[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 28, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E85]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    LEGISLATION TO PROVIDE FUNDS FOR THE REPAIR OF HOMES DAMAGED BY 
                               HURRICANES

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. FRANK W. BALLANCE, JR.

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 28, 2003

  Mr. BALLANCE. Mr. Speaker, today I am joined by my colleagues 
Representatives Walter Jones, Mike McIntryre, and Bob Etheridge, in 
introducing legislation to provide elderly residents of North Carolina 
affected by floods with resources to repair their homes. Despite the 
fact that several years have passed, the effects of the catastrophic 
flooding from a succession of hurricanes in the late 1990s continue to 
be felt in North Carolina even today.
  Thousands of North Carolinians suffered major damage to their homes 
and have yet to make the necessary repairs. As is often the case in 
situations like this, it is those who are already vulnerable who are 
affected most. In this case, the elderly have suffered 
disproportionately. Because many of the elderly are on fixed incomes, 
their ability to pay for home repairs is often limited.
  The late 1990s were an incredibly challenging time for Eastern North 
Carolina. For several years in a row, hurricanes struck our communities 
with torrential winds and tremendous rains. Hurricane Floyd alone was 
responsible for 51 storm-related deaths in North Carolina, the 
destruction of over 7,000 homes, and made 17,000 additional homes 
uninhabitable. Overall damage to the state of North Carolina was 
estimated at over $6 billion dollars, making it the most costly natural 
disaster in the history of North Carolina. The hurricane flooded a 
combined area of 18,000 square miles, an area roughly twice the size of 
Vermont.
  This legislation gives to the North Carolina Commissioner of 
Agriculture the authority to provide funds to low-income seniors in 
Eastern North Carolina for the purpose of home repair. The need is 
considerable. In fact, rural development officials in Raleigh tell me 
that they have over $1 million in pending applications from the elderly 
seeking to repair their homes but zero resources with which to address 
this matter. This legislation gives to the state of North Carolina the 
ability to respond to this need.
  Though Hurricane Floyd may be just a memory to many, the residents of 
Eastern North Carolina continue to confront the challenge of rebuilding 
our communities on a daily basis. This legislation is a modest but 
important step that will enable our senior citizens to remain in their 
homes and to make the improvements necessary to render them habitable 
once again.
  I am happy to say that this bipartisan legislation is founded on the 
shared recognition of both Republicans and Democrats that much work 
remains to be done to recover from the flooding that devastated our 
communities and I thank my colleagues for joining me in this effort. 
Our junior Senator, Mr. Edwards, is also a part of this effort and was 
recently successful in including language that is identical to this 
bill in an appropriations bill that is expected to be completed within 
several weeks. The bipartisan support for this bill is proof that the 
Edwards language should remain in the bill that the President will 
eventually sign.

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