[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 50 (Tuesday, April 13, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H1930-H1931]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   VICTIMS OF TORNADOS IN OHIO GET SUPPORT FROM NEIGHBORS AND OTHERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Portman) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PORTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the previous speaker for 
being willing to offer me some time, as well as our next speaker, and 
also to commend the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica), who just gave an 
explanation of some of the tremendous problems we face fighting drugs 
in this country and in our hemisphere, for his hard work on this 
effort.
  He chairs the subcommittee and committee that deals with this issue, 
not only in terms of reducing the supply of drugs into our country but 
also the demand, which is, as he said, where I focus more. The 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) has taken a strong and balanced 
approach on this that is going to lead, over time, I think, to a much 
more effective policy to save our young people from the scourge of 
drugs.
  I want to thank him for what he does every day. He could be out 
enjoying dinner tonight, maybe be with his family. Instead, he is here 
on the floor, as he is so many evenings, talking about this issue as he 
does in his committee constantly.
  Mr. Speaker, I am here tonight to talk about something else. It has 
to do with a natural disaster. Last Friday, Mr. Speaker, a tornado 
ripped through the very heart of my district near where I live, near 
where my office is. The cities of Blue Ash, Ohio, Montgomery, Ohio, 
Loveland, Ohio, Symmes and Sycamore Townships were some of the 
communities hardest hit in Hamilton County where I live; also Deerfield 
Township and several other townships, Hamilton, Salem and others in 
Warren County, Addysten in Western Hamilton County, were hit by these 
high winds and devastating storm.
  The damage is extensive. I have spent the last few days visiting the 
area and meeting with victims and local officials trying to help out. 
Four people were killed, many injured. It is a miracle that more were 
not killed when one looks at the devastation.
  Hundreds of southwest Ohio residents are tonight without homes. In 
some areas, entire neighborhoods were virtually wiped out. In other 
areas, individual houses have been destroyed and then the house right 
next to it stands unscathed.
  Although the damage estimates are still under way, we know that there 
are about 900 homes that have been damaged by the storm; 200 of them 
have been so severely damaged that they probably will not be able to be 
rebuilt or they have been totally destroyed. Another couple of hundred 
have sustained very extensive damage. Dozens of businesses were damaged 
or destroyed.
  Tonight our hearts go out to those families who are trying to put 
their lives back together. There are some people who lost everything. 
We have seen from other natural disasters in our area, particularly the 
flooding in 1997, how difficult it can be for a community to rebuild 
after a natural disaster; and our thoughts and prayers are with 
everyone in these hard-hit communities.
  The good news is that the response to this storm has been decisive 
and quick. Truly, I have been overwhelmed by it. Victims are getting 
help. Neighbors are helping, friends are helping, total strangers are 
pitching in, all to get people back on their feet.
  I spent the last few days working with local, State and Federal 
officials, working alongside Red Cross and so many other volunteers, 
police, fire fighters from every neighborhood in our region. It has 
been truly heartwarming to see people throughout southwest Ohio rally 
around these communities.
  I had occasion on Saturday to tour some of the areas with the Federal 
Small Business Administration personnel who were sent in to evaluate 
the damage, and I asked them after some of our visits what they thought 
about this disaster and how they would compare it to the many others 
that they have seen around the country, earthquakes, floods, fires and 
so on.
  They said, well, the big difference we see here is the fact that your 
community, Congressman, really has pulled together and people are 
helping in every way they possibly can, businesses, individuals and so 
on. That, again, was heartwarming for me to hear that in the area where 
I live, folks have come together in a way that is so effective at 
helping their fellow persons.
  There are too many people to thank, so many people have done this, 
the police and fire departments in Blue Ash, Montgomery, Loveland; 
Sycamore and Symmes Townships, Deerfield Township, all the affected 
areas have been fantastic. I think they have done an outstanding job. 
The sheriffs' departments in Hamilton and Warren Counties provided 
rapid response. Emergency management throughout southwest Ohio were 
well prepared and well organized. Our Governor, Bob Taft, came down to 
the area immediately. His emergency management agency officials have 
been excellent, and I want to thank the Governor personally for his 
interest and personal concern for our area.
  The Hamilton County Urban Search and Rescue Task Force, so-called 
USAR team, has been great. They have been working along with elements 
of FEMA's Ohio Task Force One and they have really been a Godsend to 
the communities. They searched about 70 homes the morning of the 
tornado to make sure there was indeed an accurate count of those 
damaged and injured and those killed.
  They also searched numerous businesses to look for survivors, and 
they have helped since then to be sure that as the clean-up is 
proceeding, people are entering these homes and businesses in a safe 
way. Dozens of other agencies throughout the area have lent their 
mutual support and assistance to these devastated communities.
  The Red Cross, of course, and the Salvation Army have been on the 
scene since the start, offering help to victims and their families; and 
all of us owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to untold hundreds of 
volunteers, people who have come out to these communities, some 
neighbors again, some friends, some total strangers who have taken time 
and energy to help these folks who are in distress.

                              {time}  1915

  Our prayers go out to the families, and our thanks and appreciation 
go to all the hardworking volunteers and emergency management personnel 
and local officials who I think have done an outstanding job at a 
difficult time.
  This clean-up process is going to be long and hard. There is still 
more we need to do to help families get back on their feet. One area 
where we have made some progress is getting relief from the April 15th 
tax filing deadline for tornado victims. Victims have much too much to 
worry about on their minds right now to worry about whether or not they 
get their taxes in and to worry about the IRS.
  We have worked with the IRS here 2 days before the April 15 deadline 
to get some relief, to get extensions. The IRS has had officials at my 
office on Montgomery Road to answer questions and help tornado victims 
right through April 15. People can stop by my office in Kenwood, or 
call us at 791-0381 to get filing extension information, to get 
expedited refund checks from the IRS, or

[[Page H1931]]

to expedite the process of their tax returns.
  We have forms to be able to help people extend their tax filings and 
also to get expedited refunds. The IRS has also agreed to set up a 
special phone number for tornado-related problems in Cincinnati. That 
number is 241-2929, and after hours you can call the IRS Helpline at 1-
800-829-1040.
  We are making some progress, but we still need a lot more help. The 
Federal Small Business Administration had a disaster relief team again 
I joined in the district last week. FEMA officials arrived at the 
disaster scene to conduct a disaster assessment.
  I understand from local and State and Federal officials that the area 
is likely to meet the threshold to be declared a Federal disaster area, 
and I urge President Clinton to give prompt consideration to a request 
that may come from Ohio Governor Bob Taft shortly.
  I would also like to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, 
many of whom have come up to me to express their condolences and 
support as the area I represent recovers from this devastating storm. 
Now it is time for all of us to do all we can do to help these victims 
pull their lives back together.

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