Midwest Flooding

Floor Speech

MIDWEST FLOODING -- (Senate - June 16, 2008)

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am proud to be here with Senator Harkin. But I am not proud to be here because of the situation that we described to you, which is the flooding in our State of Iowa. I am going to show some pictures. Senator Harkin has some pictures. I am not going to refer specifically to the pictures during my remarks, but I think you can see from the New York Times, downtown Cedar Rapids, IA--City Hall here on an island between the rivers, kind of in the citadel of Cedar Rapids, and water has never been that high before. This is truly a 100-year flood.

Then we have another picture here of Cedar Rapids. It happens to be on the very same street on which Senator Harkin has his office. My office in Cedar Rapids was in the Federal Building. The Federal Building is just across, right there. So it is shut down, obviously. I just want to make some remarks about the situation in Iowa and then turn the floor over to Senator Harkin.

We come to the floor to share with our colleagues and the American people the stories of more natural disasters to hit Iowa. In my case, less than 2 weeks ago I came to this very spot to honor the victims and to hail the heroes from a deadly tornado that ripped through my home county, Butler County, IA. In a little more than a week, Mother Nature has ripped open a healing wound.

As many people can see on television, Iowans are seeing record floods throughout the central and eastern part of our State. I can tell you that television hardly does justice to this historic devastation. Iowa braced for a repeat of 1993, but it didn't happen. Instead, Iowans are facing head on a 500-year flood; more than 38,000 people have been evacuated from communities across eastern and central Iowa.

Rivers have overtaken several communities, and I cannot name all of the communities, but I think of Mason City, Waverly, New Hartford, Waterloo, and Cedar Falls. And then Mother Nature took her toll on Cedar Rapids, downstream from Waterloo and Cedar Falls, and hit Coralville and eventually Iowa City. In fact, that is two separate rivers doing this damaging situation. Des Moines and Columbus Junction and Vinton have seen the full power of the raging river as well. Unfortunately, there are more communities that have already seen the force of these waters and many more being hit downstream.

Like 2 weeks ago when tornadoes hit Butler County, Iowa has been the recipient of an outpouring of support from around the country. Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff in western Iowa with Governor Culver and FEMA Administrator Paulison were both in our State to tour the rising waters, and Administrator Paulison did that with Governor Culver, Senator Harkin, and this Senator. It is my understanding that later on this week, President Bush will come to Iowa. And when it is all said and done, there are no better friends to these communities than their own local emergency management people, the local police and the local fire and the Iowa National Guard members. These people have been on the front line. They are analyzing each movement of water, watching bridges, water treatment plants, and ensuring the safety of every community member.

Most importantly, though, are those who are working together just to help a neighbor or a friend. Citizens by the thousands are filling sandbags, prisoners from local jails are helping with sandbagging efforts, and volunteers for the Salvation Army and the Red Cross and most of the local churches--all of the local churches, I am sure--are seen throughout the flooded areas offering food, water, and shelter.

Senator Harkin and I toured several communities Friday, as I indicated, with Administrator Paulison, the Small Business Administration, and Governor Culver, who is on the job every minute of the day. We did that on Friday. Of course, Governor Culver is doing it every day. On Saturday, Senator Harkin and I surveyed other areas. On Friday, we happened to visit Des Moines, Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, back to Des Moines. Looking down, you could hardly see a dry piece of land between any of those cities. Houses, businesses, and crops alike are all underwater. When I say crops are underwater, I have to say that in some areas, whole fields, but there is not a field we flew over that did not have some ponding and some loss of a part of it at least. So crops are definitely hurt. Then on Saturday, Senator Harkin and I went to Mason City, Charles City, Nashua, and Waverly, and then I had an opportunity to go to my downtown of New Hartford, where all but 2 or 3 homes out of 250 had water in them. It is devastating. There is hurt everywhere. There is devastation that I never dreamt of. I suppose if we could remember 15 years back, Des Moines, yes, maybe. I ought to say that I never dreamt of it. I guess I never dreamt from that time that it would happen again to the extent it did in 1993.

We were encouraged as we traveled by the sandbaggers and their endless amount of resiliency to get the job done. But in the next moment, we felt the hurt of those staying in shelters who had lost everything. As you talked to them, they obviously showed sorrow through their tears and, of course, the effort of maybe a life of work gone down the drain. Yet, through it all, Iowans are coming together and pulling through as only Iowans can as the water begins to recede in part of the area we entered. But do not forget that in the days to come, downstream, as you move toward the Mississippi River, other people are going to go through what we saw. But as the water begins to recede, people are attempting to get back into their homes. It is obviously frustrating. It is obviously discouraging. Besides the home itself, probably meaning a lot more to other people are pictures of loved ones, ruined heirlooms handed down from grandparents that you see floating even on the second floor.

Just as we did in 1993, and more recently, the people of Parkersburg, New Hartford, Hazelton, and Dunkerton have moved forward and begun to rebuild. So will the people of the rest of the State of Iowa go forward to rebuild. It is going to take time. It is going to be weeks in some cases. In some cases, it is going to be years to rebuild and get back to where people were.

I am confident that we will get through this. Senator Harkin and I are here to help, as well as the Congressmen in the other body. We are meeting regularly to discuss what we can do at the Federal level. Our staffs are meeting and talking several times daily to coordinate work. I am confident that when it is over, we will see the resiliency of Iowans come through, and we will all look to each other and our rebuilt communities and say, as we said: It was sad at the time, but we can do it. I think we will say it has been a job well done.

Mr. President, before I yield the floor, I would be remiss if I did not pay deep respect to the four Boy Scouts who lost their lives and also to those who heroically and bravely helped others hurt during another act of Mother Nature in western Iowa on Thursday.

Funeral services are being held today for 14-year-old Aaron Eilerts of Eagle Grove, who was killed by a tornado at Little Sioux Scout Ranch. The other three were from Nebraska and I believe from Omaha. But whether you are from Omaha or Iowa, being a Boy Scout leader and having this tornado happen and losing the life of a future leader of America is a sadness, whether you are from Nebraska or Iowa. Boy Scouts are often called upon to serve as leaders of our Nation in all walks of life. We lost four promising leaders far too prematurely and painfully, adding to the already existing hurt many in Iowa are feeling.

Before I yield the floor, I thank Senator Harkin for being able to work closely with him, being able to travel together and see this situation. I wish we did not have to be working together on this project because it is sad but one that makes you proud of Iowans as well. We will continue to work together to see our way through it.

I yield the floor.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source