Reps. Pascrell, Gottheimer Announce $1.3 Million Hurricane Sandy Grant to Bergen County

WASHINGTON, May 7 -- Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-New Jersey, issued the following news release:

U.S. Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05) announced a $1,304,329 federal grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the Bergen County Utilities Authority. Authorized under Section 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Act, the funding will be pivotal in helping New Jersey communities continue to rebuild from the terrible enduring damage of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

"While our state fights this pandemic, New Jerseyans have never forgotten the devastation from Hurricane Sandy," said Rep. Pascrell, who for years has led efforts in the state delegation to direct federal funding to communities harmed by Sandy. "Even years later, many of our communities and local governments in North Jersey remain damaged by the superstorm. This generous award will help Bergen County continue the still-going work of making itself whole again. Others may forget about Sandy, but we won't, and we won't rest until we are 100 percent rebuilt."

"While we are now in the eye of the Coronavirus storm, with Bergen County being the hardest hit County in the State, we need every form of relief we can get," said Rep. Gottheimer. "I am proud that we're continuing to boost the Fifth District's return on investment by clawing back more necessary resources to reimburse damages to our infrastructure caused by Hurricane Sandy. This investment will help North Jersey families, help town budgets, and help minimize the impact on our local property taxes."

A lead cosponsor of the National Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2017, Rep. Pascrell has consistently led the fight to provide federal relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy, securing several federal grants for New Jersey as the state continues to rebuild. Rep. Pascrell also excoriated Donald Trump and congressional Republicans in 2018 after they sought to redirect $107 million in disaster relief funds from New Jersey to pay for their deficit-funded tax scam bill ratified in 2017.