Will County Gazette

Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL) voted against H.R. 601, a hurricane disaster relief measure recently, because it ignored the real needs of the people and "kicked the can" of cost down the road, according to a press release.

“Earlier this week, I supported a bipartisan disaster relief bill in the House to provide much needed help to those devastated by Hurricane Harvey and elsewhere,” Hultgren said in the release. “This is why I was extremely disappointed when the Senate loaded the House-passed disaster relief package and sent it back to us with extraneous provisions, such as an extension of the debt limit and circumventing regular order of the appropriations process. Such add-ons detract from what should be the overriding priority of providing disaster assistance to those who so badly need it right now."

Hultgren said his firsthand experience of damage from flooding in Lake and McHenry counties and a belief that the nation must work together to help one another are part of the reason he supported the House disaster relief bill, and why he pushed for the reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program, he said in the release.

U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL) | Courtesy of hultgren.house.gov

“I am thankful those in greatest need of help will get it, but I could not support a funding bill that leverages Americans devastated by natural disasters while it ignores and even exacerbates our dire fiscal condition, jeopardizing the wellbeing of our children and future generations of Americans," Hultgren said in the release.