{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://pallone.house.gov/press-release/pallone-tours-sandy-ravaged-sea-bright-nj-mark-one-year-anniversary-superstorm", "Pallone Tours Sandy-Ravaged Sea Bright, NJ to Mark One Year Anniversary of Superstorm", "2013-10-28", "2013", "2013-10", "Democrat", "House", "NJ", "Frank Pallone", "P000034", "pallone.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON D.C.\u2014Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) and Sea Bright Mayor Dina Long toured Ocean Avenue in Sea Bright, NJ to view the progress made in rebuilding the borough in the year since Superstorm Sandy damaged so many of its buildings and businesses.\u00a0 Sea Bright was one of areas hardest hit by Sandy when it made landfall last year.\u00a0 Pallone and Long discussed the toll the Sandy took on the Borough, rebuilding efforts and lessons learned from the storm about preparedness, response and the role of federal, state and local governments.\u00a0 Pallone also used the occasion to announce that New Jersey will be receiving $1.46 billion from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the second round of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding from the Sandy relief package.\n\u201cI am pleased that HUD will be announcing today that New Jersey will receive $1.46 billion in the second round of CDBG funds,\u201d said Pallone.\u00a0 \u201cThis money is critical to aiding homeowners, businesses and communities with repairing damage they sustained during the storm.\u201d\nPallone and Long began their tour of Ocean Avenue at Sea Bright\u2019s Borough Hall and continued north toward the Sea Bright Firehouse, where they observed the remnants of Sandy\u2019s destruction and improvements made in the year since the storm made landfall.\n\u201cIt\u2019s hard to believe that it has been a year since Sandy battered New Jersey and changed our lives,\u201d said Pallone.\u00a0 \u201cSandy devastated the Jersey Shore, and a year later, we are still working to rebuild.\u00a0 While there has been significant progress, there is still much to be done.\u00a0 Sandy taught us many important lessons about how we must improve the way we prepare for and recover from natural disasters.\u00a0 We simply cannot afford to make the same mistakes in the future.\u201d\nSuperstorm Sandy was one of the costliest and most destructive natural disasters in American history, with New Jersey\u2019s Sixth Congressional District withstanding some of the most significant damage.\u00a0 Congressman Pallone, who led the charge to bring much needed federal aid to New Jersey in Sandy\u2019s aftermath and has continued to provide countless hours of assistance to residents trying to recover from the storm, outlined several areas of concern with the government\u2019s response to the disaster and possible remedies he plans to pursue such as:\u00a0\n Improving temporary housing solutions\n\t\tIn the aftermath of the storm, there was an immediate need for temporary housing for those whose homes were badly damaged or destroyed.\u00a0 Unfortunately, while there was some temporary housing relief, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) did not offer enough housing options, such as FEMA trailers. Many who sought temporary shelter with family or friends were considered to have had their housing needs met, regardless of their actual long-term situations.\u00a0 Pallone has called on FEMA to address the issue of insufficient housing for displaced residents and revise their definition of who merits temporary housing after disasters.\n\t\t\n  Eliminating delays in processing claims with the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)\n\t\tMany homeowners were forced to wait far too long to have their NFIP claims processed.\u00a0 The NFIP claims filing process was complicated and involved countless hurdles for homeowners.\u00a0 Pallone called on FEMA to address the massive backlog of claims, and the process was expedited, but the system needs a permanent fix.\u00a0 Pallone has also called on FEMA to establish an \u201cNFIP Consumers Bill of Rights\u201d and to do a better job of informing homeowners about what their policies actually cover.\n\t\t\n  Ending the politicization of disaster aid\n\t\tIt was unacceptable that the Sandy disaster aid package was held up and used as a tool for political bargaining.\u00a0 Pallone believes that the creation of a dedicated extreme weather and disaster fund could provide a possible solution that would take politics out of the process and get victims the funding they need right away.\n\t\t\n  Strengthening infrastructure\n\t\tSandy shed light on the fragility of our aging infrastructure and the need for serious overhaul of our roads, railways, and energy, water and sewage systems.\u00a0 Some of the funds Pallone pushed for in the Sandy relief package will be used to make infrastructure improvements, but he has also called on the federal government to make new investments to gird us against similar failures in the future.\n\t\t\n \u00a0\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://pallone.house.gov/press-release/pallone-tours-sandy-ravaged-sea-bright-nj-mark-one-year-anniversary-superstorm"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.8302183598279953, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}