Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act to Meet Immediate Needs Arising from the Consequences of Hurricane Katrina, 2005
EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT TO MEET IMMEDIATE NEEDS ARISING FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF HURRICANE KATRINA, 2005 -- (Extensions of Remarks - September 07, 2005)
SPEECH OF
HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER
OF MISSOURI
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2005
Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, my heart and my prayers go out to all those caught in the path of Hurricane Katrina and the conditions they are suffering in its wake. Katrina was a hurricane of biblical proportions that has left thousands of people without food, clean water, shelter and medicine, particularly those people stranded in New Orleans where conditions are absolutely unlivable and public safety is virtually nonexistent. They have waited for days hoping for at least some sort of information about when they might get to escape their ravaged city and where they will go next.
With the chaos and looting that has ensued in New Orleans, it is critical that our government get in there and provide the necessary relief--not tomorrow, not next week, but right now. People are dying on the streets; the President and the Federal Government cannot afford to waste another minute.
It is inexcusable that the President and his administration did not act more swiftly to provide the basic necessities of survival to the victims, nor did they act swiftly to ensure the City's public safety. As the richest nation in the world and the world's only superpower, we ought to be ashamed. With so many troops abroad in Iraq attempting to secure a whole nation, it is inexcusable that we cannot secure one city on our own shores.
That is why I am pleased that Congress acted quickly today to pass legislation providing $10.5 billion in emergency funds for the relief and recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The Supplemental Appropriations Act will deliver $10 billion in emergency aid for FEMA and $500 million for the Department of Defense.
However, this is only a down payment. FEMA is currently spending $500 million a day and under this scenario, the $10 billion for FEMA will provide only another 20 days as they continue to assess the needs of the devastated communities.
It could take months for families to find homes and establish some sort of normalcy in their day-to-day life, and I call on the President and the Federal Government to remain committed to helping people rebuild their lives.
Each of us has in some way been personally touched by this horrific tragedy. For my wife Dianne and I, it was waiting for our youngest son, Evan, to make his way to our house after escaping the disaster of New Orleans. We were further touched as we learned that a family member of a parishioner at the Church I pastor, St. James United Methodist, was given refuge by a kind elderly couple after being stranded in a home surrounded by water. Fortunately, the Coast Guard rescued them all on Sunday morning. All of us have a duty to reach out to those in greatest need.
Americans will stand strong together to help our brothers and sisters in their time of dire need, and the Kansas City area is no exception. Children's Mercy Hospital has already opened their doors to twenty-four sick children and their families flown in from New Orleans by the Missouri Air National Guard, and the Red Cross has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from Kansas Citians. The outpouring of support from across the country has been phenomenal, and I am confident that our citizens will remain resolute until the job is done.
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