WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) today appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) at a hearing titled "Sandy and Its Impacts: A Local Perspective."Using video and photos, Menendez shared details of the devastation, stories of residents and businesses who are struggling to recover and underscored the need for a national commitment to helping New Jersey rebuild.

CLICK HERE for video of Senator Menendez's remarks.

Menendez's remarks as prepared for delivery follow:

*** NOTE: The photos referenced below can been seen in this gallery. Please contact Menendez Press for high-res photos ***

http://www.menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/galleries/gallery/?id=04634292-5704-4481-b83a-2961c0be7a1d

"New Jersey was at the epicenter of the storm's entry and the powerful storm surge overwhelmed our State and the result is damage on a massive scale. And as someone who has lived in New Jersey his entire life, I have never seen the devastation that Sandy brought us.

"The numbers are staggering across the region. In New Jersey we lost 39 people in the storm. Based on preliminary FEMA estimates, there are over 231,000 applications for homes and businesses in New Jersey that were damaged, but we certainly expect that the numbers will surge much higher. Over half the state, 2.7 million households, lost power, many for an extended period of time. Some still today.

"The storm was the largest mass transit disaster in our nation's history. Four out of ten of the nation's transit riders had their commutes disrupted by the storm.Many still today. New Jersey Transit alone had dozens of locomotives and rail cars damaged in the flooding and miles and miles of track damaged.

"The preliminary damage estimate provided by the state is now up to $36.9 billion in damage, and everyone expects that this number will rise.

"These are the numbers. They may be a way to quantify the damage, but they fail to paint a picture of what we have seen throughout the state. The level of destruction. The faces of the many thousands of displaced people who find themselves homeless and with basically nothing left from their homes -- their possessions, their keepsakes -- gone.

"Entire neighborhoods -- where several generations of families lived in close-knit communities -- gone. Decades-old small businesses ruined, their owners unsure if they will have the ability or the means to rebuild. We are getting more damage numbers, but the human toll is truly incalculable.

"The sheer scope of the damage is also difficult to fathom - and I have seen it from the air, from the water, on foot - but to get a better sense of that, my staff has compiled some pictures that I would like to show you. This is the Mantoloking Bridge which crosses Barnegat Bay and connects Brick with Mantoloking. As you can see in this picture the storm surge ripped a gash right through Mantoloking. Amazingly this bridge can be repaired, but as is obvious in this picture many of the surrounding homes were lost and part of the highway will need to be rebuilt.

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"On a boat tour of the area, I saw the damage for myself and took this picture of a house floating down the river.

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"This is a shipping container and a large pleasure boat tossed onto the Morgan Rail Bridge on the North Jersey Coast Line along with tons of debris.

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"It took a lot of work to restore service on NJ Transit, which suffered disruptions on every rail line. Even today the Port Authority's PATH terminal at Hoboken is inoperable and will not be back on line for some time. Here is a short video from security cameras showing how corrosive sea water rushed into the PATH stations at Exchange Place and Hoboken. The Hoboken station may not reopen for weeks. (video: http://youtu.be/afe2TF6yi5Q)

"In addition to transportation damage, many small businesses in New Jersey are facing the possibility of going out of business. Some were hit with thousands of dollars in lost business, while others saw their entire inventory destroyed. While the SBA has low-interest loan programs - for the hardest hit businesses - loans simply aren't enough. These entrepreneurs that fuel our economy have been hit with a one-two punch. First they were hit with the Great Recession and now, just as we're beginning to recover, just as they can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel, they are hit with a debilitating storm. Whether it's through flexibility in the Community Development Block Grant program, new Disaster Recovery Blocks Grants, SBA, or other programs, we should provide grants to get small businesses back on their feet.

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"This will not only help the small business owners themselves, it will keep their workers on the job, bring back tax revenue for local governments to repair and rebuild, and restore a sense of normalcy for communities. For every dollar we invest in helping small businesses rebuild, we reap many more in job creation and economic development.

"To economically rebuild New Jersey we need to rebuild the Jersey Shore and the $38 billion tourism economy it helps generate. These next two slides show the importance of the work of the Army Corps on our shore line. Stockton College did a study of the Army Corps's beach engineering projects before and after the storm. What it found was unambiguous. Where the Army Corps was able to complete a beach engineering project recently, the dunes held -- and damage to communities behind the project was either negligible or manageable.

"Here is a before and after photo at Surf City which received beach engineering in 2007 as part of the US Army Corps Long Beach Island Shore Protection Project. You can see that despite damage to the dune, the dune held and saved lives, saved property, and saved money.

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"Alternatively here is a picture of another part of Long Beach Island in the Loveladies neighborhood that unfortunately did not have similar protections. It may not appear to be obvious damage, but when the surge came, washed-away the underdeveloped dune, and flooded the homes you see along the beach, it pushed extraordinary amounts of sand into the neighborhood, covering the street and the entire area. I am submitting a copy of Stockton College's study for the record.

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"We desperately need to provide the Army Corps the funding it needs to do its work on the Jersey Shore. Our existing defenses from storms have been greatly weakened and if a powerful Nor'easter hits New Jersey again, we could again see damage on an unbelievable scale.

"I cannot talk about the Shore without briefly discussing the enormous damage suffered by our fishing industry. The reports we have gotten about the damage to the recreational and commercial fishing industries have been devastating. There are long stretches of the shore where every marina, dock and slip has been destroyed. And the boats moored to that infrastructure were launched onshore.

"Here at Wagner's Marina in Keyport you can see how the boats were tossed into surrounding buildings. In total, Wagner's lost 5,000 feet of dock space including electrical systems, catwalks, and gas lines.

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"The need we have is enormous and we need the federal government as a partner to help us rebuild. And we need help not just rebuilding to status quo but to rebuild stronger so that the next storm does not cause such devastation.

"But I do know New Jersey will rebuild. My constituents are tough, resilient, resourceful, and perhaps most importantly generous. I could not be more proud of how our state has come together as a community to work together to overcome this tragedy.

"Let me just relay one small story. Pam Bond and Jeff Spinardi own a candle shop called Greetings From Hoboken. The store lost power for a week along with everyone else on Washington Street. The day they got power back, they opened the store and made only $27, despite the fact that this time of year is usually their busiest. Despite having their own struggles with the store, Pam and Jeff wanted to help others.

"They heard the Hoboken Homeless Shelter was out of power and needed candles and when they investigated they found the shelter only had one candle. So, Pam and Jeff donated hundreds of dollars worth of candles and they also reached out to Yankee Candles, which donated hundreds of dollars more in candles. Now the two companies are raising funds for the Hoboken Homeless Shelter.

"All over the state we have people helping one another in this time of need. It's what we do. It's who we are. We stand together when our neighbors are in trouble and need a helping hand.

"This was a devastating storm, and now the people of New Jersey need a helping hand. I'm asking each of you, each of my colleagues in Congress -- to stand with us and help New Jerseyans recover and rebuild in our time of need... just as we stood with the people of the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, or the people of Joplin, Missouri, after a tornado ravaged their community.

"Because it's who we are, it's what we do as a country, as the United States of America. We always found a way to come together to help those who have lost their homes, their possessions, their livelihood, and - in some cases - their loved ones.

"The people of my state have lost a lot, but they are determined to rebuild and I know, with your help, we will recover from the devastation of this super-storm. All of us in government -- working in partnership with local community leaders, the private sector, and non-profits - must do what we always do... we stand-up, stand together, and help those in need.

"Thank you very much."

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