[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 63 (Wednesday, May 14, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H2616-H2617]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    DEVASTATION CAUSED BY FLOODING OF THE RED RIVER IN NORTH DAKOTA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Dakota [Mr. Pomeroy] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Speaker, I represent the State of North Dakota. I am 
the only Representative in Congress that North Dakota has. It is my 
responsibility to advocate for North Dakota at a time when we are 
reeling from the worst natural disaster we have ever experienced.
  Many of the Members are aware of the pain that we have suffered in 
light of the floods of the Red River this spring. The national media 
coverage has documented the destruction of the city of Grand Forks, 
N.D. These pictures, I believe, tell what words cannot in terms of just 
what a devastating event this was.
  This is a street sign at the corner of Fourth Street and Eighth 
Avenue. You can see the water right up to the bottom of the sign. At 
this juncture the water was literally in excess of 6 feet, flooding 
neighborhoods, street after street after street. Even in areas of town 
that were not hit with this depth of water, the water still was 
sufficient to fill basements and come up on the main floor. We are 
still dealing with the devastation that flood water causes to homes and 
personal belongings.
  At a time when we thought things could not get any worse, they did 
get worse. Fires broke out in downtown Grand Forks, destroying our 
historic business district. Eleven buildings burned. A fireman who 
fought the fire explained it this way. He said it was so unusual, 
because water is usually the fireman's friend. ``In this instance it 
prevented us from stopping the destruction of these buildings. We were 
simply incapable of getting our equipment to the fire. Then when we 
dove below the water to hook up the hoses to the hydrants, water 
pressure had failed and we had to stand by and watch the buildings 
burn.''
  The net result was reflected by this picture, a business district in 
smoldering ruin, a city standing in water. The water has receded, and 
the picture that we would see in Grand Forks if we drove around the 
neighborhoods today is of huge mounds; not mounds of snow that we often 
see during some of our winters, but mounds of wet, wrecked sheet rock 
removed from basements and main floors, commingled with belongings, 
belongings that now appear just as rubble but before the flood were 
baby pictures, wedding pictures, letters from relatives that may not 
even be living any longer, priceless family mementoes, the things that 
make a house a home, all destroyed in the water's wrath.
  That has left the people of Grand Forks, N.D. in a very terrible 
situation. We have literally hundreds of homes in the flood water, and 
I commend the city leaders because they are

[[Page H2617]]

stepping up to the plate, and they are not going to reconstruct 
everything just as it was, to face the threat of flooding in the 
future. They want to remake this community. But in order to do that, we 
need to get on with the program that buys homes in the floodway and 
pays owners the cash they deserve so they can get on with their lives.
  That would have been permitted under the Thune amendment to the 
disaster bill, had the rule passed. Had the rule passed, we would be 
debating that right now, and we would be that much closer in terms of 
getting relief back to those who need it.
  Immediately following the disaster there was an outpouring of support 
across the country the like of which we have never seen in North 
Dakota. It was followed by the visit by the President of the United 
States on a Tuesday, the Speaker of the House on a Friday, and the 
majority leader of the House on the following Monday. Leaders of both 
political parties came into the area, expressing concern and support 
for the people as they tried to rebuild their lives. Those people are 
dealing with some problems that we cannot even imagine. We have to get 
after this disaster bill in order to address them.
  Let me read to the Members a question presented to the city 
commission the other night at a tumultuous city commission meeting 
attended by more than 1,100 displaced homeowners: ``What am I supposed 
to do? I have no place to live, I can't make my mortgage payment, I'm 
commuting 90 miles one way to work, my kids are living with relatives. 
Will I have a place to live in 3 months, 6 months, a year?'' The only 
answer the mayor and city commissioners could give is, we do not know. 
Congress is deliberating a disaster package.
  I hope that we do not stray from the initial inclination to make a 
strong bipartisan response in support of people who need help, people 
who have been devastated with natural disasters, including the floods 
in Grand Forks. I hope we can rise above the temptation that often so 
afflicts this body of falling into partisan recriminations and dealing 
with everything but the thing that ought to be before us. What is 
before us is disaster relief to people who need it. I urge both 
parties, all Members of this body, to to pass a disaster supplemental 
bill just as fast as possible. My people really need the help.

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