[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 551 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 551

Acknowledging the progress made and yet to be made to rebuild the Gulf 
            Coast region after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 16, 2007

 Mr. Jefferson (for himself, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Clyburn, Ms. Kilpatrick, 
  Mr. Payne, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Ms. Corrine Brown of 
 Florida, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Baca, Mr. 
  Nadler, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Clay, Mr. Ellison, Mr. Watt, Mr. 
 Davis of Alabama, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Rush, Mr. Cummings, Ms. 
   Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mrs. Christensen, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Thompson of 
 Mississippi, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Scott of Georgia, Mr. 
  Hastings of Florida, Mrs. Jones of Ohio, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Engel, Mr. 
  Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Gene 
   Green of Texas, Mr. Reyes, Mr. Honda, Mr. Sires, Mr. Andrews, Mr. 
Filner, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Meeks of New York, Mr. Towns, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. 
Baird, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Meek of Florida, Mr. Gonzalez, Ms. Clarke, Mr. 
 Ryan of Ohio, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Melancon, and Mr. McCrery) submitted 
   the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                    Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Acknowledging the progress made and yet to be made to rebuild the Gulf 
            Coast region after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Whereas Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the lives of 4.5 million people 
        through loss of life and personal injury; destroyed homes, businesses, 
        and public property; displaced people; and damaged cultural assets and 
        economies across the Gulf Coast of the United States;
Whereas Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed nearly every home and business in 
        Orleans Parish, St. Bernard Parish, Plaquemines Parish, and Cameron 
        Parish; and thousands of homes in Calcasieu Parish and other coastal 
        parishes also suffered flood damage;
Whereas Hurricane Katrina displayed winds peaking at 175 miles per hour;
Whereas Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the Gulf Coast region on August 29, 
        2005, as a powerful category 3 storm and the third strongest land-
        falling hurricane ever recorded in the United States;
Whereas Hurricane Katrina destroyed 275,000 homes, 18,750 businesses, and 875 
        schools in Louisiana, and is blamed for the deaths of 1,577 residents in 
        Louisiana;
Whereas Hurricane Katrina caused four levees to breach, including the 17th 
        Avenue Canal, the Industrial Canal, and the London Avenue Canal, 
        resulting in flooding of the city of New Orleans and the parishes of St. 
        Bernard and Plaquemines; and nearly two years later, work on those 
        levees is still unfinished;
Whereas, because of an insufficient levee protection system, approximately 80 
        percent of New Orleans was submerged for nearly one month in deadly 
        flood waters;
Whereas Hurricane Katrina devastated institutions of higher education, including 
        Delgado Community College, Dillard University, Loyola University New 
        Orleans, Southern University at New Orleans, Tulane University, the 
        University of New Orleans, and Xavier University of Louisiana;
Whereas nearly two years later, all colleges and universities in New Orleans 
        have reopened, but enrollment is lagging, major infrastructure has not 
        yet been rebuilt, many public schools remain closed, and private and 
        public schools that have reopened are struggling to recover;
Whereas prior to Hurricane Katrina, the population of New Orleans was 484,674; 
        but nearly two years after Hurricane Katrina, little more than half of 
        New Orleans residents have been able to return to their homes;
Whereas Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed the capabilities of State and local 
        governments and Congress appropriated billions of dollars for emergency 
        response needs, such as evacuations, repairs, deployment of personnel, 
        and other immediate relief efforts;
Whereas nearly two years after Hurricane Katrina, disaster relief efforts 
        continue to be needed, especially for hundreds of thousands of displaced 
        citizens;
Whereas Hurricane Rita made landfall along the border of Louisiana and Texas on 
        September 24, 2005, as the fourth most intense Atlantic hurricane ever 
        recorded, causing $9.4 billion in property damage;
Whereas Hurricane Rita completely destroyed several towns in Southwest Louisiana 
        along the border of Texas and washed tons of potentially hazardous 
        debris into the area's marshes, causing severe economic loss, 
        detrimental health effects, and deaths;
Whereas Congress has responded to the devastation of the Gulf Coast region by 
        providing billions of dollars in assistance, including tax relief 
        efforts such as the Gulf Opportunity Zone, student aid, and disability 
        services to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and nearly two years 
        later, Congress continues to provide assistance to expedite economic 
        recovery in the region; and
Whereas the people of the United States have been extremely generous in their 
        support for the Gulf Coast region, in addition to the outpouring of 
        assistance from the international community, which continues to support 
        the recovery efforts in the region: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,  That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the importance of the Gulf Coast region to 
        the economy of the United States;
            (2) recognizes the importance of the cultural contributions 
        of the people of the Gulf Coast to the United States; and
            (3) expresses its support for all individuals still 
        affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita two years after these 
        terrible natural disasters struck.
                                 <all>