[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 28, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H175]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              GUAM REQUESTS ADDITIONAL FEDERAL ASSISTANCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Terry). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, the people of Guam eagerly anticipate the 
State of the Union report which President Bush will deliver tonight. 
While the President will speak in broad terms about the Nation, I take 
this opportunity to let the Nation know about the situation on my home 
island of Guam, which has been recently devastated by Super Typhoon 
Pongsona.
  Super Typhoon Pongsona struck Guam on December 8, 2002, with 
sustained winds of 155 miles per hour and wind gusts exceeding 200 
miles per hour. This severe typhoon battered Guam for 8 long hours; and 
in its aftermath, Guam's power, water, and wastewater systems were 
seriously damaged. In addition, Guam had just begun to fully recover 
from another storm, Typhoon Chata'an, which struck in July 2002, barely 
6 months before Typhoon Pongsona.
  Our island looked like a war zone. Hotels had their windows blown out 
and over 120 concrete power poles snapped due to the force of Pongsona. 
Aluminum typhoon shutters were ripped off the windows; and air 
conditioners were blown off roof tops and windows, creating holes for 
rain to destroy the interior of our homes.
  Andersen Air Force Base, Naval Station, and Apra Harbor, were hit 
hard, as well as our own civilian airport, closing both airports and 
delaying relief flights. Four fuel storage tanks at the Port of Guam 
caught fire and burned for days, jeopardizing nearby storage tanks 
filled with aviation fuel, gasoline and diesel fuel. Two tanks were 
destroyed completely, while two others have been damaged.
  Many people on Guam who have lived through other typhoons over the 
years have remarked that Pongsona was the worst typhoon they had ever 
experienced in their lives. I was there to witness this.
  President Bush declared Guam a major disaster area following Super 
Typhoon Pongsona, and the FEMA emergency management agency, the 
American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, the Catholic Social Services, 
and many other volunteers mobilized for the relief and recovery effort. 
We on Guam are sincerely grateful for all these efforts and for the 
incredible response of the Guam National Guard, the Government of Guam 
employees, and the reserve and active duty military units on Guam. 
There is nothing more humbling to a community than to see the 
outpouring of assistance to us in our time of desperate need. There is 
nothing more heroic than to see Guardsmen, government employees, and 
volunteers leave their own ravaged homes behind and respond to the call 
of duty.
  Seven weeks later, as I speak today, 20 percent of our island is 
still without power. Power outages plague our community every day. The 
water system is still not at full capacity, and the government is still 
coping with the enormous challenges ahead. Governor Felix Camacho and 
Lieutenant Governor Kaleo Moylan took office on January 6, 2003, facing 
the daunting task of completing the recovery. The 27th Guam 
legislature, under the leadership of Speaker Ben Pangelinan also 
assumed office with these great challenges awaiting them. Our people 
pray for our leaders to succeed, because not since the liberation of 
Guam from its World War II occupation of our island have we faced such 
difficult times.
  We are facing 20 percent unemployment, a bottoming out of our tourist 
industry, and an expensive recovery that may last the rest of this 
year. We need the Federal Government to extend whatever help is 
available, not just to clean up after the typhoon but to help us 
restore our economy and rebuild our basic infrastructure. We need 
hazard mitigation assistance to make Guam less vulnerable to the next 
super typhoon, and we need the prayers and the support of the American 
people for their fellow American citizens who live on Guam.
  We are a community that prides ourselves on our self-reliance and our 
resilience after any hardship. We have great optimism and great faith 
in our future. We need a hand right now, and we ask that President Bush 
and the Congress take just a minute as we reflect on the blessing and 
opportunities of our great country to remember that some Americans are 
facing great hardships tonight. Please remember Guam.

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