[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 153 (Wednesday, November 3, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2261]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  FEMA AND CIVIL DEFENSE MONUMENT ACT

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                               speech of

                        HON. WILLIAM F. GOODLING

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, November 1, 1999

  Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, as we have seen in vivid detail in just 
the last month, Mother Nature can and does visit calamity upon us 
violently and with brief notice. Hurricane Floyd, with all its might 
and fury, is proof once again how powerless we are against the forces 
of nature.
  The danger comes not just from hurricanes. In the West and South, the 
constant threat of wildfires from summer's heat often turns the 
countryside into a tinderbox. In the South and Midwest, steamy 
afternoons bring forth devastating tornadoes as this Spring's events in 
Oklahoma and Kansas have shown us.
  When these disasters befall us, we must thank God there are dedicated 
men and women who answer the call, our nation's emergency management 
professionals. These dedicated individuals respond day or night in any 
conditions to protect the lives of their fellow citizens at a moment's 
notice, many of whom are volunteers. In addition to acts of nature, 
these brave men and women help protect us against manmade threats of 
terrorism for which we have become all to aware in recent years.
  To honor these brave people Mr. Bartlett and I introduced H.R. 348. 
This legislation authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
(FEMA) to place a monument honoring this nation's emergency management 
and civil defense workers on the grounds of the National Emergency 
Training Center (NETC) in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The monument has been 
offered as a gift by the privately-funded, non-profit National Civil 
Defense Monument Commission to honor their comrades who have devoted 
their lives and careers to Emergency Management and Civil Defense.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Mr. John Bex, a 
former Regional Director of the Defense Civil Preparedness Agency, of 
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, Chairman of the Monument Commission, 
Alexander Atzert of Gaithersburg, Maryland and all members of National 
Civil Defense Monument Commission for their work and dedication on 
behalf of this legislation and I am pleased to support its passage.

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