[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 116 (Thursday, September 23, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9546-S9547]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HURRICANE DAMAGE IN FLORIDA

  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, if it were not bad enough that 
Florida has been hit by three hurricanes in a row--my family has lived 
in Florida for 175 years, and I cannot remember where two huge 
hurricanes hit the State back to back, much less do I think that the 
history books would record that three major hurricanes have hit any 
State in succession. But if that were not enough, there is now a 
hurricane out in the Atlantic named Jeanne that has killed already well 
over 1,000 people in the nation of Haiti, when it was only a tropical 
storm. It took a northward turn into the Atlantic, has looped around, 
and is now taking a westward path directly for the peninsula of 
Florida.
  If this hurricane continues at 100 miles an hour, albeit in terms of 
what we have already experienced with the first one--Hurricane Charley 
was 145 miles an hour coming right off the Gulf of Mexico up Charlotte 
Harbor to ground zero at Punta Gorda, and we know what the magnitude of 
those winds can do, nevertheless a hurricane at 100 miles an hour 
coming back on to the coast of Florida, which has already been racked 
by two other hurricanes, from the southwest, Charley, and from the 
southeast, Frances, one can imagine the additional misery that our 
people are going to suffer.
  So this leads me to my point. Last week we were on the Department of 
Homeland Security appropriations bill. I battled to get recognition for 
what had not been requested by the White House, which was for Florida 
agriculture to be compensated. Thanks to the chairman of the committee, 
he finally accepted my amendment for $70 million for the Red Cross. The 
Red Cross has been doing a marvelous job, as has the Salvation Army, 
but the Red Cross ran out of money. They had to go out and borrow $10 
million. So we still have that working in the conference committee on 
homeland security before we can bring it to final passage, but we are 
going to have to have plenty more funds.
  I just received a shocking report on the destruction to the Pensacola 
Naval Air Station by Hurricane Ivan that was not only hit with winds 
sustained at 138 miles an hour coming off the Gulf of Mexico but also a 
tidal surge. We

[[Page S9547]]

have all seen those pictures on TV. The tidal surge went way up 
Pensacola Bay and was so high and so fierce that it lifted up sections 
of Interstate 10 off of pilings and dropped them into Pensacola Bay.
  That same kind of storm surge and high winds has wreaked considerable 
havoc on the Pensacola Naval Air Station. The first reports from the 
Department of Defense--and I am going right now to our Senate Armed 
Services Committee to talk to the Secretary of Defense about this--the 
first estimate is the damage just to structures at Pensacola Naval Air 
Station is well over half a billion dollars. That does not include all 
the equipment.
  Yet to show how the U.S. Navy can respond and recoup, they are 
starting pilot training at Pensacola NAS tomorrow, despite all of that 
devastation and destruction around them.
  This voice from Florida is going to continue to ring out, calling for 
action and pleading for help. I hope the President will request it. In 
these closing weeks of the session before we adjourn before the 
election, we cannot let any of these needs go unmet for the sake of our 
people and for the sake of the Nation.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, what is the business before the Senate?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senate is currently in morning business 
for 1 more minute.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I may be 
allowed to address the Senate in morning business for 2 minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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