[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 28, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H78]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                APPRECIATION FOR FEDERAL DISASTER RELIEF

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, Maine people are no strangers to tough 
winters, but the ice storm we just endured struck a terrible blow. 
Damage will exceed $100 million. When Vice President Gore toured the 
State, he said it looked like we had been hit by a neutron bomb. And 
that is a pretty accurate description. The damage from the ice storm 
which accumulated over several days snapped off telephone poles. We had 
2,500 telephone polls in the State which needed to be replaced. It 
essentially dropped the forest canopy about 25 feet, the hardwoods 
broke off at the top, branches broke off, and they took power lines 
down with them all across the State. Some roads were impassable, 
blocked by fallen trees and downed power lines. Thousands of people 
were left in the dark and cold. Mr. Speaker, 600,000 people, one-half 
of the residents of the State of Maine, were without electricity for 
some time, and some of them had no power for as long as 2 weeks. As my 
colleagues can imagine, that can try the patience of even the toughest 
Yankee who has faced some very tough nor'easters. Thousands of families 
with no heat found themselves stoking up old wood stoves and huddling 
in front of fireplaces. For those who depend on well water, no 
electricity meant no pump, no pump meant no water. Those close to a 
pond or river hauled water in buckets. No running water meant no 
toilets, no bathing, no washing dishes or washing clothes.
  I have to say that all of this produced a very brisk business in 
chain saws, generators and kerosene space heaters. Not only was the 
power out, but it was very cold. Our schools were closed for up to 2 
weeks in different parts of Maine and daily life was disrupted for 
thousands of families.
  During those 2 weeks, I went to a number of shelters in Maine and I 
want to tell my colleagues, there are some wonderful stories, hundreds 
of stories of people pulling together to help each other and make a 
community humanitarian effort. I will never forget certain aspects of 
my experience going into those shelters. There would be some older 
people, some on oxygen, on cots on one side of the room, a gym or some 
other facility, there would be younger kids being taken care of by 
their parents, there would be a soccer game in the middle of the 
gymnasium or the shelter, but I will also remember most, what I will 
carry with me as long as I live, is the look on the faces of the 
teenagers, many of whom had not volunteered I suspect for anything like 
this for a long period of time, but there they were, cutting up 
carrots, moving cots, bringing blankets, helping to move equipment, and 
making sure that other people were well cared for. It was for them an 
experience that may help them understand their connection to others and 
the importance of community.
  Fire and rescue crews went door to door in some places checking on 
townspeople, seeing who was okay; others took generators and portable 
generators and moved around from home to home warming up one home, 
unplugging the generator, going to another home, trying to keep as many 
people as possible warm, and as many pipes as possible from freezing. 
Our radio stations canceled normal programming and took calls around 
the clock; that was real helpful for building a sense of community, and 
television stations had special programs and hotlines.
  We could not have done this without outside help, and I am here today 
to say thank you to the rest of the country.
  Let me give some examples of how we were helped. Central Maine Power 
Company, our major utility, usually has 92 crews, and during the height 
of our resistance to this storm, we had 1,000 utility crews working. 
They came from Maryland and Delaware and North Carolina and South 
Carolina; they came from Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island and 
New York, they came from all over the East Coast and they provided an 
invaluable service. One truck had on it a sign on the side: Maine or 
bust. And they showed up. Some of those folks arrived from North 
Carolina at the Brunswick Naval Air Station and they were given jackets 
from L. L. Bean, donated by L. L. Bean. They had worked on utility 
lines all their lives, some of those people, never in such cold, and I 
just want to say that we could not have done it without the assistance 
of people from other States.
  I would also say that the response of FEMA, the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, was outstanding. James Lee Witt came to the State, 
he and his people did an extraordinary job. The Federal Government 
stepped forward when it was needed and helped Maine people when they 
needed it most.
  I just will say in conclusion, I will never see scenes on television 
of a flood or hurricane and not remember how the people of this country 
stood up for people in Maine when we needed help.

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