[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 131 (Friday, October 1, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11817-S11818]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS OF HURRICANE FLOYD

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Environment and Public Works be discharged from further 
consideration of

[[Page S11818]]

S. Res. 188, and that the Senate proceed to its immediate 
consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 188) expressing the sense of the 
     Senate that additional assistance should be provided to the 
     victims of Hurricane Floyd.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.


                           Amendment No. 1890

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, Senator Edwards and Senator Helms have an 
amendment at the desk to the resolution.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Mississippi [Mr. Lott], for Mr. Edwards, 
     and Mr. Helms, proposes an amendment numbered 1890.
       On page 4, line 14, after ``Maryland,'' insert 
     ``Delaware,''.

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, let me say that I live in an area of 
Mississippi that has also had to deal with hurricanes. Three of them 
have hit my hometown over the last 15 years. We have had to deal with 
droughts, ice storms, floods, and everything but the plague and 
locusts. I know how difficult it is for people who are faced with 
disasters such as the one with which North Carolina is now dealing. I 
know how tough it is for the people who are trying to dig out from 
under mud, with dead carcasses, and all that goes with disasters.
  All of us extend our sympathy to the people of North Carolina and 
want to reassure them that the Federal Government will do its part, as 
we always do when people are hit by natural disaster.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be agreed 
to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table. I further ask 
unanimous consent that the resolution, as amended, and the preamble be 
agreed to en bloc, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and 
that any statements relating thereto be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 1890) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution (S. Res. 188), as amended, was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 188

       Whereas from September 14 through 16, 1999, Hurricane Floyd 
     menaced most of the southeastern seaboard of the United 
     States, provoking the largest peacetime evacuation of eastern 
     Florida, the Georgia coast, the South Carolina coast, and the 
     North Carolina coast;
       Whereas the evacuation caused severe disruptions to the 
     businesses and lives of the people of Florida, Georgia, South 
     Carolina, and North Carolina;
       Whereas in the early morning hours of September 16, 1999, 
     Hurricane Floyd made landfall at Cape Fear, North Carolina, 
     dumping up to 18 inches of rain on sections of North Carolina 
     only days after the heavy rainfall from Hurricane Dennis and 
     producing the worst recorded flooding in North Carolina 
     history;
       Whereas after making landfall, Hurricane Floyd continued to 
     move up the eastern seaboard causing flooding, tornadoes, and 
     massive damage in Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, 
     New Jersey, North Carolina, New York, and Connecticut;
       Whereas portions of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, North 
     Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia have 
     been declared to be Federal disaster areas under the Robert 
     T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5121 et seq.);
       Whereas Hurricane Floyd is responsible for the known deaths 
     of 65 people;
       Whereas 45 people are confirmed dead in North Carolina, 
     with many people still missing;
       Whereas 4 people were killed in New Jersey, 2 people in New 
     York, 6 people in Pennsylvania, 4 people in Virginia, 2 
     people in Delaware, 1 person in Connecticut, and 1 person in 
     Vermont;
       Whereas as the flood waters recede, the death toll is 
     expected to increase;
       Whereas the rainfall resulting from Hurricane Floyd has 
     caused widespread flooding in North Carolina along the Tar 
     River, the Neuse River, and the Cape Fear River, among other 
     rivers, in Connecticut along the Still River, and in Virginia 
     along the Nottoway River and the Blackwater River;
       Whereas some of the rivers are expected to remain at flood 
     stage for more than a week;
       Whereas the floods are the worst seen in North Carolina in 
     80 years;
       Whereas the flood level on the Tar River exceeds all 
     previous records by 9 feet;
       Whereas flood waters engulfed cities such as Tarboro, North 
     Carolina, Franklin, Virginia, Bound Brook, New Jersey, and 
     Danbury, Connecticut;
       Whereas tens of thousands of people have fled to shelters 
     scattered throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, New 
     York, New Jersey, and Virginia;
       Whereas thousands of people remain isolated, surrounded by 
     water, in their homes in North Carolina and Virginia;
       Whereas approximately 50,000 homes have been affected by 
     the hurricane, and many of those homes will ultimately be 
     condemned as uninhabitable;
       Whereas water supplies in New Jersey, New York, North 
     Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia have been severely 
     disrupted, and, in many cases, wells and private water 
     systems have been irreparably contaminated;
       Whereas hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses have 
     lost electric power, telephone, and gas service as a result 
     of Hurricane Floyd;
       Whereas there have been road washouts in virtually every 
     State struck by Hurricane Floyd, including 900 road washouts 
     in North Carolina alone;
       Whereas many farmers have suffered almost total crop 
     losses; and
       Whereas small and large businesses throughout the region 
     have been gravely affected: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,

     SECTION 1. NEED FOR ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE 
                   FLOYD.

       It is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the victims of Hurricane Floyd deserve the sympathies 
     of the people of the United States;
       (2) the President, the Director of the Federal Emergency 
     Management Agency, the Secretary of Agriculture, the 
     Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Commerce, and 
     the Director of the Small Business Administration are to be 
     commended on their efforts to assist the victims of Hurricane 
     Floyd;
       (3) the Governors of Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, 
     Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, 
     Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia are to be 
     commended for their leadership and coordination of relief 
     efforts in their States;
       (4) the National Guard, the Army, the Marine Corps, the 
     Navy, and the Coast Guard have provided heroic assistance to 
     the people of the afflicted areas and are to be commended for 
     their bravery;
       (5) the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and other private 
     relief organizations have provided shelter, food, and comfort 
     to the victims of Hurricane Floyd and are to be commended for 
     their generosity and invaluable aid; and
       (6) additional assistance needs to be provided to the 
     victims of Hurricane Floyd.

     SEC. 2. FORMS OF ASSISTANCE FOR HURRICANE FLOYD VICTIMS.

       To alleviate the conditions faced by the victims of 
     Hurricane Floyd, it is the sense of the Senate that the 
     President should--
       (1) work with Congress to provide necessary funds for--
       (A) disaster relief administered by the Federal Emergency 
     Management Agency;
       (B) disaster relief administered by the Department of 
     Agriculture;
       (C) disaster relief administered by the Department of 
     Commerce;
       (D) disaster relief administered by the Department of 
     Transportation;
       (E) disaster relief administered by the Small Business 
     Administration; and
       (F) any other disaster relief needed to help rebuild 
     damaged homes, provide for clean water, renourish damaged 
     beaches and protective dunes, and restore electric power; and
       (2) prepare and submit to Congress a report that analyzes 
     the feasibility and cost of implementing a program to provide 
     disaster assistance to the victims of Hurricane Floyd, 
     including assistance in the form of--
       (A) direct economic assistance to agricultural producers, 
     small businesses, and displaced persons;
       (B) an expanded loan and debt restructuring program;
       (C) cleanup of environmental damage;
       (D) small business assistance;
       (E) repair or reconstruction of private homes;
       (F) repair or reconstruction of highways, roads, and 
     trails;
       (G) provision of safe and adequate water supplies; and
       (H) restoration of essential utility services such as 
     electric power, telephone, and gas service.

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