By Rep. Dan Donovan Six years later, Superstorm Sandy may be in the annals of history but her impact is very present in our community as we still continue to rebuild from this disaster. We all remember the October days leading up to Superstorm Sandy. I was Staten Island district attorney at the time and remember the uncertainty our borough faced when this storm came racing up the east coast. Many of us ran to our local ShopRite to gather every last bottle of water and canned food, and waited on long lines for gas. We checked on our loved ones and neighbors as the storm roared towards us. As we tried to sleep that night, we all heard the howling winds, unaware of the extent of destruction awaiting us. Little did we know that we would awaken to a living nightmare. New York suffered an astronomical $19 billion in damages, nearly 1.2 million without power, and 90,000 buildings in the inundation zone. We lost 43 New Yorkers - 24 of them in Staten Island and several more in Brooklyn. Parts of Staten Island and Brooklyn were unrecognizable. Houses and buildings were destroyed, whole communities remained flooded, and our streets blocked by fallen trees and covered with the personal belongings of our neighbors washed from their battered homes. Small businesses - many of them family owned - were lost or hurt so badly that they couldn't ultimately recover. But lurking beyond this rubble was another disaster in and of itself: a dreadful recovery process that affected so many, including my neighbors, friends, and members of my own staff. Residents suffering from this merciless storm were fed wrong information through this flawed process. Neighbors of similar financial standing facing similar levels of damage were directed to varying financial options to rebuild their homes. Some were saddled with tens of thousands of dollars in Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, while others received free grants from the Build It Back program. For some, surviving the storm was easier than surviving the aftermath. I am sure that people reading this right now are in this category. Thankfully this confusion and frustration in the recovery process never has to happen again. Earlier this month, President Trump signed into law my provisions that overhauls it. I am thankful it is finally rectified. In Congress, I have been co-leading the bipartisan charge with the Army Corps of Engineers for our Staten Island Seawall. This massive project takes time but I have been able to help expedite it by resolving bureaucratic hurdles that have come our way. The process to get it constructed is on schedule and I am fighting to ensure it stays that way. One of the biggest reliefs is on the horizon. Come this December, Congress is slated to pass measures effectively mandating that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) revise its payment schedule to a monthly basis instead of having to pay a large sum on the front end. This is a huge win for our beleaguered community. Next month, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is due to expire. Such action would leave those with coverage in financial limbo and trigger delays for New York real estate deals. While this program is in desperate need of a path to fiscal sustainability, I will fight for its reauthorization and believe Congress will do so. Ever since my election to Congress in 2015, Sandy recovery has been a paramount priority of mine. In fact, my dedicated staff has worked with hundreds of homeowners on cases involving the recovery process from rebuilding to flood insurance and continues to do so until this very day. I am proud of how New York has persevered in the last six years. On this solemn anniversary, know that we remain committed to serving our community to alleviate the pain of yesterday, resolve the hardships of today, and prevent the burdens of tomorrow.

By Rep. Dan Donovan A government earns its legitimacy from the people it governs. This basic principle applies equally to free democracies like ours and to authoritarian regimes like Iran's. Sooner or later, people will stand up to abuses. For Iran's rulers -- who have chosen to fund international terror organizations and other illicit activities instead of care for their people -- its time of reckoning may be on the horizon. As the city on a hill and a beacon for democracy, it's America's responsibility to stand in solidarity with people pursuing self-determination and freedom in every part of the world. As administration officials have said, "America first does not mean America alone." As our country confronts Iran over its continued terror financing and material support, it's critical that we separate Iran's governing authorities from the Iranian people, many of whom crave basic human freedoms. Those brave men and women protesting on the streets of Tehran are risking everything to confront a tyrannical regime that takes its people for granted -- a situation not dissimilar from our own beginnings. President Trump and his administration have rightly signaled to the Iranian people that their struggle is not in vain, and that the United States will punish the regime for mass arrests, deaths during peaceful protests and, potentially, even executions. Such brutal treatment may scatter demonstrators temporarily, but it will not quiet a people's deep-rooted quest for dignity and decency. What's more, Iran's leaders will continue to be squeezed by sanctions and other pressure because of their persistent support for international terror and rogue organizations. Last year, Congress passed, and President Trump signed into law, the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which triggers sanctions if Iran participates in any of a variety of illicit activities. Additionally, the House will be bringing H. Res. 676, legislation that I'm a proud cosponsor of, to the floor this week. In an important show of support, this bill states that the House of Representatives stands with the people of Iran and condemns the Iranian regime for its crackdown on peaceful protests against its oppressive rule. Finally, we have a President who is reigning in Iran's rulers through strength and resolve, not the concessions that accompany a desperate push for a legacy-boosting deal. The Obama administration's bad negotiations unleashed tens of billions of dollars that the Iranian regime could use to further its anti-America and anti-Israel agenda. As I warned, along with then-candidate Donald Trump and many of my Republican colleagues, the Iranians have funded terror organizations and violent Yemeni rebels. The Iranian people recognize the massive fraud perpetrated on them by their leaders. With their economy crumbling and prices soaring -- in part because of harsh sanctions brought on by their leaders' violent agenda -- the Iranian regime chose to ignore domestic priorities and continue funding terror, ballistic missiles tests, and development of their nuclear program. This blatant disregard for the well-being of their citizens has exposed Iran's rulers for what they are: tyrants enriching themselves and expanding their power at the expense of the people they govern. Besides the fact that supporting the Iranian people in their pursuit of democracy and holding the Iranian regime accountable for its many abuses is the moral thing to do, it's also critical to U.S. national security. Whether it's setting up a shell company to fund the hiring of U.S. college professors with views supportive of their extremist government, cyber-attacks against U.S. financial institutions and a dam north of New York City, or continued ballistic missiles tests -- it's clear that the Iranian government is not our friend. It's shocking that some of President Trump's political opponents refuse to express solidarity with the Iranian people. Shame on any elected official or candidate for office who, because a Republican president might get credit for his foreign policy, withholds expressions of hope and confidence in a subjugated people's pursuit of basic rights. Authoritarians who put their own interests ahead of their country's won't hold power forever. At some point, their people will organize and rise against them. It's my sincere hope that the people of Iran can rid themselves of a corrupt regime and finally enjoy the basic human rights that so many others in the free world hold dear.

Donovan gained national attention in 2014 for his involvement as the district attorney in the Eric Garner case. According to The Huffington Post, "Garner, an unarmed African-American man, died on July 17 in Staten Island after police officer Daniel Pantaleo put him in a chokehold and pushed him to the ground in order to arrest him for selling untaxed cigarettes. Garner repeatedly said "I can't breathe" before he died." The grand jury chose not to indict Pantaleo, and Donovan received criticism from civil rights groups for not securing the indictment. On January 11, 2015, Donovan expressed his hope that Democrats would not make reference to the Eric Garner case in the 2015 special election. He stated, "I would hope that they would respect the fact that there was a man who died, a mother who lost her son and there's a wife who lost her husband and some children who lost their dad."