[[{“fid”:”249″,”view_mode”:”full”,”type”:”media”,”attributes”:{“height”:”306″,”width”:”476″,”style”:”width: 215px; height: 138px; border-width: 3px; border-style: solid; margin: 4px; float: left;”,”title”:”HJ1stFloorSpeech”,”class”:”media-element file-full”}}]]Washington, D.C. – On January 15, 2013, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8) voted on the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, H.R. 152 that passed the House 241-180. The $50.7B comprehensive aid package will bring much-needed relief to the victims of Superstorm Sandy.

“I applaud this bipartisan bill that will help the residents of Brooklyn and Queens who were devastated by the storm,” said Jeffries. “Sandy is one of the worst and most costly natural disasters ever to hit the country. Passage of this bill will provide the funds needed to support our communities as they continue rebuilding.

The $50B Sandy disaster bill is a supplement to the first portion of the aid package that passed the House earlier this month which increased the borrowing authority for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) by $9.7B in flood aid. Together, the total Sandy-related assistance passed by the House is close to the $60.4B package that the Senate voted on in the last Congress and closely matches the suggested aid proposal made by President Obama.

“In the past, Congress has always set aside partisan gridlock and come together to help Americans suffering from natural disasters. We have finally done that for the victims of Superstorm Sandy. Help is on the way to people in communities like Coney Island, Sea Gate, Carnarsie, Manhattan Beach, Brighton Beach and Howard Beach that were ravaged last October,” said Jeffries. 

Congressman Jeffries spoke on the House Floor in support of passage of the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, addressing the House for the first time. A video of the Congressman’s remarks is available here.