At this time last year, tens of thousands of families in our community were struggling to recover from the rains and floods of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.  What strikes me now, looking back, is the storm’s arbitrary fury.  I saw how some households escaped damage while others, just a few hundred feet away, suffered devastating floods.

How could anyone prepare for such a haphazard misfortune?  We do it together.

The federal government pumped $21 million in disaster relief funding into Central New Jersey last year, helping our friends and neighbors put their lives back together.  The government also helps communities invest in flood prevention, and at the National Weather Service, government scientists save countless lives by predicting each storm’s path and intensity.

I am grateful that, in modern America, few would say to those in a hurricane’s path, “Government won’t help you.  You’re on your own.”

Why, then, would so many in Congress abandon Americans when other disasters strike – when a father is laid off from work because of a financial crisis he didn’t cause, or when a mother is denied health insurance because of a cancer she could never have predicted?

United States Marine Band Coming to Trenton on October 27

The United States Marine Band has just announced its 2012 tour itinerary, which includes several stops in New Jersey, including a concert in Trenton at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 27 at the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial.

The band, which was established by act of Congress in 1798, has performed at every presidential inauguration since Thomas Jefferson’s.  Its past directors include John Philip Sousa, who composed many of his most popular and enduring marches during his time with the Marine Band.

To request your free tickets, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the address below.  There is a limit of four tickets per request.

Marine Band Concert
c/o Greater Trenton Symphony
28 West State Street, Suite 202
Trenton, New Jersey 08608

Keeping the Promise to Those Who Served

Often, I am able to help New Jerseyans who are having difficulty tracking down paperwork documenting their military or other service.

In July, for instance, I received a request to help a woman whose husband, a Marine Corps veteran, had recently passed away.  She wished to arrange for an honor guard but could not find her husband’s discharge papers – without which the honor guard could not be authorized.  I helped her obtain the required documents in time for his funeral.

If you need help documenting your own military service, please let me know so I can do everything possible to help.  You can call 1-87-RUSH-HOLT or send an e-mail at http://holt.house.gov/contact.

Sincerely,

Rush Holt
Member of Congress