Aid Passes 241-180 Assists New Jersey residents from worst natural disaster in their history
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House of Representatives tonight approved the full disaster recovery funding that will help the victims of Superstorm Sandy rebuild their communities.
“Sandy was the most destructive storm ever in our region and arguably the second or third most costly in America’s history,” said Congressman Chris Smith, R- Robbinsville, N.J., who represents the Fourth Congressional District—the hard-hit area of northern Ocean County & southern Monmouth County where Sandy made landfill. “We are not crying wolf here, I say to my colleagues. There are huge gaps—people who have filed for insurance claims—and find insurance covered only this much. How do they ever recover?” Smith, who took the House floor no less than three times today to speak in favor of passage, pointed out that the Governor’s office estimated the damage in New Jersey alone to be $36.9 billion. Click here to watch Cong. Smith’s appeal to his House colleagues to pass the Sandy aid.
Two votes today providing $17 billion and $34 billion would supplement $9.7 billion already provided by both Houses of Congress Jan. 4, for a total of $60 billion emergency spending aid package.
“There is an immediate need to rebuild and restore. In particular, our residents and neighbors need assistance with temporary housing and permanent home restoration,” said Smith. “The Jersey Shore needs to be open for business by or near Memorial Day, or else many will suffer economic hardships, including losing jobs or businesses.”
Yesterday, in the State of the State address in Trenton, Governor Chris Christie eloquently spoke of the courage, tenacity and resolve of the people of New Jersey both during and after the worst storm in our history.
He introduced and told the stories of a few jersey heroes. However, the statehouse could have been filled to overflowing with people who performed remarkable feats of selflessness and bravery.
Congressman Chris Smith told MMM that at a meeting held with Speaker John Boehner this afternoon the Speaker promised that action will be taken in January by the House of Representatives on the $60 billion Sandy Relief package that Boehner stopped the House from voting on last night causing a uproar within the Republican Party.
Smith said that Boehner promised that $9.7 billion to restore FEMA reserves will be up for a vote on this Friday, January 4th and that the rest of the $60 billion package will be on the House’s schedule, in two parts, $16.3 billion and $33 billion, on January 15th.
Smith spoke on the House floor late on Tuesday night to implore Boehner to schedule the vote.
Congressman Chris Smith and Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden prior to surveying Hurricane Sandy damage
The $60.4 billion dollar appropriation to fund the rebuilding of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut passed in the U.S. Senate last night by a vote of 62-32.
Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ 4), representing parts of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, is calling on his Republican colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass the aid package without delay before the 112th Congress adjourns on Monday.
“The House now has before it legislation that will provide critical federal support to help ease and mitigate the severe hardship on people, communities and businesses decimated by Superstorm Sandy,” said Smith, “There is no doubt that this storm created unprecedented emergencies and devastation and should be treated as such— with no delays, no budget offsets. Immediate federal assistance, resources, and mitigation planning is needed to help restore some normalcy and hope into the lives of the victims of Superstorm Sandy and start the rebuilding process.”
Army Corps of Engineers Work Helped Reduce Damage; Planned Projects Should Advance
WASHINGTON, DC – Although Superstorm Sandy wreaked widespread havoc on the Jersey Shore, the victims and communities have pulled together in an effort to rebuild their lives, homes and towns, Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04) told members of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Environment and Public Works today. Smith also called attention to work the Army Corps of Engineers’ beach protection projects that held up well during the storm.
“The courage, tenacity and resiliency of the victims has been amazing,” said Smith, who represents large sections of Monmouth and Ocean Counties where the immense storm made landfall. “The stories of neighbors helping neighbors with breathtaking kindness by providing shelter, food and warm, dry clothing are almost without number. People are at once heartbroken, devastated and still appreciative of the help they are getting and what they have left. A resident of Belmar told me the day after Sandy demolished his home: “I’ve lost everything, but I am alive.”
Smith said special note and appreciation need be given the Corps of Engineers which has spent years working on beach re-nourishment projects, some of which are bogged down due to lack of funding.
“We know that in most areas where the Army Corps of Engineers implemented beach re-nourishment projects, there was less damage than those where they did not,” Smith said. “Where the Corps built higher berms, they held back the water. Where there were low dunes, the water came flooding in.
“Preventing flooded homes and businesses is cheaper and more efficient than repairing them after a water breach,” Smith said. “As such, it is necessary, cost-effective and justified for the federal government to provide the Corps with emergency funding to finish beach replenishment and flood protection projects.”
The Corps is poised to finish a number of projects if it has the funding through an emergency supplemental request. Representatives from the Northeast have asked President Obama to direct his Office of Management and Budget to issue an emergency supplemental request. Smith said that funding to complete already-authorized projects should be included.
“The partnership between federal, state and local governments has served our community well in the aftermath of the storm and we must bolster these efforts moving forward—both to make New Jersey residents whole and to limit future damage. Fully funding the Corps’ projects is a priority of mine and will assist our state as we recover, repair and rebuild,” Smith said. “It’s a long road, but we are committed to bringing back—and with your help we will bring back—these communities.”
Donations Arrive at Salvation Army Warehouse in Trenton En Route to Shore Areas
Trenton, NJ, Nov 11 – Two packed trucks—loaded with donations for New Jersey victims of Hurricane Sandy— arrived in Trenton today and were unloaded by a group of volunteers, including Congressman Chris Smith (Robbinsville, NJ), whose district was pummeled by the hurricane.
“This is a wonderful act of goodwill and charity on the part of many who want to help New Jersey victims of Hurricane Sandy,” Smith said. “It is truly heart-felt. On behalf of the people of the Fourth Congressional District and all the hard hits areas of New Jersey, I want to thank Mr. and Mrs. LaTourette of Ohio, the Chesterbrook Elementary School, Gentle Giant Moving Company and the American Trucking Association and all those who made contributions for collecting and shipping these donations to New Jersey. I am extremely appreciative to Maj. Phil Davis of the Salvation Army and his workers who helped unload the trucks and will help make these items available to the victims of Sandy.” Smith, who represents Trenton as well as large Jersey Shore areas in Monmouth and Ocean counties, helped unload two trucks alongside the drivers, Salvation Army workers and other volunteers at the Salvation Army’s warehouse on Enterprise Avenue in Trenton.
U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette (OH-14), who is retiring from Congress at the end of the year, and his wife Jennifer and their two children, helped coordinate the effort through their school, sending a total of three trucks. Cong. LaTourette’s Washington office is down the hall from Cong. Smith’s office. After viewing some of the carnage at the Jersey Shore, they decided to offer to collect goods for the victims.
The first truck arrived Wednesday night at a Monmouth County staging area in Lincroft, N.J. Drivers braved the heavy snowfall that totaled over a foot of snow in some areas of Smith’s district from the powerful Nor’easter that followed a week after Hurricane Sandy. The snow storm hampered hurricane relief efforts, including causing a power outage at the Lincroft site that left the drivers out in the cold to sleep overnight in a Lincroft parking lot. The following morning, the drivers were assisted by hard-working county employees from the parks and recreation departments to unload the donations.
The Salvation Army, which runs a relief operation in Monmouth County, sorts through donated items at its Trenton warehouse for redistribution at the Jersey Shore. Donations included bottled water, blankets, winter coats and cleaning supplies (such as new brooms, mops and cleaning chemicals) and other goods.
Congressman Chris Smith and Monmouth County Shaun Golden prepared to survey Hurricane Sandy damage
Congressman Chris Smith easily defeated his Democratic challenger, Brian Froelich of Spring Lake, to earn his 17th term in the House of Representative. Smith new 4th district includes most of Monmouth County and parts of Ocean and Mercer County.
With 68% of the vote, Smith is the only Republican in the New Jersey delegation to break 60%.
Governor Chris Christie will deliver the keynote address at the Republican National Convention. The story, first reported by Save Jersey last week, was released to the national media this morning.
Christie told USA Today:
“I’ll try to tell some very direct and hard truths to people in the country about the trouble that we’re in and the fact that fixing those problems is not going to be easy for any of them,” Christie told USA Today in an interview announcing his speech. He said he will describe his experiences in New Jersey as evidence that “the American people are ready to confront those problems head-on and endure some sacrifice.”
New Jersey’s other political rock star, Newark Mayor Cory Booker is still in Obama’s doghouse. Despite the president’s personal assurance to Booker that his “Meet the Press” commentary calling Obama’s anti-Romney ads “nauseating” was “small potatoes,” the mayor will not have a headlining role at the Democratic National Convention.
Speaks out against Chinese trade practices at Foreign Affairs Committee hearing
At a hearing on Capitol Hill last week, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04) blasted the Chinese Government for stealing U.S. jobs through deceitful policies and trading practices. Fake products and components made in China and sold in the U.S. put American consumers at risk, he said. Fake Chinese computer chips have even been found in U.S. defense systems.
“All of us know that economic growth and vigorous exports are vital to American prosperity, and now in these difficult times—economic recovery,” said Smith at a full hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee entitled “Unfair Trading Practices against the U.S.: Intellectual Property Rights Infringement (IPR), Property Expropriation, and Other Barriers.”
“American workers can out-compete anyone in the world, but theft of intellectual property – the patents, copyrights, trademarks, industrial designs, and trade secrets of American companies — robs them of a fair return on their innovation and their work,” Smith added.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – The House of Representatives tonight approved the full disaster recovery funding that will help the victims of Superstorm Sandy rebuild their communities.
Yesterday, in the State of the State address in Trenton, Governor Chris Christie eloquently spoke of the courage, tenacity and resolve of the people of New Jersey both during and after the worst storm in our history.
