[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 125 (Wednesday, October 6, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1815]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO COUNTRIES OF 
 CARIBBEAN DEVASTATED BY HURRICANES CHARLEY, FRANCES, IVAN, AND JEANNE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 5, 2004

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, by now we are all aware of the enormous toll 
exacted by Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne on the 
Caribbean. Indeed, the cumulative force of these disasters has claimed 
thousands of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of residents. 
The tourism and agricultural sectors of the Caribbean, of which so many 
nations are dependent, have been battered.
  While total monetary damage to the region has yet to be firmly 
established, it is easily in the billions of dollars. These staggering 
statistics not only sadden us, they clearly compel us to take 
significant action. The United States has already distributed some 
assistance, and the administration has requested an additional $50 
million in emergency funds for the Caribbean in the supplemental 
appropriations bill we have before us this week.
  While this assistance is appreciated, substantially more is needed if 
we are to make a meaningful impact. An October 4th editorial in the 
Washington Post noted that the requested assistance for the Caribbean 
is a minute fraction of the $12.2 billion requested for southern States 
affected by the recent hurricanes. I myself have joined other friends 
of the Caribbean in this House in asking that the administration at 
least double the size of its request for the Caribbean.
  In light of these funding needs, I am extremely pleased to support 
the resolution introduced by the gentlewoman from California, H. Con. 
Res. 496. Congresswoman Lee's resolution represents a non-partisan 
appeal to provide adequate humanitarian assistance to our neighbors in 
this time of crisis. I am proud to be a co-sponsor of this legislation, 
and urge my fellow colleagues to lend their support to this critical 
measure.
  We have all borne witness to the difficult road our neighbors have 
taken towards democracy. As such, we must always strive to ensure that 
their road is free from obstruction. This resolution is but one step in 
that ongoing effort. Again, I sincerely thank Congresswoman Lee, and 
offer my whole-hearted support for her resolution.

                [From the Washington Post, Oct. 4, 2004]

                       Calamity in the Caribbean

       In Haiti the bodies are still turning up. Reports from the 
     island republic mention Haitians shoveling corpses out from 
     under branches and mud--the detritus of Tropical Storm Jeanne 
     and the floods it triggered last month. Perhaps 2,000 are 
     dead, and more may be missing. In tiny Grenada, whose 
     landmass is scarcely twice that of the District, 90 percent 
     of the buildings on the island were damaged by Hurricane 
     Ivan. The hurricane also decimated Grenada's nutmeg trees, 
     which take a decade to become productive, and devastated 
     hotels, mainstays of the tourist industry that provides the 
     island with 70 percent of its income.
       The storms paused long enough in the Caribbean on their way 
     to Florida to deliver knockout blows to the bantamweight 
     islands. Americans fixated on Florida may have barely 
     noticed, but the destruction and suffering in the islands was 
     overwhelming. The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, 
     the Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and St. Lucia--all 
     were damaged. Grenada's recovery will take years.
       Haiti, no stranger to calamity, is suffering a catastrophe. 
     An estimated 300,000 people have been made homeless by 
     floods. In the northwest, where Jeanne unleashed much of its 
     wrath, food and potable water are scarce. Highways are cut or 
     impassable; Port-de-Paix, a town of 45,000 on the north 
     coast, is reachable only by air. In the port of Gonaives, 
     Haiti's third-largest city, marauding gangs desperate from 
     thirst and hunger have attacked trucks hauling bottled water 
     and depots holding humanitarian food stockpiles. Fears of 
     famine are rising, since flood waters and mud covered some of 
     the most fertile acres in the country. Poverty, deforestation 
     and the virtual absence of effective government all conspire 
     to deepen the misery.
       President Bush has proposed $12.2 billion in aid for 
     hurricane-damaged areas, mostly in Florida and other Southern 
     states. The package includes $50 million for the islands, 
     nearly half of it for Haiti. We hope Congress passes it 
     quickly, but let's be blunt: The amount set aside for the 
     Caribbean nations is a pittance--not to mention a fraction of 
     what was spent on U.S. military interventions in Haiti and 
     Grenada.
       Americans who wish to help may send their own donations. 
     One conduit for such private support is CARE, which has been 
     active in Haiti for 50 years and is deeply involved in the 
     current relief efforts. Information is available at 
     www.careusa.org.

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