Storms Do Not Recognize State Boundaries, Why Does FEMA?
STORMS DO NOT RECOGNIZE STATE BOUNDARIES, WHY DOES FEMA? -- (House of Representatives - September 15, 2005)
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Davis of Kentucky). Under a previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, first of all, to thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel), the gentleman from California (Chairman Thomas) and the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. McCrery). It is because of their flexibility and sensitivity that the residents of Florida who suffered damage as a result of Hurricane Katrina are one step closer to getting emergency tax relief for those affected by the hurricane.
Today, we provided emergency tax relief for Floridians affected by Hurricane Katrina as well as for those affected in our neighboring States to our west. I am so pleased to have been able to come together with my Florida colleagues, Messrs. Foley, Diaz-Balart, and Shaw to make this possible.
As a Member of Congress that represents South Florida, I can empathize with the victims of Hurricane Katrina because my home, South Florida, has been struck by numerous hurricanes and is threatened by them every year.
The scenes of the destruction throughout Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama have reminded South Floridians of the devastation of Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 hurricane which struck South Florida 13 years ago.
The pain of those who lost loved ones, their homes, their pets, and who now find themselves in temporary housing, thousands of miles from home, their pain is palpable and every Floridian's heart goes out to them. However, I rise tonight to call the Nation's attention to something that I think has been overlooked, understandably, by the Nation, and that is the plight of those residents in Florida who suffered damage because of Hurricane Katrina.
Hurricane Katrina's first victim was Florida as it struck the Broward and Miami-Dade counties as a Category 1 storm on August 25, leaving hundreds of damaged or destroyed homes in its wake. Many of the farmers and agricultural workers that grow and tend these crops that were damaged will be out of jobs or will lose significant income this year as a result of this storm.
Craig Fugate, Florida's emergency management chief, told FEMA officials last week that the State expects the loss of over 2,000 farm-related jobs in Miami-Dade County alone. Okra, malanga, sweet potato and cassava crops have been destroyed, he said, resulting in about a $492 million loss.
That is why it came as a surprise to many homeowners in Florida when FEMA announced that it would not be providing individual assistance to residents of Florida who suffered damage as a result of Hurricane Katrina. I want to make it very clear what the effect of this decision means to the residents of South Florida who suffered damage in Hurricane Katrina.
This year, this is what FEMA will not pay for after Hurricane Katrina struck Florida. This woman here, who has had the roof ripped off her house and most of her possessions water damaged: FEMA's response to her, You are on your own, good luck.
How about this family here? This woman is standing in water up to her knees. Her cars are halfway submerged. These are not fancy cars. These are later model, 10-year-old cars. What was FEMA's response to her family's request for assistance? The same as it was to the people in New Orleans during the first days following Hurricane Katrina's aftermath when it hit the Gulf States: You are on your own.
My question to FEMA is this: Storms do not know State boundaries, so why does FEMA?
FEMA has set an arbitrary and discretionary threshold of 800 homes that have been destroyed or badly damaged as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Let me reiterate this is a purely discretionary number. Title 44 in the Code of Federal Regulations states, ``There is no set threshold for recommending individual assistance.''
It is estimated that more than half of the residents who need assistance with storm recovery in Broward and Miami-Dade counties live on less than $20,000 a year. Yet FEMA denied Federal aid to those who qualified. Most of the mobile home residents in Broward impacted by Katrina are primarily uninsured or underinsured.
My State has been hit by six hurricanes over the past year and a half. This is a constant plague that the residents of Florida deal with, and the denial of aid to those in need is irresponsible and unconscionable.
I introduced legislation last week that calls on FEMA to provide the much-needed assistance to the residents of Florida who are victims of Hurricane Katrina. I plead with my colleagues, as we did today with the Katrina Tax Relief bill, let us make sure we do not turn our backs on the first victims of Hurricane Katrina and give help to those in need, regardless of State line.
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