Supporting a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Victims of Hurricane Katrina

SUPPORTING A NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER AND REMEMBRANCE FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA -- (House of Representatives - September 14, 2005)

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Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Illinois for yielding me the time.

Mr. Speaker, the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina is almost unfathomable. Hundreds of lives have been lost; families have been torn apart; people's homes, jobs, possessions and everything they have built up over their entire lives has been swept away; billions of dollars in damage has been inflicted; and the coast along the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida has been flattened and flooded. New Orleans, the Big Easy, the Crescent City, the culinary capital of the Nation, has simply become an extension of Lake Pontchartrain. It is now clear that Hurricane Katrina is one of the worst natural disasters to ever hit America.

My son Evan graduated in May from Dillard University in New Orleans and was still there when Katrina struck, and I thank God that he escaped with his life; but like so many others, he lost most of his possessions when Katrina pulled back the roof of the apartment building where he lived. Having now been separated from his friends, his work and his adopted city, his life will never be the same.

Although he lost almost everything, he was able to retrieve his video camera and was able to record what is now left of New Orleans. He shared that video with his mother and me this past week; and although I cannot fathom what it is like for those who have experienced Katrina's wrath firsthand, I can tell my colleagues that I was deeply, deeply saddened and affected by the images of utter devastation wrought by the storm.

Seeing that video reinforced my resolve to help Katrina's victims, help rebuild the Gulf Coast; and it reinforced in my mind that there is an incredible need for prayer. That is why I decided to introduce this resolution for a national day of prayer and remembrance.

Many in our Nation believe, as do I, that prayer changes things and that it represents the highest level of human communication. As many of us now know, this Friday, September 16, has been designated as a day of prayer and remembrance for the victims of Hurricane Katrina; and my resolution, the resolution we are currently considering, expresses the support of Congress for such a day and urges all Americans to join together this Friday to remember those that have lost their lives and to ask for strength and determination for those that are trying to rebuild their lives and their city.

In the wake of tragedy, the American people have always stepped up to support their fellow man and woman, and Hurricane Katrina is no different. The American people have opened their hearts, their checkbooks and even their homes in sheltering the storm's victims, providing food and medical assistance, and donating hundreds of millions of dollars to the relief effort.

In my home State of Missouri, for example, Children's Mercy Hospital of Kansas City, Missouri, has opened their doors to a number of young patients and families flown in from New Orleans by the Missouri Air National Guard, and the Red Cross has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in Kansas City.

The compassion and generosity of the American people is unparalleled; but as the devastation and full impact of Hurricane Katrina is further understood, its victims and their families will more than ever need us all to keep them in our thoughts and prayers as well.

As senior pastor of the St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City, I have called on my congregation to support the evacuees with their time, talent, treasure and prayer. I have asked them to pray for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, their families and all those who are aiding in the recovery and relief effort.

I hope my colleagues will all join me in the support of this resolution and will join me in prayer, along with the President, at the National Cathedral this Friday and join the American people to remember all those affected by the devastating events of the past 2 weeks.

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