Hurricane Katrina

HURRICANE KATRINA -- (House of Representatives - September 08, 2005)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, America has really seen a lot, we have been through a lot, in the past week. We have watched Hurricane Katrina from start to finish. We have seen it form in the Atlantic, sweep across Florida, and enter the gulf. And we have watched in horror as it has devastated the southern portions of Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama. We have seen some horrific images. We have seen government make some mistakes. We have seen government rescue some folks. And we have watched everyday people perform extraordinary feats.

Like most people, I have been impressed and sometimes sorely disappointed. For me there is a personal element. I grew up 60 miles inland from Gulfport, Mississippi. My family still lives there. I remember Hurricane Camille and the devastation that that storm caused. I was a senior in high school. I remember watching a lot of it play out, and I can tell the Members Hurricane Katrina is worse.

Last week my husband, my children, and I all traveled to Laurel, Mississippi from Tennessee's 7th Congressional District. We took our turns. We took supplies, and we helped with the cleanup. My parents have been long-time volunteers with the American Red Cross, and Laurel is an area where many coastal residents flee when they are trying to outrun the storm.

We knew that those volunteers could use the reinforcements, and absolutely they could. A lot them had no running water, no electricity, no gas, no gasoline available, no roof over their homes; but they were there at the shelter feeding those that were in need.

That is America, Madam Speaker. That is the America that I grew up in, and that is the country that still today exists.

As incredible as the damage is, what is more amazing to me was the way the local communities were all pulling together, the way Americans were traveling from all over, the way many of our colleagues in this Chamber were traveling from all over to get to the region and to lend a hand. And for all those who could not physically get there, we know they are home sending donations to charities, and they are aiding organizations. They might not be there physically; they are there in spirit.

There is no measuring the generosity and compassion of the American people when they see need. The hurricane has told us that. So I want to thank every town, city, and State for sending help.

As representative for Tennessee's 7th district, I want to take a moment and recognize the work of some of our Memphis and Shelby County organizations that have made it their mission to help any way that they possibly could.

Our Memphis Corps of Engineers is already working to help rebuild the New Orleans levees. We are also thankful that the Bellevue Baptist Church, the Cathedral of Faith Ministries, Christ United Methodist Church, Cornerstone Institutional Baptist Church, the Cummings Street Baptist Church, the Greater Harvest Church of God in Christ and the Greater Praise Church of God in Christ, the Independent Presbyterian Church Grove, the Memphis Union Mission, Mid-South Baptist Association Retreat Center, and the Baptist Children's Home are all working to provide shelter for some of the 15,000 evacuees that are in Shelby County; and that the Friendship Baptist Church, the Germantown Presbyterian Church, the Oakland First Baptist Church are providing shelter and meals; and that the Breath of Life Seventh Day Adventist, the Calvary Episcopal Church, Holy Rosary Catholic Church and School, the Hope Presbyterian Church, Hutchison School, and the Impact Ministries of Memphis are all providing meals.

Madam Speaker, I know there are other organizations that are out there working, and we will be talking about them as we help these evacuees find a place and rebuild their lives.

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