[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 13, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H856-H857]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        INDIA EARTHQUAKE RELIEF

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I come to the House floor today to speak 
about the continued relief efforts in India after the massive 7.9 
earthquake that rocked the nation in January. After the earthquake, I 
came to the floor to request USAID to double the amount of assistance 
it was sending to India, from $5 million to $10 million.
  Today, more than $13 million has been sent. This is a good start; but 
clearly, the $13 million is not enough to address the continued 
struggles India, particularly Gujarat, is facing at this time.
  The havoc on the ground in terms of human suffering must be 
understood. Our friends in India will be facing monsoons very soon. We 
must move fast to ensure all support possible to prevent epidemic and 
further tragedies in the earthquake's aftermath.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, I would like to address five strong areas where I 
think we could continue to help. Several of these ideas were discussed 
at a subcommittee hearing of the Committee on International Relations 
by several of my colleagues who visited the region after the 
earthquake.
  First, I ask the World Bank and the Asian Development Fund to move 
quickly to approve India's petition for soft-window or low-interest 
loans funding. The ADF recently finished its appraisal of the Gujarat 
disaster and increased its earlier estimate of aid loans from $350 
million to $500 million. This increase in the appraisal by the ADF 
clearly demonstrates the terrible need on the ground.
  The President of the Asian Development Bank has pledged his support, 
and I laud him for that; but currently this proposal is held up before 
their board. The board is meeting late March to decide the $500 million 
funding for ADF's Gujarat Earthquake Rehabilitation and Reconstruction 
Project.
  Now normally the Asian Development Fund does not offer concessional 
loans to India due to India's size, but clearly Gujarat is in the midst 
of a great human and fiscal disaster and definitely merits these loans. 
We as a donor country can and must ask the ADF to make this exception.
  Second, Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the Office of Management and 
Budget to improve 416(b) disaster mitigation funding. This proposal 
sent by nongovernmental organizations in India to the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture allocates estimated relief at 60,000 metric tons of 
vegetable oil and other commodities, valued at over $32 million for 
this year. This proposal, originally designed for aid to the entire 
country, is now being focused on Gujarat in light of the earthquake.
  We must understand that this region suffered a horrible drought in 
the last 2 years, so this is an emergency within an emergency. The 
proposal has gone through technical reviews, has received positive 
endorsements from USAID, State Department, and the Department of 
Agriculture, but is still stalled at OMB. I encourage OMB to release 
this funding for India immediately.
  Third, Mr. Speaker, we must focus on detailed talks between the 
Indian National Government and FEMA to help create a FEMA-type model 
for India. Currently, there is an active debate in India about creating 
an agency like FEMA, and the Indian Government has shown great interest 
in collaborating with the U.S. Government. The FEMA talks are currently 
in the how-to stage. We must move quickly so we can implement the plans 
expeditiously as possible.
  Fourth, Mr. Speaker, we must also work with local governments in 
India to help create a local response system similar to ones we have in 
the United States, in Fairfax, Virginia, and Miami, Florida. This would 
certainly improve rescue operations and help minimize loss of life in 
the crucial hours after disaster has struck.
  In addition, we should have technical experts from the earthquake-
prone

[[Page H857]]

areas such as California work together with the Indian officials to 
create appropriate public-warning procedures, routine earthquake 
drills, civilian protection mechanisms, and earthquake-safe foundation 
structures. We must share the lessons we learned from the devastating 
Northridge earthquake in California in 1992 to help Gujarat rebuild 
itself, as well as prepare for such future disasters.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, we must focus on creation of a better U.S. 
rescue response system around the world. The current system, while 
successful in rebuilding procedures, needs revamping of its 
international rescue response procedures in the immediate hours after 
an emergency. Switzerland, the UK, and Israel were on the ground in 
India within 48 hours to start rescue operations while it took the U.S. 
Government more than 72 hours to get our first official relief efforts 
there.
  USAID is considering prepositioning resources by setting up ground 
offices in disaster-prone regions of the world to expedite aid 
disbursement during calamities. I support setting up such an office in 
India.

                              {time}  1900

  An important thing for us to understand is how vital a strong India 
is for U.S. interests. With India increasingly showing signs of 
political strength and stability, and stronger restraint in the 
resolution of the Kashmir dispute, we must demonstrate that we stand by 
our friend in their hour of need. Indians are not looking for handouts. 
They are very strong, resilient people who can and will rebuild Gujarat 
back. However, we must not leave them alone in coping with this 
devastating earthquake.
  Mr. Speaker, I therefore ask my fellow colleagues to stand strong 
with me in pushing these recommendations immediately for long-lasting 
support to India.

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