Schatz Calls On Congress To Pass Long-Term Relief For Disaster Survivors On Maui, Nationwide Before End Of Year

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) once again urged colleagues in Congress to pass disaster relief for survivors on Maui and across the country before the end of the year. Schatz has continually stressed the need for passing long-term assistance to help survivors rebuild in Lahaina. In the coming weeks, Congress is expected to debate an aid package for nearly 40 states affected by disasters nationwide.

“Everyone is doing the best that they can to recover,” said Senator Schatz. “They are working so hard. They have pulled together so much. They have summoned courage and compassion and persistence. They have plowed through every barrier put in front of them. They have saved each other’s lives. They are trying to rebuild this beautiful, historic, pluralistic, joyful, multicultural town. But they need our help.”

Senator Schatz continued, “The one thing we cannot leave undone in December, the one thing we cannot leave undone in December, is disaster aid. Not just for the people of Maui, but for people all across the country. If the federal government is for anything, it has to be for this.”

The full text of Senator Schatz’s remarks are below. A video is available here.

On Monday, President Biden submitted to Congress an emergency supplemental funding request for nearly $100 billion to help communities across the country recover from disasters. Whether it's Lahaina, Maui or Burlington, or Davenport, or Asheville, every community that has had the misfortune of being struck by a disaster deserves help. No one has ever fully prepared for a tornado or a flood or a fire. But everyone has to go through the long and difficult and painful process of rebuilding. Rebuilding their life, rebuilding their home, rebuilding their store, rebuilding their community.

Which is why every time a disaster has devastated our fellow Americans, Congress has recognized the need for help and stepped up to fulfill our responsibility to provide that help. We don't first check to see if it's a blue or a red or a purple state or county. And today, disaster survivors in almost 40 states, including my own, are counting on us to do exactly that. They've had their lives turned upside down, and in the wake of awful death and destruction, they're trying to find some semblance of stability and peace in their lives. But to recover quickly and fully, they need our help.

It's been more than 15 months since Lahaina burned down to the ground in a matter of hours by ferocious fires. More than 4,000 homes were destroyed. And yet, as of today, just one home has been rebuilt. One home. 4,000 homes gone. 12,000 people without a house. 2,200 structures incinerated. One home rebuilt.

Even before the fires, Lahaina was a working-class town where people were mostly renters. And while a disaster of this scale is catastrophic for any community, the financial burden inflicted on these survivors is especially, especially acute.

Everyone is doing the best that they can to recover. They are working so hard. They have pulled together so much. They have summoned courage and compassion and persistence. They have plowed through every barrier put in front of them. They have saved each other’s lives. They are trying to rebuild this beautiful, historic, pluralistic, joyful, multicultural town. But they need our help.

And this is a core responsibility of the United States federal government. There are certain things that we should be arguing about. There are lots of things that we should be arguing about. And among those things is what does the federal government do exactly? What is the federal government's role exactly? In education, in health care, in transportation? One thing we cannot argue with each other about is this: When your fellow Americans are in a situation where their county, their church, their community, their state is just simply overwhelmed and cannot recover without the resources of the federal government, that the federal government steps up and does their job.

And so we are about to wrap this week up before the Thanksgiving break, and then we have a tight little work period to get a hell of a lot done. The one thing we cannot leave undone in December, the one thing we cannot leave undone in December, is disaster aid. Not just for the people of Maui, but for people all across the country. If the federal government is for anything, it has to be for this.

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