[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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