[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 188 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 188

Expressing the sense of the Senate that additional assistance should be 
              provided to the victims of Hurricane Floyd.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 24, 1999

  Mr. Edwards (for himself, Mr. Helms, Mr. Graham, Mr. Hollings, Mr. 
  Warner, Mr. Robb, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Torricelli, Mr. Moynihan, Mr. 
 Schumer, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Sarbanes, and Mr. Specter) submitted the 
     following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                      Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of the Senate that additional assistance should be 
              provided to the victims of Hurricane Floyd.

Whereas from September 14 through 16, 1999, Hurricane Floyd menaced most of the 
        southeastern seaboard of the United States, provoking the largest 
        peacetime evacuation of eastern Florida, the Georgia coast, the South 
        Carolina coast, and the North Carolina coast;
Whereas the evacuation caused severe disruptions to the businesses and lives of 
        the people of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina;
Whereas in the early morning hours of September 16, 1999, Hurricane Floyd made 
        landfall at Cape Fear, North Carolina, dumping up to 18 inches of rain 
        on sections of North Carolina only days after the heavy rainfall from 
        Hurricane Dennis and producing the worst recorded flooding in North 
        Carolina history;
Whereas after making landfall, Hurricane Floyd continued to move up the eastern 
        seaboard causing flooding, tornadoes, and massive damage in Delaware, 
        Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, New York, 
        and Connecticut;
Whereas portions of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, 
        Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia have been declared to be 
        Federal disaster areas under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 
        Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.);
Whereas Hurricane Floyd is responsible for the known deaths of 65 people;
Whereas 45 people are confirmed dead in North Carolina, with many people still 
        missing;
Whereas 4 people were killed in New Jersey, 2 people in New York, 6 people in 
        Pennsylvania, 4 people in Virginia, 2 people in Delaware, 1 person in 
        Connecticut, and 1 person in Vermont;
Whereas as the flood waters recede, the death toll is expected to increase;
Whereas the rainfall resulting from Hurricane Floyd has caused widespread 
        flooding in North Carolina along the Tar River, the Neuse River, and the 
        Cape Fear River, among other rivers, in Connecticut along the Still 
        River, and in Virginia along the Nottoway River and the Blackwater 
        River;
Whereas some of the rivers are expected to remain at flood stage for more than a 
        week;
Whereas the floods are the worst seen in North Carolina in 80 years;
Whereas the flood level on the Tar River exceeds all previous records by 9 feet;
Whereas flood waters engulfed cities such as Tarboro, North Carolina, Franklin, 
        Virginia, Bound Brook, New Jersey, and Danbury, Connecticut;
Whereas tens of thousands of people have fled to shelters scattered throughout 
        North Carolina, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, and Virginia;
Whereas thousands of people remain isolated, surrounded by water, in their homes 
        in North Carolina and Virginia;
Whereas approximately 50,000 homes have been affected by the hurricane, and many 
        of those homes will ultimately be condemned as uninhabitable;
Whereas water supplies in New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
        and Virginia have been severely disrupted, and, in many cases, wells and 
        private water systems have been irreparably contaminated;
Whereas hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses have lost electric power, 
        telephone, and gas service as a result of Hurricane Floyd;
Whereas there have been road washouts in virtually every State struck by 
        Hurricane Floyd, including 900 road washouts in North Carolina alone;
Whereas many farmers have suffered almost total crop losses; and
Whereas small and large businesses throughout the region have been gravely 
        affected: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,

SECTION 1. NEED FOR ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE FLOYD.

    It is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) the victims of Hurricane Floyd deserve the sympathies 
        of the people of the United States;
            (2) the President, the Director of the Federal Emergency 
        Management Agency, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary 
        of Transportation, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Director 
        of the Small Business Administration are to be commended on 
        their efforts to assist the victims of Hurricane Floyd;
            (3) the Governors of Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, 
        Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, 
        South Carolina, and Virginia are to be commended for their 
        leadership and coordination of relief efforts in their States;
            (4) the National Guard, the Army, the Marine Corps, the 
        Navy, and the Coast Guard have provided heroic assistance to 
        the people of the afflicted areas and are to be commended for 
        their bravery;
            (5) the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and other private 
        relief organizations have provided shelter, food, and comfort 
        to the victims of Hurricane Floyd and are to be commended for 
        their generosity and invaluable aid; and
            (6) additional assistance needs to be provided to the 
        victims of Hurricane Floyd.

SEC. 2. FORMS OF ASSISTANCE FOR HURRICANE FLOYD VICTIMS.

    To alleviate the conditions faced by the victims of Hurricane 
Floyd, it is the sense of the Senate that the President should--
            (1) work with Congress to provide necessary funds for--
                    (A) disaster relief administered by the Federal 
                Emergency Management Agency;
                    (B) disaster relief administered by the Department 
                of Agriculture;
                    (C) disaster relief administered by the Department 
                of Commerce;
                    (D) disaster relief administered by the Department 
                of Transportation;
                    (E) disaster relief administered by the Small 
                Business Administration; and
                    (F) any other disaster relief needed to help 
                rebuild damaged homes, provide for clean water, 
                renourish damaged beaches and protective dunes, and 
                restore electric power; and
            (2) prepare and submit to Congress a report that analyzes 
        the feasibility and cost of implementing a program to provide 
        disaster assistance to the victims of Hurricane Floyd, 
        including assistance in the form of--
                    (A) direct economic assistance to agricultural 
                producers, small businesses, and displaced persons;
                    (B) an expanded loan and debt restructuring 
                program;
                    (C) cleanup of environmental damage;
                    (D) small business assistance;
                    (E) repair or reconstruction of private homes;
                    (F) repair or reconstruction of highways, roads, 
                and trails;
                    (G) provision of safe and adequate water supplies; 
                and
                    (H) restoration of essential utility services such 
                as electric power, telephone, and gas service.
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