of Sandy were forces to wait for months. Yet, many of my Republican colleagues from Texas, led by Senator Cruz, voted against the Sandy relief package, claiming it was filled with “pork” unrelated to disaster relief. These so-called “pork” provisions included funding for mitigation efforts, flood control projects, and rebuilding critical infrastructure. The Washington Post called that claim ‘wildly incorrect.’

“Today these same Members of Congress represent constituents who will need help for months and years to come as they recover from Hurricane Harvey. I firmly believe that responding to natural disasters is what should bring us together as a country, and I look forward to doing my part in ensuring the impacted states get the resources they need. We must also understand that storms like Hurricane Harvey and Superstorm Sandy will be more frequent and more severe as we continue to see the increased impact of climate change, and we must redouble our efforts to address global warming. It is my hope that our collective response to Hurricane Harvey serves as a model of how we should, and will, address devastating storms in the future.”