UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 4238

On 2026-09-30, Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) delivered a floor speech titled "UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 4238" in the Senate.

UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 4238

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 155 (Wednesday, September 30, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 155 (Wednesday, September 30, 2026)] [Senate] [Pages S5194-S5195] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUEST--H.R. 4238 Mr. BUDD. Mr. President, the most basic responsibility of Congress is to identify problems and deliver policy solutions that better serve the American people. That means cutting unnecessary redtape, eliminating confusion, and fixing gaps in the Federal Government that prevent it from doing its job effectively. And that responsibility is often put to the test when disaster strikes. In Western North Carolina, Hurricane Helene did more than devastate our communities--it exposed weaknesses in our Federal disaster response that we, here in Congress, have a responsibility to fix. Any Senator who has served their State in the wake of a natural disaster knows that bureaucratic failures are not just problems on paper--they have real consequences for real people. Every unnecessary delay, outdated process, or a gap in our response can stand between a devastated community and the Federal assistance that it needs to recover and to rebuild. I understand that reality all too well, having walked the road to recovery with the people of Western North Carolina who lost everything in a once-in-a-century--hopefully, more than a century--storm. In this rural part of our State, small businesses drive local economies, and many were destroyed and shuttered after Helene. For many, their only hope of getting back on their feet was by accessing disaster loan assistance through the SBA, or the Small Business Administration. But in 2024, when these small businesses were trying to secure a fighting chance, the Biden administration--they dropped the ball by gravely mismanaging the SBA's Disaster Loan Program. [[Page S5195]] By issuing irresponsible rules, drastically increasing the costs of making and administering these disaster loans, and failing to notify Congress that funding to administer these loans was running low, the Biden administration allowed for a 66-day shortfall that impacted 97 percent of North Carolina residents. We can't allow this to happen again. So I am bringing a commonsense solution to the table that has received bipartisan support in the Small Business Committee. My Disaster Loan Accountability and Reform Act will create more safeguards against a future shortfall by requiring annual appropriations to the SBA's Disaster Loan Program and informing Congress when these funds are running low. The bill has one clear goal, and that is to make sure our Nation's small businesses are never left without the disaster assistance that they were promised. The next major disaster should not expose the same failures as the last. It is our responsibility to mend broken systems and to coordinate the Federal Government and its agencies so that we are ready to manage the aftermath of the next major disaster. So I ask my colleagues to join me in taking a necessary step forward in improving our Federal disaster response by voting to pass this bill. I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 448, H.R. 4238; further, I ask that the bill be considered read a third time and passed; and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? The Senator from Massachusetts. Mr. MARKEY. Let me just begin by saying I agree with Senator Budd about the importance of transparency and of accountability in our disaster programs. But I cannot support this legislation while the Trump administration politicizes and withholds aid from disaster victims in blue States, including my own home State of Massachusetts. Recent reporting revealed that Trump overrode the recommendation of his own Agency and prevented four Democratic States--including Massachusetts--from receiving disaster assistance related to blizzards earlier this year. So parts of my own home State got nearly 41 inches of snow in 24 hours, costing our State over $45 million in blizzard- related expenses. And according to this report, the States easily met FEMA's internal qualifications for disaster aid. But for Trump, the only qualification is blind loyalty. And this is not an isolated incident. While red States' FEMA disaster applications have been approved 89 percent of the time, those from blue States receive signoff from the Trump administration only 23 percent of the time. But don't think you are safe just because you are in a State that voted for the President. Earlier this month, at a rally in North Carolina for Michael Whatley--Trump's hand-picked MAGA Senate candidate--President Trump told a community devastated by Hurricane Helene--here's what the President said this month in North Carolina: You know you're waiting for some additional funding. Now, if Michael loses, I'm not sending it to North Carolina. What? The people of North Carolina should get the help. It shouldn't depend upon whether the Senator is a Democrat or Republican, whether it is blue or red. It is about Americans who have suffered a disaster. And the numbers are incredible. This is the history, since Ronald Reagan, of disaster relief in the United States. And you can see that it tracks pretty much red and blue the whole way--Reagan, George Bush 1, Clinton, Bush 2, Obama, Trump 1--stayed the same. Money went out in equal amounts to red and blue States, Democrat and Republican States. But then Trump won again, and you can see what is happening. In the blue States, it looks like the 1929 stock market crash. We go from being equal with Republican States to falling off the table, and you can't really treat disasters that way. They are Americans. It could be a flood; it could be a hurricane, a tornado. It doesn't make any difference. They are all our American neighbors. They deserve the Federal assistance. The President, again as recently as this month, is saying in North Carolina: If you elect a Democratic Senator, you won't get the help. That is just not right, and we all know that is not right. So that has to get rectified because that is really not cooperation; that is just corruption, right? That is just saying: We're going to take this Federal program and turn it into something where he gets arbitrarily to determine whether or not he dishes out the money. And it doesn't really make any difference to me if it is Oklahoma or North Carolina or Massachusetts or California; everyone who suffers a disaster should get the Federal help they need. The President just cannot be allowed to use essential disaster aid as a tool for political extortion. Yet there he is, he is making it plain as day that if you don't vote for a Republican Senator, you don't get any money in your State for a disaster which has devastated your people. We just have to make sure that we stand up and, if we are serious about transparency and accountability in the disaster recovery process, we should hold hearings, demand answers from this administration about why blue States are denied help at such a disproportionate rate. And if the Trump administration insists on putting MAGA before the many, Congress must force the administration to treat disaster victims fairly, regardless of the State where they live or who they voted for. I want to work with the Senator from North Carolina to address the administration's unacceptable treatment of disaster victims in Massachusetts and other blue States. We just have to get it back to the historic norm. The Senator has identified a problem, and I have worked with him in the committee to help to move that legislation. But this is in many ways an even bigger problem. We cannot have this disparate treatment to continue any longer. So because of that, but with my request that I work with the gentleman as we head into the lameduck session, that we can work to talk to the Trump administration about rectifying this historic injustice. So, at this time, as a result, I must object to the Senator's request. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection is heard. The Senator from North Carolina. Mr. BUDD. Mr. President, I understand my colleague is having an issue with disaster relief reaching his State. On that, I can certainly relate. And by the way, this is a colleague who has worked to pass this unanimously, I believe, out of committee--so much appreciated there-- but now seeks to block the bill. But I worked with the Trump administration to cut through the bureaucratic hurdles that had slowed down aid. I held a number of the administration's nominees to put a stop to them, put a pause on them, to ensure that my message was heard. But what I did not do was hold my fellow Senator's legislation from potential passage or hinder efforts to make our disaster program run more smoothly. I hope my colleague can now see how this bill would positively impact both my State and his State and do what is right for the American people by passing this bill in which he voted for, again, out of committee. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska. ____________________

Referenced legislation: HR4238, HR4238