[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 48 (Wednesday, March 15, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3954-S3955]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        THE CALIFORNIA DISASTERS

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, before I get into the issue that my 
colleague, Senator Kennedy, and others have addressed for the past few 
legislative days, I felt it is important to discuss briefly the 
disasters that have hit my State of California. I will tell you that 
one wonders when we are going to stop seeing these floods and these 
earthquakes, fires, and droughts. It seems as if our State is for some 
reason just getting much more than its share of these natural 
disasters. But it was interesting today that the Senate task force 
presented its report on disaster funding. I am a member of that task 
force, and we have been working hard to come up with some solutions as 
to how are we going to deal with these future disasters.
  I want to say that the President moved very quickly to declare 39 
counties disaster areas eligible for both individual and family 
emergency grants, and for infrastructure repairs. Federal Emergency 
Management Director James Lee Witt once again has proved that he is 
someone who wants to cut through the redtape that used to accompany 
FEMA wherever it went in this country. The President sent him out along 
with Acting Agriculture Secretary Rominger, and with Leon Panetta, the 
Chief of Staff who is so familiar with California. They saw for 
themselves the damage that we are facing.
  I have to say that when Leon Panetta saw Monterey County, which he 
represented in Congress for many years, I am sure his heart stopped for 
a minute because so much damage greeted him. We have infrastructure 
problems there. We have communities shut off. We have crop damage to 
fruits and vegetables which is going to cause a lot of financial harm 
to the farmers. But also we are going to feel it in our pocketbooks--as 
consumers when we go to the stores.
  We have already seen 2,900 applications for assistance from the 
storms that started on January 3. That was the first one, and then we 
had the one February 10. Those resulted in 90,000 applications for 
assistance. More than $51 million in emergency housing assistance 
checks have been mailed for the first disaster. In addition, $40 
million in Small Business Administration loans have been approved for 
2,000 people for losses to homes and businesses.
  I cannot count how many times I have stood in this U.S. Senate and in 
the House telling my colleagues about these disasters. It just does not 
get any easier.
  Interstate 5, a major north-south economic artery in the West, is 
still closed. I think many people saw the tragic photographs of cars 
that plunged into the waters and were swept away when a bridge failed. 
And we are trying very hard to get a temporary bridge constructed 
there.
  We are looking at crop losses of about $300 million or more. This 
storm was very, very harsh on the crops. I talked about the fruits and 
vegetables. To be specific, the severe losses are lettuce, broccoli, 
cauliflower, almonds, and strawberries. California is the salad bowl of 
our Nation, and we got hit very, very hard. We have had damage to 
vineyards of $11.5 million. I have spoken to local elected officials in 
Monterey County, in Napa County, throughout the southern California 
region, and the Los Angeles area.
   [[Page S3955]] I have told them that we are going to do everything 
we can here. We will be getting an emergency supplemental to deal with 
this problem. We are working now on a defense emergency supplemental 
bill. But unfortunately--and I say this really from the heart--the 
House has chosen to use this needed emergency spending to relieve the 
suffering of the people in California, and I might add, other States 
who are recovering from other disasters, to rush through a $17 billion 
budget cut, rescissions of $17 billion, onto a bill that is about a $6 
billion emergency relief bill.
  I want to tell you that I intend to fight that bill, and I am not 
going to go into too many of the details other than to say that it 
wipes out many important programs, including summer youth job programs. 
It is very interesting, because today I received a letter from the Los 
Angeles Board of Supervisors and they have a lot of damage, of course, 
left over from the earthquake, and yet they are saying we should oppose 
that rescissions bill. They wrote to House Speaker Gingrich and House 
Majority Leader Armey, and the county supervisors basically say that 
this bill, which would fund the disaster relief, but also offset it 
with very devastating cuts, is not the way to go.
  People used to complain that we would load down these emergency bills 
with extraneous spending items, and that was true, and we stopped doing 
it. Why should we see it loaded down with rescissions of programs that 
are so very important? For example, on the one hand, the House says, 
California, we know you need money to rebuild. Yet, they cut emergency 
highway funding in the same bill, which could well be used to repair 
freeways and to make them safe from future earthquakes.
  So I am very hopeful that when this bill gets into the U.S. Senate, 
we will look at it a little differently here. I am often reminded about 
what our Founders said about the U.S. Senate, that we act like the 
``saucer'' and the House is the ``cup.'' When the legislation comes 
over here, it cools down and people get a chance to look at it. This is 
certainly one that we have to look at.
  Well, I will say, Mr. President, we need disaster reform. We do not 
have the perfect way to pay for disasters, that is for sure. I am 
working with my colleagues, really, from all over the country. This is 
a bipartisan task force that was set up here. Senators Bond and Glenn 
head it up, and I am on that task force. We are going to look at all of 
the ways we can to prepare here for the next disaster, to make sure 
that we can meet the needs of our people when our people cry out after 
an earthquake, flood, fire, or volcano, wherever that might be. And 
during the debate on the balanced budget amendment, I remember bringing 
to the floor photographs of disasters from all over the country, and 
truly there is not a place in America that is immune from a flood or 
some natural disaster that could lead to an emergency.
  So, Mr. President, that concludes my remarks on the update on the 
disaster.
  (Mr. THOMPSON assumed the chair.)

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