Statement on Release of Response by America's Second Harvest to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

STATEMENT ON RELEASE OF RESPONSE BY AMERICA'S SECOND HARVEST TO HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA -- (Extensions of Remarks - December 17, 2005)

SPEECH OF
HON. JAMES P. McGOVERN
OF MASSACHUSETTS
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2005

* Mr. MCGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, the destruction caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita was devastating. More than one thousand people died and thousands of Gulf Coast residents lost their homes in these storms. As we now know, the Federal Government's reaction and response was woefully inadequate. We've seen how FEMA was ill-equipped to handle the catastrophes caused by these massive storms. We know that the then-Administrator of FEMA, Michael Brown, was the wrong choice to head such an important agency and we know that the lives of these Gulf State residents will never be the same because, in part, of the botched Federal response.

* The responses to these hurricanes weren't all bad. The residents of the gulf coast were fortunate that there are non-profit organizations that were able to step in and provide the basic services and care to the victims of these storms.

* One such group, America's Second Harvest, was a beacon of hope during and after the storm, providing food and water to the victims. America's Second Harvest is the nation's largest hunger-relief charity, and their truckloads of food and water helped support food banks and food-rescue organization in the gulf coast and other impacted areas.

* Yesterday, December 15th, America's Second Harvest released a report documenting the impact of emergency food distribution in the wake of these devastating storms. Specifically, this report details the depth and breadth of the impact of the Gulf region hurricane disasters on the charitable food distribution system and the clients it serves. This report shows that demand for emergency food assistance in the Gulf Coast tripled following Hurricane Katrina. Just as startling is the finding that the demand for emergency food assistance continues to be more than fifty percent higher than it was before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The study also confirms what we know--that low income families and African Americans were disproportionately impacted by the hurricane disasters.

* I'm a co-chair of the House Hunger Caucus, a group I helped form to focus on and educate Members of Congress about the issue of hunger. Two days ago, the Caucus hosted a briefing on the food distribution response--Federal Government and private groups--to the hurricanes. What we learned is that we need to tighten up the system. We need to cut red tape so that food and water is on the ground, ready to go into impacted areas right away. We need to educate people in disaster-prone areas so they have adequate supplies of food, water and other necessities.

* And we need to make sure that the Federal Government and private groups have clear lines of communication and that there are real plans in place so that the relief and recovery can begin immediately after a disaster. There will be disasters. According to experts, the Gulf Coast is only a mild tropical storm away from being devastated once again. We must take the lessonslearned from Katrina and Rita, apply to them now, and get ready for the next natural disaster that will strike.

* This report, and the expertise of America's Second Harvest, is a good first step and I'd like to commend Bob Forney and his staff at America's Second Harvest for their work on it and for their dedication to combating and ending hunger in America. As we look into the successes and failures in the days leading up to and the days, weeks and months following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, this report should play a critical role in the education of the American people, as well as the U.S. Congress, as to how America's emergency food networks responded to these natural disasters. Copies of the report can be found on America's Second Harvest website (www.secondharvest.org).

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