[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 55 (Thursday, May 1, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3880-S3881]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               DISASTER SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS BILL

  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I would like to speak for one moment about 
the disaster supplemental bill.
  It is fair to say that my State has been absolutely devastated by 
this extraordinary set of occurrences. First of all, the greatest 
snowfall in our State's history--over 10 feet of snow--followed in 
early April by the most severe winter storm in 50 years. Nearly 2 feet 
of snow fell in that one blizzard, accompanied by 70-mile-an-hour winds 
and an ice storm that brought down the electrical grid serving 80,000 
people. That was followed by what we are now told was not the 500-year 
flood but the 1,000-year flood. That was coupled in Grand Forks with a 
fire that destroyed nearly three city blocks and was only contained 
because of the heroic efforts of the fire department in Grand Forks.
  Mr. President, we have not had in this country a circumstance in 
which a town of the size of the city of Grand Forks with more than 
50,000 people having been evacuated on a mandatory basis. Those people 
are not able to return to their homes for perhaps as long as a month.
  This is a disaster of truly staggering proportion and dimension. 
Those people need help, and they need it now.
  Mr. President, I know there are some who would like to attach 
amendments that are, in fact, extraneous to disaster relief to that 
legislation. I ask my colleagues to forbear the temptation to add 
extraneous matters to this disaster legislation. I know that some feel 
these amendments are not extraneous. In my own judgment, virtually all 
of these amendments that have been added have nothing to do with the 
immediate purpose of the legislation, which is to address the disasters 
that have been experienced in some 22 States--most recently the States 
of North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. Some of these amendments 
really relate to the budget dispute of last year. We are going to have 
lots of opportunities for budget discussions. This disaster bill is not 
the time and is not the place for that to be.
  The people who have been hurt deserve to be helped, just as we have 
helped other States impacted by disaster. Over and over, when we have 
had disaster bills, we have agreed, on a bipartisan basis, to withhold 
extraneous amendments. I have agreed to do it, even though I, too, have 
been tempted to offer things that I thought were critically important.
  I hope my colleagues will extend that same courtesy to those of us 
who represent States that have been devastated in the most recent 
disasters. Our people deserve the same consideration and the same 
treatment that we have extended to others in similar circumstances.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, will the Senator yield?
  Mr. CONRAD. I am happy to yield.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I will be very brief, for a question.
  Senator Conrad talks about the disasters that have precipitated the 
need for a disaster bill. As a member of the Appropriations Committee 
in the Senate, I participated yesterday in writing the bill that would 
come to the floor of the Senate next week.
  Included in that legislation are amendments that have really nothing 
to do with the legislation at all, that are very controversial and 
could delay or impede the progress of this bill.
  I join with my colleague to urge those who I know have other agendas 
and amendments, which I am sure are important to them, to decide not to 
offer them to this legislation.
  I encourage those who have offered them in the Senate Appropriations 
Committee to take those amendments out of this bill and allow us to do 
what we need to do for the victims of these disasters--to extend a 
helping hand and say to those who have suffered so much

[[Page S3881]]

that this country understands that you need help, that you are not 
alone, and this legislation and this Congress, by enacting this 
legislation, wants to do that and do it quickly.
  The Senator from North Dakota, Senator Conrad, makes a very important 
point. I associate myself with that point--that between now and next 
Tuesday, or Wednesday, when we take that legislation to the floor of 
the Senate, I hope very much that we will see those who have been 
adding and probably those who might want to add additional amendments 
to decide not to do that on this very important bill.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Will the Senator yield?
  Mr. CONRAD. If I can follow up on Senator Dorgan's comments, then I 
would be happy to yield further.
  Last night I accepted an award on behalf of the Grand Forks Fire 
Department for the extraordinary heroism they demonstrated when this 
fire was burning out of control and they were prevented from fighting 
that fire as they normally would by the flood waters. And yet they took 
on an extraordinary circumstance; with live wires in the floodwaters, 
they could not know, as they moved to rescue people who were in those 
buildings, if they would be electrocuted, and they went forward, they 
did their jobs, and they rescued more than 20 people. And because of 
their bravery not a single life was lost. We lost some buildings. We 
did not lose a single life.

  Last night the Firefighters of America gave to me, on behalf of the 
Grand Forks Fire Department, an award. I might say those firefighters 
who risked their lives to save others were doing it at the very time 
their own homes were being destroyed. Forty-three of those firefighters 
had their homes destroyed while they were saving other people's lives.
  I can tell you, those people are wondering, why is it when we have a 
disaster that impacts our area people want to put on amendments that 
have nothing to do with disaster relief? They cannot understand it. We 
did not do that when the shoe was on the other foot. When other States 
were hit by disaster, we did not offer other amendments. I hope that 
cooler heads would prevail here and that we would find other vehicles 
for Senators to offer their amendments that they believe are important 
but leave the disaster bill clean so the people who are trying to 
rebuild their lives from an extraordinary set of disasters have a 
chance to rebuild their lives. That is not too much to ask.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Will the Senator yield for a minute?
  Mr. JEFFORDS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, I wish to proceed to the motion to 
proceed to S. 4. However, I would ask unanimous consent that the 
Senator Dodd be allowed to talk for 2 minutes and 1 minute to----
  Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I had not yielded the floor.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. I believe the Senator gave up the floor.
  Mr. CONRAD. No; I had not yielded the floor. I was yielding for a 
question from my colleague from Minnesota.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. I will be brief. Minnesota is one of these States, 
too, and every day we come here and speak briefly because we just keep 
trying to pitch away.
  Could I ask one question? I think the Senator recognizes I would 
rather give a statement. I will not. But is it not true that when you 
talk to people in North Dakota--I certainly find this to be the case in 
Minnesota--they just do not understand at all how it can be that we 
just do not get this to them and how there can be this discussion of 
amendments having to do with budget cuts in education and budgets cuts 
in any number of other areas?
  I say to the Senator, if I could get his attention for a moment, the 
most difficult thing for me is to try to explain to people how it could 
be we are at this impasse and that we cannot get the help to people as 
quickly as possible. In terms of how they live their own lives, people 
do not understand this kind of discussion about strategy and tactics 
and they feel as if we are just playing with their lives.
  Does the Senator have trouble explaining to people why it is we 
cannot get this done for them?
  Mr. CONRAD. I just say to my colleague by way of a quick answer that 
in Grand Forks two-thirds of the people are refugees. They cannot be in 
their own homes. They have been gone now for nearly 2 weeks. They still 
do not know in many parts of the city when they will return. And when 
they hear that there are amendments not related to disaster that are 
slowing down the disaster bill, they are just bewildered by what we are 
doing here. I must say there are times when I wonder what we are doing 
here. And again, I just hope that our colleagues would desist from 
offering amendments that are not disaster related to a disaster bill.
  I thank the Chair and yield the floor.
  Mr. JEFFORDS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
  Mr. JEFFORDS. I will proceed on the motion to proceed but I would ask 
unanimous consent that the Senator from Connecticut be allowed to speak 
for 2 minutes out of order and that upon completion I be able to resume 
my management of the bill.

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The 
Senator from Connecticut.

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