Congressman and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy spoke at a leadership press conference about what congress is doing to help people affected by disasters such as the Las Vegas mass shooting, and the California wildfires that began sparking up earlier this week.
“When you think of what has gone wrong in America just in a short time—the hurricanes, the fighting, the deaths in Las Vegas—this is a very trying time for our nation. Puerto Rico sustained two hurricanes. We will do the work this week to make sure we get the resources to them, but it will not be the last. This will take time to rebuild, but I know with [Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico] Jennifer [Gonzalez’s] leadership she’ll keep us on track to make sure we do it right.“I came back last night after spending yesterday in Sacramento with the Vice President, Mike Pence. We met with the California Office of Emergency Services for a briefing on the devastating fires in California. The day before we were in Orange County meeting with the fire department with the fires happening there. This is an incredibly serious situation. As of this morning there were 17 dead and hundreds who are still missing.“The fire department right now is spending the majority of their time warning people to get out of the way of the fire. The weather today could even make it worse.“Now during my visit with the Vice President, I know the Vice Presidents talked numerous times with Governor Brown. I spoke with the President on Monday night and he was talking to Governor Brown as well. And they had the same message: The White House and the American people are with each and every Californian affected, and they offered any federal assets needed to assist in this fight.“You know, this week I think the message for Congress is one of prayer but also action. Tomorrow we’ll take up the supplemental disaster funding to continue the recovery relief from the recent hurricanes and the resources for the wild fires out west this summer. It will take time to control these fires, but we’ll begin to rebuild, just as it will take time to rebuild Puerto Rico. This Congress will continue to work with all those who are affected.”
