Congressional Record, Volume 150 Issue 125 (Wednesday, October 6, 2004)

[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 125 (Wednesday, October 6, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H8287-H8311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR HURRICANE DISASTERS
ASSISTANCE ACT, 2005

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 819 and rule
XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House
on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill, H.R. 5212.

{time} 1955

In the Committee of the Whole

Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the
Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the bill
(H.R. 5212) making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal
year ending September 30, 2005, for additional disaster assistance
relating to storm damage, and for other purposes, with Mr. Gillmor in
the chair.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered as having
been read the first time.
Under the rule, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) and the
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young).
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Chairman, H.R. 5212 is a bill to further respond to the
devastation brought upon the State of Florida and other neighboring
States by Hurricane Charley, Hurricane Frances, Hurricane Ivan,
Hurricane Jeanne, and Tropical Storm Bonnie, more adverse weather than
a State has seen in hundreds of years.
This is the second supplemental that the House will consider. The
first supplemental was introduced on September 7, the day we
reconvened. We passed that bill on September 7, the other body deemed
it passed on September 7, and it arrived at the President's desk just
in time to make sure that the cash flow to the needy folks in Florida
would not be disrupted.
We are now reaching a similar situation. The FEMA funds are about to
run out once again, and this bill will provide additional funds for
FEMA and other disaster recovery and relief efforts.
I want the Members to know how I feel about this bill. This is a good
bill, as far as it goes. There is nothing political in this bill, at
least not yet. There are no special projects for any Member. We
resisted all attempts to add to this supplemental. So this really gets
to the point of recovery from five major storms.
I have lived in Florida for 58 years. I have seen the devastation of
hurricanes and tornadoes. They go together. Hurricanes are large storms
and hurricanes spawn tornadoes.
I have seen homes totally destroyed. I have seen mobile home parks
obliterated, gone. I have seen major buildings with their roofs gone. I
have seen infrastructure for cities and counties destroyed. I have seen
highways, believe it or not, that have been totally destroyed, with
large chunks of asphalt just lying around like parts of a jigsaw puzzle
waiting to be put together. But you cannot just put them back together.
You have to rebuild them.
Last week, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Boyd) and I went to
Florida to Pensacola, to the Naval Air Station; and there we were met
by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller), and we reviewed some
tremendous, very costly damage created by the hurricanes.
There is a lot more to be said about the tremendous pressure of
living through a hurricane, and I have lived through a number of
hurricanes. These five storms that I have talked about, have affected
every section of Florida, and in some cases three of the storms have
hit the same section.

{time} 2000

Governor Jeb Bush became the manager of the recovery effort, and he
has done an outstanding job. He managed the recovery effort on the part
of the State. He coordinated the counties, and he coordinated the
cities and all of the

[[Page H8288]]

relief agencies that have been there to help out the people that really
needed help.
President Bush visited the State five times, and visited the
hurricane sites and viewed for himself the disaster and visited with
the people. He handed out bags of ice and bottles of water. He did a
good job, and he made commitments and promises to the people of
Florida. It is my intention, Mr. Chairman, to make sure that no one
stands in the way of following through on those promises that President
Bush made to the people of Florida.
Mr. Chairman, the bill that we take up today meets a lot of these
promises, but it does not meet them all. There is another bill that I
introduced today, H.R. 5227, that does include, in fact, the promises
that President Bush made to the people of Florida. And, the additional
funds that we have included in H.R. 5227, over and above the
President's request of approximately $11 billion, we have offset. We
have offset $1.6 billion that we would have added to the President's
request. We are not permitted to bring this bill up today, but I will
tell my colleagues, and I will tell anyone willing to listen on either
side of the aisle; this hurricane relief has been very bipartisan, and
I appreciate all of the support that Members have given us; and this
Chairman is going to do everything possible to see this bill enacted
into law because it meets the real requirements of recovery efforts in
the great State of Florida. It is not the bill that we are considering
today, but we are going to do everything possible to make sure that it
ends up on the President's desk.
The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Boyd) would have offered an amendment
that would have increased H.R. 5212 by $1.6 billion, and that is what
this second bill (H.R. 5227) does, it increases the bill by $1.6
billion. He and I traveled together to many parts of Florida; we
visited and we saw for ourselves what the damages were and what the
recovery effort was going to take.
So we will do our very best to make sure that the promises that the
President made to the people of Florida will not be stymied by some
bureaucracy or some group of people who might not want us to move this
legislation. But one way or another, we are going to move it.
Mr. Chairman, a lot of Members wish to be heard on this issue,
especially Florida Members, so at this point I reserve the balance of
my time.

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Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Boyd).
Mr. BOYD. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my Ranking Member, the
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), for yielding me this time.
Again, let me thank the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young) my
friend, who did invite me to travel with him around Florida to see the
results of the five storms that landed in Florida, and it left Florida
on many occasions and went to other parts of the country.
Now, many of the people in Florida, Mr. Chairman, are really probably
not watching this tonight, because many of them do not have power
still. They are trying to put their lives back together. In the
district that I represent, we lost six people that were killed in
Hurricane Ivan, not because they did not get out of the way of a
hurricane, but because tornadoes spawned down and caught them off guard
and killed them and some of their relatives.
Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) has it right. He
has it right. The bill that he says he is going to introduce has it
right. The Office of Management and Budget of the White House and the
leaders of this House have it wrong. The bill that we are on now is
inadequate to meet the needs of the Nation caused by the five storms
that landed in Florida in the last 2 months, and I want to outline very
specifically what those shortfalls are.
In agriculture, after consultation with all of the agriculture folks
around the country and in the different States that were affected, it
is $486 million short. Defense and military construction: Defense, the
main priority of this Federal Government, $455 million short in the
bill that we are looking at now. That is the difference between this
bill and the bill that the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) has
introduced separately.
Interior: That is for cleanup and facility repairs and Forest Service
repairs, $105 million. Those are Federal lands, Federal property.
Transportation: Mr. Chairman, many Americans saw the daunting picture
of I-10 going across Escambia Bay that was torn up and ruined; that is
a $250 million fix. Then there is the Federal highway, a $750 million
shortfall in the bill before us today for the needs caused by the
hurricane. I could go on and on.
Mr. Chairman, OMB of the White House has it wrong; the gentleman from
Florida (Chairman Young) has it right. I know that the gentleman from
Florida (Chairman Young) has a good plan and will work in concert with
he gentleman from Wisconsin (Ranking Member Obey) to get this done the
right way. It is important that the Members of this House remember that
they were elected by the folks in their districts to represent their
interests. If they are going to turn over that responsibility to
somebody in the White House, they might as well give up their card, Mr.
Chairman.
It is time to stand up and do the right thing and support the
gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young) and the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) on getting this emergency supplemental done
correctly.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the
distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Foley), whose district
enjoyed the visits of several hurricanes.
Mr. FOLEY. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Chairman
Young) for his hard work on behalf of Floridians. I want to thank the
White House, and I want to thank the President specifically and
Governor Jeb Bush for their tireless efforts to help those who have
suffered the damages of four hurricanes.
This has been a unique and unusual year in our State. The gentleman
from Tallahassee said it very brilliantly when he said that we have all
suffered in Florida. Virtually every one of 67 counties has had some
impact from the four storms that have visited our State.
The gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young) has designed a
supplemental bill on behalf of the OMB and the White House that does
meet many of the critical needs of our State, from NASA to FEMA to the
Corps of Engineers to beach renourishment to fixing problems, including
a generous allocation to the Red Cross which has expended considerable
resources to helping those Floridians who are in a time of desperate
need. But I also want to suggest that the gentleman from Florida
(Chairman Young) has a bill that will enhance and further the efforts
that have been left out of this supplemental package.
Now, I appreciate all that has been done on behalf of Florida by our
colleagues from 50 States and the territories we all represent. We are
deeply grateful for the efforts made on behalf of the leadership and
others to bring this bill to the Floor in a timely manner to remedy and
remediate the problems we have experienced in Florida. But, as the
gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young) clearly stated, more needs to
be done.
Not all crops have been considered in this supplemental. In my
district, sugar suffered a drastic and dramatic loss of crop, as have
citrus, as have row crop, as have plant nurseries, as have cattle and
dairy. Those are considered in the bill; others have not been. We want
to bring equity to the table. Anybody who has suffered a loss should be
brought whole.
I want to thank those, specifically FEMA's director, Mike Brown, and
all of the FEMA employees that are in Florida today and other States
that have suffered as a result of the hurricanes. We have over 3,000-
plus FEMA active-duty workers as well as volunteers who are in our
State assisting the governor in bringing relief to the desperate
citizens of Florida.
So I applaud the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young) for his
deliberation and the speed in which this measure was brought to the
floor. And I commend to the leadership and to the White House H.R.
5227, a furtherance of that effort to bring whole the damages suffered
by Floridians.
Hurricane Charley came to Punta Gorda on August 13; followed by
Frances to Stewart, Florida, a district I represent as well as Punta
Gorda; followed by Jeanne hitting the very exact same territory. The
gentleman from Florida (Chairman Shaw) has been extraordinarily helpful
in coordinating the efforts of our State delegate agencies and bringing
relief to our citizens. The effort is largely made whole by the work of
the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young), but I hope we are able to
consider in the remaining hours of this session H.R. 5227, authored by
the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) to remedy the remaining issues
outstanding.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey).
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise in appreciation for the work of the
gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young) and the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Ranking Member Obey) in responding to the crisis in Florida,
but I rise with concerns about what is not included in this bill.
We continue to receive daily reports of the ongoing genocide in
Darfur. Despite commitments from the White House to do so, the Sudanese
government has not taken steps to reduce the violence and reign in
military forces. While the United States and the United Nations
continue to put pressure on Khartoum, the situation on the ground in
Darfur gets worse, and prospects increase for a rapid escalation of
violence.
The only chance we have in the immediate future to end the killing
and prevent future violence is to enable the deployment of more African
Union monitors to Darfur. Incredibly, while the State Department has
clearly identified the need for additional funds to support such a
force, the administration has not requested these funds.
The African Union has reached consensus on the deployment of a force
of between 3,200 and 3,600 troops to Darfur. The government of Sudan
has agreed to this. Several African nationals have committed to send
troops. The cost to support this force for 1 year has been estimated by
the State Department to be $220 million and, at the moment, the United
States has contributed $20 million from existing sources, and other
donors are being sought to share the cost.
However, no other donors have yet come forward. The State Department
needs at least $33 million immediately to get this force mobilized and
deployed. Prospects of getting additional

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funding to meet the need for the full $220 million cost are uncertain.
We can take immediate action to secure these funds. As this
supplemental goes to conference, I will work to ensure that we include
the transfer of $93 million from Iraq reconstruction funds for this
African Union force or to meet unforeseen needs for humanitarian
relief.
The Secretary of State has clearly indicated to a number of Members
that these funds are necessary and that there are no other sources from
existing accounts. Congress has already provided the administration
with the authority to transfer up to .5 percent of Iraq construction
funds to meet unforeseen needs in Sudan. The President could exercise
this authority today if he chose to, but we have been told that the
White House is not inclined to do so. Adding language mandating the
transfer will not add to the cost of the bill, as we are transferring
funds already available, and it would not set a precedent for future
transfers from Iraq reconstruction; it is a one-time authority only.
The latest report on Iraq indicated that only $1.2 billion of the $18
billion we provided has been spent; only $7.1 billion has been
obligated. Surely, we can respond to this genocide in Sudan, and I hope
my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will work with me to make this
happen.

{time} 2015

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the
distinguished gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe), the chairman of the
Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related
Programs of the Committee on Appropriations.
Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
I want to comment on the gentlewoman's remarks that just preceded me,
my distinguished friend and colleague, the gentlewoman from New York
(Mrs. Lowey). I quite agree with her that we need the money for Darfur
and we need the money to make sure that we can have a peace settlement
in that region, and that we can have forces there that can enforce that
peace. But as she pointed out, the authority for that exists already in
law. And while we can spend tonight beating up on the administration
for not exercising it, they have the ability to do that, and I think
they will exercise that at the appropriate time. No legislation, no
action by this Congress is needed in order for them to do that.
Mr. Chairman, I want to take my moment here to rise and thank the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) for introducing this supplemental
legislation and to rise in support of the international disaster
assistance in the Caribbean.
While the vast majority of the funds in the bill are intended to
assist American citizens who have been affected by recent hurricanes
and tropical storms, there is $100 million that is set aside here in
order to help our neighbors in the islands of the Caribbean. Several of
these nations were devastated by wind, rain and flooding due to these
hurricanes, particularly in Haiti, Grenada, the Bahamas, and Jamaica.
Approximately 3,000 people in Haiti are either confirmed dead or
reported missing due to flooding caused by Tropical Storm Jeanne. In
addition, Hurricane Ivan destroyed nine out of 10 homes on the island
of Grenada.
The United States has already responded with $18 million in
humanitarian assistance to those in the region that have been affected
by these storms. But the scope of the destruction is very significant
and additional resources are necessary. I am pleased the administration
responded positively to our recommendation that $100 million was
needed, and amended the initial request of $50 million. I support this
assistance. I urge passage of this legislation. Even as we respond at
home to the needs of our people in this country, I think Americans
remain generous in their response to people who are devastated by
hurricanes and disasters in other countries, including our neighboring
Caribbean countries. I urge support of this legislation.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the minority whip.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chairman, I thank my friend from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey)
for yielding me time.
Mr. Chairman, it is regrettable that this bill fails to provide even
a modest amount for the gravest humanitarian emergency facing the world
today, the senseless slaughter of innocent civilians in Darfur.
I want to congratulate the chairman for bringing this bill forward at
this time, and I certainly support it, and I support the provisions. I
certainly join the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe) in his
observations with reference to $100 million for our Caribbean friends
who have been devastated. However, both the President and the Secretary
of State have called the tragedy in Sudan genocide. And the United
Nations has identified it as ``the world's worst humanitarian crisis.''
But we still have the opportunity to support an African Union
peacekeeping force intended to put an end to the blood shed and we must
not turn our backs.
How can it be that destruction of 400 villages, the murder of 50,000
civilians, and the displacement of more than one million people is not
an emergency worth a modest investment to stop the slaughter?
It is true we have provided millions of dollars in humanitarian
relief for those already affected by this ongoing horror. But we have
not yet adopted the appropriate sense of urgency about ending the
murderous campaign of the Sudanese Government and its Janjaweed
henchmen.
The USAID estimates that 350,000 more people could die of disease and
malnutrition over the next 9 months. The fact is the killing must stop
before the farmers and herders can return home to Darfur and resume
feeding their families. At the very least, Mr. Chairman, we ought to
require the administration to use existing authority to reprogram $93
million in unobligated Iraq reconstruction money now, the operative
word is now, to end the genocide in Sudan, as the gentlewoman from New
York (Mrs. Lowey) as proposed and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr.
Jackson) has proposed, and indeed, I think as the gentleman from
Arizona (Mr. Kolbe) supports.
Ten years ago when 800,000 Africans died in the Rwandan genocide, we
vowed, as the world has too often: never again. How is it that the
world so quickly forgets what ``never again'' means? What generated the
sentiment ``never again'' in the children, the women, the elderly? They
will not understand if we simply talk, if we simply say at some point
in time we will act.
We now have an opportunity to prove that we meant never again, that
this Nation, a beacon for human rights, decency and freedom will not
stand by, Mr. Chairman, and watch the slaughter of innocent men, women
and children. This Nation and the world have a moral obligation to act.
Mr. Chairman, we cannot ignore that moral obligation.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to a very
distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Shaw) who has lived through
several hurricanes right in his own home town.
Mr. SHAW. Mr. Chairman, I would like to speak just a moment to the
comments of my friend, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer). What he
said about the suffering in Africa is absolutely correct, but that has
nothing to do with this bill. This bill is about us and our neighbors,
and that is what we are talking about here this evening.
Florida is bleeding. It is bleeding. We have had tremendous damage
all throughout the State. Four hurricanes in one year. There is nobody
in this House, there is nobody alive today that can remember the
tremendous suffering that one State has suffered because of the hit of
four hurricanes. Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, this
is what this is about, and our neighbors to the Caribbean. And Haiti,
where they have bodies that are still hanging in trees because of the
devastation that they have been hit with.
These are the people that we are talking about tonight. These are the
people that we need to take care of because of this appropriations
bill.
Mr. Chairman, my friend, the gentleman from St. Petersburg, Florida
(Mr. Young), how fortunate we are to have him as chairman and the
cooperation of the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) that we have
gotten.
One thing about this Congress, we come together, we come together to

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bring an end to suffering, to bring an end to the damage and tremendous
damage that has been done in the State of Florida and across the
southeastern United States.
So tonight we will be united in our vote, and I am confident that we
will get great support on both sides of the aisle, and I thank the
chairman very much for bringing this bill so quickly. This is
absolutely unforeseen, the tremendous suffering that we have had in my
own home State of Florida, and I urge everyone to vote ``yes'' on this
most important bill.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Illinois (Mr. Jackson).
(Mr. JACKSON of Illinois asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, this emergency supplemental
should contain funding for African Union peace keepers in Sudan to
address the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today, but it does
not. Six thousand to 10,000 Darfurians are dying each month. That is
why the language should be in this bill, because this is the only bill
leaving this station until after the election.
1.2 million live in overcrowded camps needing security and struggling
to survive; 50,000 Darfurians have been brutally murdered, many in
front of their own family. This Congress in a unanimous way went on
record to declaring it a genocide and since 2003 the Sudanese
Government and their murderous Arab militia, the Janjaweed, have waged
a deliberate and systematic campaign of rape, torture, starvation, and
murder.
In September, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Kolbe) and I traveled
to see the devastation and destruction in Darfur. We both concluded
that the first and immediate step was to provide security for the
people of Darfur. This supplemental is the only bill that can provide
security for the people of Darfur. So we pledged to work together for
an expanded African Union and force in Darfur. But the chairman came to
the floor and said that the President already has the authority. But
the President just a few days ago in a debate declared that it was a
genocide, so why has he not exercised the authority?
Like the distinguished minority whip, the gentleman from Maryland
(Mr. Hoyer), said, we need the help now. Now the African Union is
moving forward to save lives. In the last few days they have reached an
agreement to deploy 3,500 additional troops into Darfur at an estimated
cost of $240 million of which the United States is expected to
contribute one-third. Yes, we must help the people of Darfur, but this
Congress is also on record suggesting that it is a genocide. Yes, the
people of Florida; yes, the people in the southern United States. But,
Mr. Chairman, not to do so would be a moral failure.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Weldon), the very distinguished member of
the Committee on Appropriations from Florida's east coast and Cape
Canaveral and the Space Center.
Mr. WELDON of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for
yielding me time, and I want to commend him for bringing this work and
this piece of legislation to the floor.
The past 6 weeks for me in the congressional district I represent
have been the worst 6 weeks that I have ever had to deal with. We had
Charley rip through the west side of the district after devastating the
southwest coast, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte. It came up into Orlando
and devastated the community of Kissimmee and St. Cloud, the community
that I represent; 200,000 people without electrical power, hundreds of
businesses destroyed, thousands of homes damaged or destroyed.
I thought that was it for the season and then a few weeks later we
had Frances, devastating the community of Vero Beach, Sabastian,
Melbourne Beach, Melbourne. Again, leaving businesses destroyed, people
unable to go into their homes. Tragically, it wreaked horrible damage
at our Nation's space center, Kennedy Space Center, the vehicle
assembly building badly damaged, a critical building that makes thermal
installation tiles and blankets for the Space Shuttle, the roof torn
off of it.
I thought we had had enough. I thought that was basically it. And
then to our shock and amazement Jeanne came through, a more powerful
hurricane than Frances with higher sustained winds, leaving again
hundreds of thousands of people without electrical power, shuttering
businesses. There are thousands, literally, there are thousands of
people in my congressional district who have had their homes destroyed,
destroyed.
You do not know what it is like to go to people's street and they
have seen everything they have absolutely destroyed.
This is very, very timely legislation. I very much appreciate the
money that the President has put in for the beach renourishment, but I
will just share with the chairman, I do not think this figure is
adequate. I think my congressional district alone can consume two-
thirds of that money. And I am looking forward to working with you.
This is not about just a place for people to swim. It is not just about
sea turtles having a place to lay their eggs. I have hotels that cannot
open, people that cannot go to their jobs. This is very, very bad; and
it is very, very timely we do this.
I know there are a lot of people that have been devastated in the
Carolinas and in Alabama and certainly in the gentleman from Florida's
(Mr. Miller) district in the panhandle. I see he has come to the floor.
I think his district is probably the worst hit in the State. I thank
the chairman for his hard work. We are looking to him to be our hero
again.

{time} 2030

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Kilpatrick).
(Ms. KILPATRICK asked and was given permission to revise and extend
her remarks.)
Ms. KILPATRICK. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
Young), our senior chairman for the Committee on Appropriations, and
the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey), our ranking member, for
bringing the bill to the floor. I want to thank them on their
speediness. I know $2 billion has already been appropriated. This
allows another $10 billion, not near enough, but it is certainly a
start.
Florida very definitely must be helped. The residents there have
shown that they are true patriots and Americans, and yes, they need the
help.
Also, the countries in the Caribbean, I thank my colleagues for the
$100 million, and it is most important that we help our neighbors in
this time of devastation. Whole countries have been devastated, 80
percent of some of their housing, their schools, their hospitals. This
will begin to help them, and I thank my colleagues for that. It is not
enough, but it is a start, and I hope we will continue to work on it.
There is much more to be done in the Caribbean, in Florida, and as
was mentioned, I am sure this Congress will be there.
In Darfur, as has been mentioned, in the Sudan, they, too, are in a
crisis. People are dying every day, Mr. Chairman. We need to help them.
The President has declared a genocide. The Secretary of State has
declared a genocide. We need to help them.
I call on the World Bank and the Inter-Development Bank to forgive
the loans of those Caribbean nations, to offer grants for those
nations. Those people need to get back on their feet as well.
I call on the World Bank and the Inter-Development Bank to help
Darfur, to help the Sudanese people. I think it is time to issue
sanctions against Sudan. That would help to make sure that the
Janjaweed would not terrorize the community, the nation, the people;
and they are doing just that.
So I ask for our President and this Congress, we must be the leaders
that God intends that we be. We must stand up, yes, help Florida, give
those people what they need. They have been there with us, and we owe
it to them. The Caribbean neighbors that we have, Haiti devastated, and
this appropriations bill that is now a supplemental moving quickly, and
we thank the leadership for that.
We need to do more for Darfur. We have got to do it. We ask for one-
half

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percent of the money that was appropriated to Iraq, $20 billion
appropriated, $2 billion spent. We can do better and I hope we will.
Today we are considering H.R. 5212, Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations for Hurricane Disasters. The funding levels within the
supplemental will provide $100 million for the Caribbean region which
has been devastated by recent hurricanes and tropical storms. As a
member of the House Appropriations Committee and the Subcommittee on
Foreign Operations, I have advocated for funds sufficient to address
humanitarian and reconstruction needs for countries affected in the
Caribbean.
While I am happy that funds have been provided, I am dismayed that
more funds were not provided. The good news is that Haiti, which is in
dire need of assistance, will receive perhaps as much as $72 million in
aid. The bad news is that other countries in the region will not
receive anything close to the monies necessary to rebuild schools and
to repair their infrastructures.
The country of Jamaica will receive only $17 million, but the
government estimates that it will take $250 million to rebuild homes,
replant crops, and build seawalls to protect against future hurricanes
and tropical storms. Grenada was also hit hard by storms and will
receive approximately $9 million in aid. Preliminary government
estimates are that 80 percent of the housing stock has been damaged, 10
percent or 10,000 homes will need to be replaced and 82,000 persons
have been displaced from their homes. Clearly Grenada needs more money,
and so do the countries of the Bahamas and St. Vincent and the
Grenadines that will receive $500,000 respectively.
Mr. Chairman, our Caribbean neighbors and friends are confronting
destruction of such magnitude that it will take them years to recover.
Many of these countries have previously received loans from the World
Bank and Inter-Development Bank. Virtually all of the countries
affected by the hurricanes can ill afford to carry more loan debt. I
call on the World Bank and the Inter-Development Bank to forgive the
debt of Caribbean countries affected by recent hurricanes. I also ask
both institutions to issue immediate grants to these countries to help
restore their schools, hospitals, food production capability, and the
other essentials of everyday life. These international lending
institutions must re-evaluate how to facilitate a policy of loan
forgiveness or grants for these storm ravaged Caribbean countries.
It is an unfortunate reality that the region will continue to
confront seasonal hurricanes and storms. Invariably, the region will
continue to rely on the United States to provide humanitarian and
disaster assistance in the future. Although our nation is limited in
its ability to fully fund post-hurricane reconstruction efforts, we
must endeavor to provide greater resources than the allocation in the
supplemental. I support the bill before us. I regret that we could not
provide greater funding to address the dire circumstances that exist in
the Caribbean.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, last week I had the privilege of
accepting an invitation from the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Miller) to
visit his district where the naval air station at Pensacola is located
and was devastated. I am happy to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Miller) who has done a tremendous job in helping his
people recover from this hurricane.
Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairman, and I rise
this evening in support of H.R. 5212. I thank the chairman on behalf of
the 630,000 resilient folks of Florida's Emerald Coast, home to
America's first settlement, the cradle of naval aviation, the largest
Air Force base in the Western Hemisphere and thousands of small
business owners, farmers and military veterans. The chairman's
commitment to our efforts to rebuild stronger and better than ever has
not gone unnoticed and will not be forgotten.
Mr. Chairman, on September 16, Hurricane Ivan devastated northwest
Florida, leaving no life untouched. It was a monstrous storm, residents
locked down as they were instructed, and nearly a day before the storm
began its march towards the northern Gulf coast, defenseless beaches
began to feel its first blows. By midnight, rising seas, hurricane
force winds and driving rain were being felt all across my
congressional district.
The storm continued its rage through the night and well into the next
day with its 130-mile-an-hour winds, its 16-foot storm surge, leaving
damage, devastation and death in its path for hundreds of miles.
In the days following Ivan, President Bush, a host of Cabinet
secretaries and under secretaries and the chairman visited my district
and saw firsthand the devastation. My colleague has seen that we are a
resilient people and we will bounce back.
Folks now have ice, they have food, they have water. The lights are
coming back on. The bridges are being mended. Roofs are tarped and
naval aviators are training once again, but we still need help.
This emergency funding measure will deliver what we need to rebuild
our bases, our seashores, our bridges, our roads and our lives, and I
think that this bill is just what the Federal Government should be
doing to fulfill its responsibility to provide the appropriate aid as
quickly as possible. From here, we will ensure that it gets into the
intended hands as quickly as possible.
As for the Panhandle's future, it is not our character to give up
hope. Our communities will continue to unite together. We will rebuild
our military infrastructure, and Pensacola will remain the cradle of
aviation. To me, there is no place in the world like the Florida
Panhandle, and its residents know that there is no better place to
rebuild our lives.
I thank the chairman for his efforts.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, might I inquire as to how much
time is remaining on either side?
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) has 10\1/2\
minutes remaining, and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) has
17\1/2\ minutes remaining.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to another distinguished
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Davis).
Mr. DAVIS of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I represent the Tampa Bay area,
adjacent to the gentleman from Florida's (Mr. Young) district.
The community I represent went through four separate preparations for
these horrific hurricanes that have been described tonight, and we were
blessed to avoid most of the damage, but the State has suffered
immensely. As we stand here tonight, enjoying some electricity, there
are still thousands of people in Florida who have no electricity and no
water.
I rise tonight in support of the resolution, applauding the gentleman
from Florida (Mr. Young) for bringing our congressional delegation
together and also to thank our colleagues and the folks they represent
around the country for coming together to support us at a very, very
difficult time. We will not forget this.
I also want to take the opportunity to thank the countless volunteers
and workers, particularly from utility companies, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia. These convoys were traveling night and
day up and down our interstate highways, people coming and spending a
lot of time away from their families, working around the clock for much
longer periods than they expected, to help us put the State back
together.
I also want to recognize the faith community, the Georgia Baptist
Convention, other people coming from churches and other religious
organizations throughout the country to volunteer, in many cases on
their own nickel, in some very difficult circumstances. We will not
forget that either, and we are very appreciative.
Finally, I want to highlight what the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
Boyd), whose district is adjacent to the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
Miller), pointed out: There is roughly a discrepancy of about $2
billion between what had been originally determined to be the amount
that was needed for hurricane relief and what we are voting on tonight,
and it is very important, if we are going to get this job done, we get
it done right.
So I want to encourage the Congress to work with the gentleman from
Florida (Chairman Young) as he attempts to fill that gap. There are a
couple of areas involving highway grant funds, money for beach
restoration, money for repair of military facilities; and a good job is
worth doing well. We need to make sure we get this done right before
the bill gets to the President's desk.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the
distinguished gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica) for the purpose of a
colloquy.
Mr. MICA. Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to engage with the chairman of
the Committee on Appropriations in this colloquy.

[[Page H8297]]

First of all, I want to take a moment and commend the gentleman from
Florida (Chairman Young) and the Committee on Appropriations for
bringing this supplemental appropriation to the floor. I thank him for
his leadership in the House of Representatives and for his service to
our State and our Nation in this difficult time.
As some of my colleagues may know, central Florida is the fern
capital of the United States. Unfortunately, the nursery and fern
industry suffered the second largest amount of agricultural damage from
recent hurricanes, just behind citrus.
The United States Department of Agriculture staff estimates that 65
percent of the industry's total acreage in central Florida has been
totally lost. In addition to $32 million in infrastructure losses, the
industry has suffered crop losses of $76 million. Worse, it takes some
7 years to reestablish crops in natural shade, and the long-term loss
is estimated at $235 million.
Mr. Chairman, the total economic impact from hurricanes on the fern
industry, the lifeblood of this central part of our State, is $342
million.
It is my understanding that by adding an additional $90 million to
section 32 funds, the USDA will be able to ensure that they will have
adequate funds to make payments to producers in Florida, including
those in the fern industry.
I would ask the gentleman from Florida if this is his understanding
as well.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. MICA. I yield to the gentleman from Florida.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I will say to the gentleman that,
yes, this is my understanding.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman's courtesy
in permitting me to speak on this bill. I rise in support of it. Our
hearts again go out to the victims of natural disasters like the
hurricane in the Southeast, but I would, with all due respect, suggest
that we ought to start thinking about how we can do more.
This is the second time we have done this in 2 months, but it is not
just a once-in-a-century occurrence in Florida. In 2003, President Bush
issued 56 major disaster declarations. So far this year he has already
issued 46. During the 8 years I have been in Congress there have been
at least 10 disaster supplementals, and we have appropriated over $20
billion in disaster relief funding in supplementals.
CRS has testified that there is no systematic accounting of disaster
relief funding, even just the Federal cost. Now these bills are popular
and they are important. They make us feel better; they help people. But
always acting after the fact we create a wider hole for the taxpayers,
and we keep putting people in harm's way.
I remember in 1999, where we had supplemental funding that put hog
lagoons back in a flood plain. Now, we should not just continue to
clean up after these tragedies and these messes.
Congress has an opportunity to make a real difference to prevent some
of the future damage when we have major legislation like this. Whether
it is flooding, fires, hurricanes, drought or earthquakes, we can make
a difference ahead of time.
I look at what happened in California with the recent wildfires that
we have seen earlier in this Congress. We saw in Ventura County and Los
Angeles County, Stevenson Ranch, where people did some thoughtful
planning before the fact and the losses were dramatically reduced.
We should at a minimum create a comprehensive national strategy for
responding to and preparing for recurrent natural hazards. It ought to
include consistent Federal policies. We should shift some of our
Federal investments to prevention and protection. We should provide
technical and financial assistance to support State and local
mitigation efforts like in the State of Florida, hazard mapping, land
use planning, building standards, retrofitting existing structures. We
should use our Federal facilities in States like Florida to model the
best practice in terms of location and safe construction.
Now, earlier this year, we stepped in this direction, reforming the
flood insurance program. The funding in this bill will save the Federal
Government millions of dollars in avoided flood damage, such as we are
currently seeing in Florida, and it will reduce losses in the future
and take people out of harm's way. Unfortunately, this bill,
authorized, has not been funded.
I sincerely hope we pass this bill today, and I look forward to
seeing what the chairman and the ranking member can work out to do it
in a comprehensive way to make sure that people are not left in the
lurch.
But when my colleagues are adding more in, please consider doing a
little bit to help people in Florida and other areas avoid danger in
the future. Fund the flood insurance reform that does not cost any
general fund money. It simply takes some that is already there in that
fund and allows it to be used. And let us not put people back in harm's
way; let us give them a helping hand, as well as assistance.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms.
Harris) knows exactly what it is like to live through a hurricane and
to suffer severe damage to properties and investments. I yield 3
minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Harris).
(Ms. HARRIS asked and was given permission to revise and extend her
remarks.)
Ms. HARRIS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 5212, which
provides the people of Florida with the emergency assistance they need
and deserve.
As I have visited emergency operations centers, Red Cross shelters
and temporary housing sites throughout Florida's 13th Congressional
District, I have been truly amazed by the courage, faith and compassion
that I have witnessed.
We have heard about the resilience of these Floridians. I am reminded
when I was visiting Hardee and De Soto, just moments before Hurricane
Jeanne hit, several neighboring counties had offered to do a barbecue
for some 600 folks who had been put out of their homes. When the rains
once again came, I was humbled to hear those residents, who had lost
everything, say that they were glad Jeanne was crossing once again
their threshold since they had lost everything; if it came this way,
they had nothing else to lose, and they were glad it was not going to
harm anyone else.

{time} 2045

The people of Florida have met the unprecedented devastation of four
hurricanes with extraordinary selflessness, determination and unity.
They have done everything they can to begin rebuilding their lives. Now
it is our turn to do everything we can to help them.
Thanks to the leadership of the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young),
we acted swiftly and decisively in appropriating an initial $2 billion
for hurricane relief last week, and it was a good start, but a small
fraction of the assistance necessary to combat the continued threat to
property, to health and to livelihoods.
For example, these hurricanes destroyed beaches throughout our State,
including Venice Beach in Southwest Florida. Homes now lie unprotected
and exposed. This bill provides the critical funding that will enable
the Army Corps of Engineers to prevent further damage.
I understand the desire on the part of many of my colleagues to
address other disasters as part of this bill. We cannot, however,
afford to get bogged down in considering additional measures that do
not specifically relate to hurricane relief. Hurricane victims simply
cannot afford to wait while we evaluate unrelated assistance proposals,
as worthy as they may be.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters).
Ms. WATERS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time, and I rise in support of H.R. 5212, the Supplemental
Appropriations Act, which provides disaster relief for damage caused by
hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, which caused widespread
damage in several States of the United States as well as several
Caribbean countries.
My colleagues, I would like to say that my heart goes out to all of
the families and victims of these disasters, but I am very pleased that
we live in a prosperous Nation where we can appropriate $11 billion to
assist in recovery

[[Page H8298]]

actions of Florida and other areas that were devastated. The recent
hurricanes had devastating impacts on the entire Caribbean region. In
Grenada, Hurricane Ivan destroyed 90 percent of all the homes, as well
as numerous government buildings, hospitals, schools and churches. In
Haiti, Hurricane Jeanne caused extensive flooding, killed over 3,000
people, with thousands more in desperate need of food, clean water,
emergency shelter, and medical care. And stagnant waters have given
rise to a large mosquito population that could lead to a malaria
epidemic.
I could go on and tell you about Jamaica and St. Vincent and the
other islands in the Caribbean. And I am thankful President Bush
proposed $50 million in supplemental appropriations, and I understand,
as of this evening, that has been raised to $100 million. We are indeed
grateful that we can help our small neighboring countries in this way.
But this cannot begin to meet the tremendous needs of thousands of
affected people in Haiti and Grenada and other Caribbean nations.
I sent a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Committee
on Appropriations requesting a supplemental appropriation of at least
$500 million in disaster relief for the Caribbean. Sixteen Members of
Congress signed my letter. That is all the time I had to get
signatures. This Supplemental Appropriations Act does provide, again,
$100 million for these nations, and I am grateful, but I would hope
that, in conference, we could raise that to $500 million. It would go a
long way in these very small countries and help them to deal with this
terrible devastation they are experiencing.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 5 minutes.
Mr. Chairman, what has happened on this bill is that after the four
disasters that have been referred to this evening, the committee did
what we did after the Congress was hit by anthrax a number of years
ago. The committee went around to the agencies to try to figure out
exactly what it was they needed to fully meet the needs of people who
had been hit by these disasters. They went to the Agriculture
Department, and the Agriculture Department people unofficially told the
Congress what they thought the real level of need was.
There are some 35 States who have legitimate needs that need to be
responded to with respect to refurbishing or reconstructing highways
that have been damaged. And there are various other needs that will be
listed in a chart which I will ask at the proper time to insert in the
record following the remarks I am now making.
Essentially, the chairman, his staff and my staff, tried to work out
what we thought was a tightly disciplined package to meet legitimate
needs being faced in this unprecedented hurricane year. Unfortunately,
the way this place has come to work more and more is that people who
know the least about problems are the people who often have the most to
say about how they are dealt with.
And so, as a result, people who did not go around looking at the
damage on the ground, as some of our Florida colleagues did, people who
did not have a direct knowledge of the damage that was done and the
kind of relief that was needed, they, for ideological reasons, decided
that the committee product did not suit their pure idea of what was
good and righteous, and so they decided, well, no, that is too much
money. So the bill has been scaled back.
Now, as a result of its being scaled back, we are going to have a
couple of amendments that are offered in Rube Goldberg fashion which
will try to meet some of these legitimate needs by slashing into funds
that meet other Americans' legitimate needs in programs ranging from
agriculture conservation to cancer research. So we will be asked to
vote for a bill which, as the gentleman from Florida indicated, may be
good as far as it goes, but it sure does not go very far given the real
need.
Now, this damage did not occur in my district, but there have been
times when it did, and I know how badly we needed that help. And I know
when my farmers were hit with droughts how badly they needed that help.
And if we cannot remember what it was like when our constituents were
hit with this kind of problem, then we cannot expect other Members to
remember when we have a problem.
So I regret the fact that we have this half-a-loaf approach. I assume
people will vote for it in the end because it is about all that we can
get out of the system, but this, again, is a sorry mess. This Congress
has not hesitated to provide $128,000 tax cuts to people making a
million bucks a year. But, oh, if you are a farmer who was hit by
drought or if you are a property owner hit by hurricane damage or if
you are a town chairman trying to deal with your road problem, sorry,
buddy, you take second place, you take third place, you can sit in the
caboose. We have to put that millionaire in the front seat, first
class.
That is essentially what this Congress has done on program after
program all year long. We should not be surprised they would do it
again tonight. It is too bad, but there is not much we can do about it
because the powers that be in this place have decided this is the way
it is going to be.
Mr. Chairman, may I ask how much time remains?
The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Wisconsin has 5\1/2\ minutes.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Stenholm).
Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me
this time, and I first want to commend the chairman and the committee
for the manner in which they have attempted to deal with a very serious
problem, and not just in his State.
I repeat again, the devastation that has occurred in Florida I
recognize, and I recognize the need for this body to step forward and
to help, as the gentleman from Wisconsin just expressed. We have some
disasters in west Texas, drought, excessive rain, some of it produced
by the same storm system that hit Florida.
My frustration, not with the chairman but with the leadership on the
Chairman's side of the aisle, is what I expressed by offering the
amendment and asking that the previous question be struck. Because,
yesterday, we had 44 Members of this body, including 14 on the
Republican side of the aisle, that supported the best policy way of
dealing with the problems that we are having all over the United
States.
The President did not say our bill was bad. The President, in his
proposal, said that we should treat disasters just like we have always
treated them, as an emergency. The moment we begin to treat disasters
as nonemergency and begin to budget for them, we have problems, and we
have understood that in this body with the rule over the years, with
the budget. Now, all of a sudden, once again, the leadership on the
Republican side waves their magic wand, and all of a sudden, everyone
falls into line.
And no matter how many times some try to explain we are not reopening
the farm bill, we are reopening the farm bill in ways that it will take
a few months perhaps to fully understand and appreciate. Because once
we begin to tamper with the farm bill, just once, for short-term
political benefit, then get ready for what happens next. I have been
around here a few years, and I know what happens.
I guess the point I want to make, though, is, what happened between
yesterday and today? What is it that yesterday had everyone from non-
Florida States saying the best way to deal with this disaster is to
treat everyone alike and fairly, 2003 to 2004, declare it an emergency,
which is what this whole debate and discussion is about; then, all of a
sudden we say, no, we are going to treat agriculture different? Of all
of the appropriation bills, of all of the authorization bills, of
anything that we have done in this body, we are now saying, treat
agriculture different.
In fact, we now have a Member of the House Ag Committee, and to my
chagrin, the chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, who has
adopted this now. Why? Because the leadership of this House said we
have to do it this way. Well, 14 Members, and you can start taking a
look, there are many Members who voted for the previous question who
when they wake up tomorrow will find out that their district has
benefitted from the conservation security program and that they have
voted now to cut out a program

[[Page H8299]]

that many of their producers have said is a good program and should be
carried forward. But because they have followed their leadership, not
the policymakers of this body, they have decided that that is the way
to go.
Well, I understand. It takes 218 votes. We lost on the previous
question. Fourteen Members who yesterday said treat everybody alike
today said, no, we are going to follow the leadership of this body.

{time} 2100

Take a good look at the leadership of this body and their opinion of
what farm policy should be. That is what they are doing on their side
of the aisle. But as long as they have got 218 votes, they can do it.
I conclude my remarks by again commending the gentleman from Florida
(Mr. Young). Of all of the people on their side of the aisle, Mr.
Chairman, I constantly marvel at his demeanor, his patience, the manner
in which he accepts his frustrations from time to time and deals with a
very difficult job, but he does it well. I know a little bit about what
has gone on within his committee, and I want to thank him publicly for
what he has tried to do.
I hope that when they get to conference and work with the other body
that he does what he said a moment ago, and we will put together a bill
that deals with all of the problems in a fair and equitable way. And I
will stand with him on that, as I do tonight.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
Mr. Chairman, I am going to repeat just briefly what I said earlier,
that H.R. 5212, which is the bill we have under consideration at this
moment, is a good bill as far as it goes. But it does not go far
enough. It is about $1.6 billion short, and that $1.6 billion we added
in H.R. 5227. For those who were concerned about spending the extra
money, we have offset it. In our bill, H.R. 5227, we offset that $1.6
billion, so there is no real added cost.
I want a good vote on H.R. 5212. I want to get this bill into
conference as soon as we can. We need to finish this job before we
leave here for the election break. I do not want the people in Florida
to have to wait 3 or 4 weeks before this financial recovery comes to
them. I would point out again that FEMA has advised me that by Friday
night this week, they will be pretty much out of money. We cannot let
that happen.
I wanted to just take a minute and explain what we think should be in
this bill that is not, and what is in H.R. 5227. For agriculture, we
add $509 million for additional assistance for agriculture and rural
areas.
For highways and airports, we add $750 million for the Federal
Highway Administration's emergency relief program. Highways, believe it
or not, have been seriously damaged and destroyed by the hurricanes
that visited Florida.
For NASA, we add $59 million to repair the damage at the Kennedy
Space Center, but also to harden the existing facilities to prevent
further damage from hurricanes.
For the Army Corps of Engineers, this is very important to a lot of
Members, we add $147 million to make emergency repairs to waterways and
shore areas, including dredging harbors and inlets that have been
filled in by the erosion of the storm and shore protection projects.
For National parks and wildlife refuges, we add $108 million to
repair those facilities, to clear debris from the national parks,
forests and wildlife refuges based on the most recent estimates from
the Federal agencies.
We add $7 million to adequately reflect the most current damages to
the United States Coast Guard and their facilities.
As I said earlier, there is nothing political in this bill. These are
not Member projects. These are not political projects. These are things
that were damaged in disastrous hurricanes, that need to be fixed. H.R.
5227 fixes them; H.R. 5212 does not.
Again, H.R. 5212 is a good bill as far as it goes and it does
maintain most of the promises that the President made to Florida. We
are going to make sure and I am going to do everything possible to make
sure that everything the President promised is going to be delivered by
the Congress. I would not do less. I would do everything possible to
see the additional hurricane relief, recovery, and disaster funds that
I have included in H.R. 5227, become part of the appropriations
process, and part of the appropriations bill. And let us get on with
rebuilding a great State, a great State where every section of that
State was affected by one or more of those disastrous hurricanes.
Mr. Chairman, I thank you very much for the way you have conducted
the consideration of this bill today and the discussion and debate on
the floor. I look forward to further discussion on two amendments that
I know that the rule has made in order.
But, all in all, I want to pass H.R. 5212 with the hope and
expectation that H.R. 5227 will come along behind it, which is the
better bill. But H.R. 5212 is a good bill as far as it goes.
Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Chairman, I rise today, along with many of my
distinguished colleagues, to speak on the importance of Supplemental
Disaster Relief. First, I want to thank the Florida delegation,
President Bush and Governor Bush for their efforts. Florida, in itself,
has experienced an unprecedented number of hurricanes that have
ravished our state in the past months. The 6th District of Florida,
which I represent, is located in the North Central region of the state
and does not contain any coastline.
However, it is important to realize how an entire state and outlying
states can be affected by natural disasters. The 6th District of
Florida is an example of such. All of the counties in my district,
though all land-locked, were declared disaster areas by FEMA, by one
hurricane or another. Farmers, businesses, schools and communities were
halted in preparation of the hurricanes that were coming and were
immobilized for days, and even weeks after the hurricanes hit. There
are many different areas of a community that get affected by natural
disasters and this supplemental package makes sure that all facets are
getting the relief needed. In closing, I want to praise FEMA for doing
an exceptional job responding and providing help to the citizens of
Florida and praise Chairman Young for his efforts in seeking aid for
such a worthy cause. I urge my colleagues to support the Supplemental
Disaster Relief funding.
Ms. CORRINE BROWN of Florida. I want to thank the gentlemen from
Wisconsin and Florida for their hard work on this legislation.
This bill is needed now and the Committee is doing its job by getting
this bill to be considered on its own rather than as part of another
appropriations bill.
However, there are still thousands of people in Florida without
electricity.
These storms had a huge impact on our tourist based economy with
millions of dollars lost in hotel rooms alone.
Car dealerships, mobile home dealerships, boat dealerships have been
wiped from the face of the earth.
I rise to object to the limited funds available for the small farmers
in Florida. It is the end of the growing season and there is no chance
to recover any of the investment that the small farmers in my district
put into their land.
Farmers are losing an entire year's crop and have nothing to show for
it.
Wihle some crops still have time to rebound and get back some
investment by the end of the growing season, the squash farmers in my
area are totally out of luck. I heard from one gentleman, Mr. Roy
Brown, who has 40 acres of squash that is ruined. He has put $520 into
each acre, for a total loss of $20,000.
While there is some compensation available, by rule he can only get
50 percent of his investment back. That leaves him over $10,000 in the
hole.
Why did it take so long for the money to get to these people? Have
they not suffered enough without needing to wait for us to get to work?
We need more money for these people who have suffered from 4
hurricanes in a 6-week period.
Mr. JACKSON of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, this emergency supplemental
should contain funding for African Union peacekeepers in Sudan to
address the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. But, it does
not.
6,000 to 10,000 Darfurians are dying each month.
1.2 million live in overcrowded camps, needing security and
struggling to survive.
50,000 Darfurians have been brutally murdered, many in front of their
own family.
Since 2003, the Sudanese government and their murderous Arab militia,
the ``Janjaweed,'' have waged a deliberate and systematic campaign of
rape, torture, starvation and murder.
In September, Chairman Jim Kolbe and I traveled to see the
devastation and destruction in Darfur. We both concluded that the first
and immediate step was to provide security for the people of Darfur.
So, we pledged to work together for an expanded African Union force
and mission in Darfur.

[[Page H8300]]

The Administration seemed to agree. In last week's debate, the
president stated: ``in . . . Darfur, I agree it's genocide . . . I
agree with my opponent that we shouldn't be committing troops. That we
ought to be working with the African Union to do so . . . My hope is
that the African Union moves rapidly to help save lives.''
Now, the AU is moving forward to save lives. In the last few days,
they've reached an agreement to deploy 3,500 additional troops into
Darfur, at an estimated cost of $240 million, of which the United
States is expected to contribute about one-third.
But, this emergency supplemental does not provide it. What a glaring
omission with potentially tragic consequences.
So, Mr. Chairman, we must amend this supplemental in conference by
transferring funds from the Iraq Reconstruction and Relief Fund to
support the AU peacekeeping force in Sudan.
Not to do so would be a moral failure.
Mr. MEEKS of New York. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to join with other
Members of Congress in calling for humanitarian assistance to the
Caribbean countries devastated by Hurricane Charley, Frances, Ivan, and
Jean.
We all know that the southern United States and particularly Florida
have been hurt badly by the worst series of hurricanes in decades and I
pray for their continued strength and determination through these
difficult times.
But, even as we help Florida, Alabama, and other states here in the
United States struggle to recover from the devastation inflicted by
successive hurricanes, we cannot be indifferent to the destruction the
hurricanes delivered to a number of our Caribbean neighbors.
Ninety percent of the buildings on Grenada have been damaged. The
Bahamas and Jamaica have been hit hard. The Puerto Rico, the Dominican
Republic, and Haiti have experienced flooding and mudslides. The
hurricanes have robbed hundreds of people of their lives and tens of
thousands of their livelihoods.
Two-thirds of the population of Grenada have been left homeless and
it is estimated that millions will be needed to rebuild. Death tolls in
Haiti are at the 3,000 marker.
While $50 million will begin to address the humanitarian and
reconstruction needs, this is only a beginning. Hurricane Mitch in
Honduras required $400 million. We can do at least as much for our
neighbors.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Chairman, first, I thank the distinguished Gentleman
(Mr. Hastings) for yielding and for his leadership on the Rules
Committee.
The funding level for hurricane-ravaged Caribbean countries is
totally inadequate, and this bill fails to include any funding to
address the ongoing genocide in Sudan.
The Bush Administration's actions on Darfur continue to be too
little, too late.
It took months for them to call the actions of the Khartoum
Government and their militias a ``genocide'' against the Darfur people.
Now, that we have called the killing, raping, and torture what it is,
the Republican leadership has done little to nothing to bring
international support through funding and resources.
I stand here today with my colleagues calling on this Administration
to re-program and re-allocate money from the re-building Iraq accounts,
and into the peacekeeping and humanitarian relief programs desperately
needed in Darfur.
Not only does this bill ignore the desperation of the victims in
Sudan, but it provides woefully inadequate resources for our Caribbean
neighbors suffering from the devastating blows of the hurricanes.
Our Third Border neighbors are suffering. Earlier this year, the
House passed H. Con. Res. 496, a bi-partisan resolution that I
introduced, expressing empathy for the Caribbean, and urging the U.S.
government to step up and lend a hand to our neighbors in need.
The last I checked, we were the wealthiest, most powerful country in
the world.
We can afford to give $200 billion to fight an unfounded war in Iraq,
but we cannot imagine giving one-one thousandth (\1/1000\th) of that to
our neighbors who are in desperate need.
There were four hurricanes in five weeks. People are starving. Homes
are in shambles, and more than 441,000 people are displaced.
Frankly, the $100 million included in this bill to assist the
Caribbean is embarrassing.
We should be considering at least $250 million, or really $500
million as may Congressional Black Caucus colleagues and I continue to
push for.
Seventy percent of Grenadians have been left homeless; all their
economic sectors were severely affected.
More than 2000 Haitians are dead, and 300,000 people homeless.
We must support rebuilding the entire region and take a more
comprehensive and democratic approach in our policies toward Haiti.
For weeks, CARICOM officials and congressional leaders have been
meeting to discuss the damage to the entire region. Most Americans know
firsthand the devastation caused by natural disasters--floods,
droughts, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and earthquakes.
Throughout our country, individuals, churches, grassroots groups,
non-profit organizations have rushed to assist in relief efforts to the
region.
Mr. Chairman, these nations are simply overwhelmed.
So while the $100 million in assistance this bill contains is a good
start, it is only that. That is why my colleagues and I will advocate
for additional funding to address these disasters.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my
time.
The CHAIRMAN. All time for general debate has expired.
Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read for amendment under
the 5-minute rule.
The text of H.R. 5212 is as follows:

H.R. 5212

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the
following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the
Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2005, to provide emergency supplemental
appropriations for additional disaster assistance relating to
storm damage, and for other purposes, namely:

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

National Forest System

For an additional amount for ``National Forest System,''
$2,000,000, to remain available until expended, for emergency
hurricane-related expenses: Provided, That Congress
designates this amount as an emergency requirement for this
specific purpose.

Capital Improvements and Maintenance

For an additional amount for ``Capital Improvements and
Maintenance'', $33,000,000, to remain available until
expended, for emergency hurricane-related expenses: Provided,
That Congress designates this amount as an emergency
requirement for this specific purpose.

General Provisions--Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Assistance

Agricultural Hurricane Assistance

Sec. 101. (a) Crop Disaster Assistance.--
(1)(A) The Secretary of Agriculture shall use such sums as
are necessary of funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to
make emergency financial assistance available to producers on
a farm in the United States, including Puerto Rico that have
incurred qualifying losses for the 2004 or 2005 crop of an
agricultural commodity due to damaging weather related to any
hurricane or tropical storm of the 2004 hurricane season, in
counties declared disaster areas by the President of the
United States.
(B) The Secretary shall make assistance available under
this section in the same manner as provided under section 202
of Public Law 108-7, including using the same loss thresholds
as were used in administering that section.
(2)(A) The payment rate for a crop for assistance provided
under this section to the producers on a farm shall be
calculated as follows:
(i) If the producers obtained a policy or plan of
insurance, including a catastrophic risk protection plan, for
the crop under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501
et seq.), 50 percent of the established RMA price for the
crop.
(ii) If a policy or plan of insurance, including a
catastrophic risk protection plan, for the crop was not
available to the producers under the Federal Crop Insurance
Act, 50 percent of the State average price for the crop.
(iii) Subject to sub-paragraphs 4 and 5, if the producers
did not obtain a policy or plan of insurance, including a
catastrophic risk protection plan, available for the crop
under the Federal Crop Insurance Act, 45 percent of the
established RMA price for the crop.
(B) The amount of assistance that a producer would
otherwise receive for a qualifying crop or quality loss under
paragraph A of this subsection shall be reduced by the amount
of assistance that the producer receives from section 32 of
the Act of August 24, 1935 with respect to 2004 hurricane
losses.
(C)(i) Assistance provided under this section to a producer
for losses to a crop, together with the amounts specified in
paragraph (2)(A) applicable to the same crop, may not exceed
95 percent of what the value of the crop would have been in
the absence of the losses, as estimated by the Secretary.
(ii) In applying the limitation in paragraph (C)(i), the
Secretary shall include the following:
(A) Any crop insurance payment made under the Federal Crop
Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) or payment under
section 196 of the Federal Agricultural Improvement and
Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333) that the producer receives
for losses to the same crop.
(B) The value of the crop that was not lost (if any), as
estimated by the Secretary.
(iii) Payments will be limited to a maximum of $80,000 per
producer.
(A) This limit applies to the sum of payments from this
program, as well as payments made under section 32 of the Act
of

[[Page H8301]]

August 24, 1935 with respect to 2004 hurricane losses.
(3) Except as provided in paragraph (4), the producers on a
farm shall not be eligible for assistance under this section
with respect to losses to an insurable commodity or
noninsurable commodity if the producers on the farm--
(A) in the case of an insurable commodity, did not obtain a
policy or plan of insurance for the insurable commodity under
the Federal Crop Insurance Act for the crop incurring the
losses; and
(B) in the case of a noninsurable commodity, did not file
the required paperwork, and pay the administrative fee by the
applicable State filing deadline, for the noninsurable
commodity under section 196 of the Federal Agriculture
Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 for the crop incurring the
losses; or
(C) had adjusted gross incomes, as defined by section 1001D
of the Food Security Act of 1985, of greater than $2.5
million in 2003; or
(D) were not in compliance with highly erodible land
conservation and wetland conservation provisions.
(4) The Secretary may waive paragraphs (3)(A) and (B) with
respect to the producers on a farm if the producers enter
into a contract with the Secretary under which the producers
agree--
(A) in the case of an insurable commodity, to obtain a
policy or plan of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance
Act providing additional coverage for the insurable commodity
for each of the next two crop years;
(B) in the case of a noninsurable commodity, to file the
required paperwork, and pay the administrative fee by the
applicable State filing deadline, for the noninsurable
commodity for each of the next two crops under section 196 of
the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996.
(5) In the event of the violation of a contract under
paragraph (4) by a producer, the producer shall reimburse the
Secretary for the full amount of the assistance provided to
the producer under this section.
(6) Definitions.--In this sub-section:
(A) The term ``additional coverage'' has the meaning given
the term in section 502(b)(1) of the Federal Crop Insurance
Act (7 U.S.C. 1502(b)(1).
(B) The term ``insurable commodity'' means an agricultural
commodity (excluding livestock) for which the producers on a
farm are eligible to obtain a policy or plan of insurance
under the Federal Crop Insurance Act.
(C) The term ``noninsurable commodity'' means an eligible
crop for which the producers on a farm are eligible to obtain
assistance under section 196 of the Federal Agriculture
Improvement and Reform Act of 1996.
(b) Clean-Up Assistance.--The Secretary shall provide up to
$100,000,000 of Commodity Credit Corporation funds for the
Emergency Watershed Protection Program and/or the Emergency
Conservation Program to carry out additional activities in
response to the 2004 hurricanes and tropical storms,
including the provision of technical and financial assistance
for improvements and clean-up. Persons that received payments
from section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 with respect to
2004 hurricane losses are not eligible for these funds. Funds
will be allocated to the programs, as determined by the
Secretary.
(c) Section 32 Payments.--The Secretary shall transfer
$90,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to
the fund established by section 32 of the Act of August 24,
1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c), to carry out payments with respect to
2004 hurricane losses.
(d) The Secretary shall use the funds, facilities, and
authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out
this section, to remain available through September 30, 2006.
(e) The Secretary may promulgate such regulations as are
necessary to implement this section, provided that the
Secretary shall use the authority provided under 5 U.S.C.
808.
(f) Congress designates the amounts provided under this
section as an emergency requirement for the specific purposes
authorized herein.
Sec. 102. In addition to amounts otherwise provided, up to
$130,000,000, to remain available until expended, for the
Emergency Watershed Protection Program and/or the Emergency
Conservation Program for emergency hurricane-related expenses
including the provision of technical and financial assistance
for improvements and clean-up: Provided, That Congress
designates this amount as an emergency requirement for these
purposes. Persons that received payments from section 32 of
the Act of August 24, 1935 with respect to 2004 hurricane
losses are not eligible for these funds.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Operations, Research, and Facilities

For an additional amount for ``Operations, Research, and
Facilities'', $7,900,000, to remain available until expended:
Provided, That Congress designates this amount as an
emergency requirement for this specific purpose.

Procurement, Acquisition and Construction

For an additional amount for ``Procurement, Acquisition and
Construction'', $6,800,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That Congress designates this amount as
an emergency requirement for this specific purpose.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Military Personnel

Military Personnel, Navy

For an additional amount for ``Military Personnel, Navy'',
$1,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2005, for
emergency hurricane-related expenses, for the costs of
evacuation, which shall be available for transfer to
reimburse costs incurred in FY 2004 as a result of emergency
evacuations due to hurricanes: Provided, That Congress
designates this amount as an emergency requirement for this
specific purpose.

Military Personnel, Air Force

For an additional amount for ``Military Personnel, Air
Force'', $13,225,000, to remain available until September 30,
2005, for emergency hurricane-related expenses, for the costs
of evacuation, which shall be available for transfer to
reimburse costs incurred in FY 2004 as a result of emergency
evacuations due to hurricanes: Provided, That Congress
designates this amount as an emergency requirement for this
specific purpose.

Operation and Maintenance

Operation and Maintenance, Army

For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Army'', $2,844,000, to remain available until September 30,
2005, for emergency hurricane-related expenses, for the costs
of repairs to structures and equipment, evacuation, base
preparation, and base recovery; of which not to exceed 25
percent shall be available for transfer to reimburse costs
incurred in FY 2004 as a result of emergency evacuations and
immediate recovery related to basic infrastructure due to
hurricanes: Provided, That Congress designates these amounts
as an emergency requirement for this specific purpose.

Operation and Maintenance, Navy

For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Navy'', $404,591,000, to remain available until September 30,
2005, for emergency hurricane-related expenses, for the costs
of repairs to structures and equipment, evacuation, base
preparation, and base recovery; of which not to exceed 25
percent shall be available for transfer to reimburse costs
incurred in FY 2004 as a result of emergency evacuations and
immediate recovery related to basic infrastructure due to
hurricanes: Provided, That Congress designates these amounts
as an emergency requirement for this specific purpose.

Operation and Maintenance, Air Force

For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Air Force'', $128,672,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2005, for emergency hurricane-related expenses,
for the costs of repairs to structures and equipment,
evacuation, base preparation, and base recovery; of which not
to exceed 25 percent shall be available for transfer to
reimburse costs incurred in FY 2004 as a result of emergency
evacuations and immediate recovery related to basic
infrastructure due to hurricanes: Provided, That Congress
designates these amounts as an emergency requirement for this
specific purpose.

Operation and Maintenance, Defense-Wide

For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Defense-Wide'', $172,506,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2005, for emergency hurricane-related expenses,
for the costs of repairs to structures and equipment,
evacuation, base preparation, base recovery, and delayed
satellite launches; of which not to exceed 25 percent shall
be available for transfer to reimburse costs incurred in FY
2004 as a result of emergency evacuations and immediate
recovery related to basic infrastructure due to hurricanes:
Provided, That Congress designates these amounts as an
emergency requirement for this specific purpose: Provided
further, That the Secretary of Defense may transfer these
funds to appropriations for military personnel; operation and
maintenance; procurement; and family housing: Provided
further, That funds transferred shall be merged with and made
available for the same purposes and for the same time period
as the appropriation to which transferred: Provided further,
That this transfer authority is in addition to any other
transfer authority available to the Department of Defense.

Operation and Maintenance, Army Reserve

For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Army Reserve'', $1,442,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2005, for emergency hurricane-related expenses,
for the costs of repairs to structures and equipment,
evacuation, base preparation, and base recovery; of which not
to exceed 25 percent shall be available for transfer to
reimburse costs incurred in FY 2004 as a result of emergency
evacuations and immediate recovery related to basic
infrastructure due to hurricanes: Provided, That Congress
designates these amounts as an emergency requirement for this
specific purpose.

Operation and Maintenance, Navy Reserve

For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Navy Reserve'', $399,000, to remain available until September
30, 2005, for emergency hurricane-related expenses, for the
costs of repairs to structures and equipment, evacuation,
base preparation, and base recovery; of which not to exceed
25 percent shall be available for transfer to reimburse costs
incurred in FY 2004 as a result of emergency evacuations and
immediate recovery related to basic infrastructure due to
hurricanes: Provided, That Congress designates these amounts
as an emergency requirement for this specific purpose.

[[Page H8302]]

Operation and Maintenance, Army National Guard

For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Army National Guard'', $3,350,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2005, for emergency hurricane-related expenses,
for the costs of repairs to structures and equipment,
evacuation, base preparation, and base recovery; of which not
to exceed 25 percent shall be available for transfer to
reimburse costs incurred in FY 2004 as a result of emergency
evacuations and immediate recovery related to basic
infrastructure due to hurricanes: Provided, That Congress
designates these amounts as an emergency requirement for this
specific purpose.

Operation and Maintenance, Air National Guard

For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Air National Guard'', $1,085,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2005, for emergency hurricane-related expenses,
for the costs of repairs to structures and equipment,
evacuation, base preparation, and base recovery; of which not
to exceed 25 percent shall be available for transfer to
reimburse costs incurred in FY 2004 as a result of emergency
evacuations and immediate recovery related to basic
infrastructure due to hurricanes: Provided, That Congress
designates these amounts as an emergency requirement for this
specific purpose.

Other Department of Defense Programs

Defense Health Program

For an additional amount for ``Defense Health Program'',
$10,286,000, to remain available until September 30, 2005,
for emergency hurricane-related expenses, for the costs of
repairs to structures and equipment, evacuation, base
preparation, and base recovery: Provided, That Congress
designates this amount as an emergency requirement for this
specific purpose.

Procurement

Other Procurement, Air Force

For an additional amount for ``Other Procurement, Air
Force,'' $2,500,000, to remain available until September 30,
2005, for emergency hurricane-related expenses and
replacement of destroyed or damaged equipment: Provided, That
Congress designates these amounts as an emergency requirement
for this specific purpose.

Procurement, Defense-Wide

For an additional amount for ``Procurement, Defense-Wide'',
$102,500,000, to remain available until September 30, 2005
for emergency hurricane-related expenses, for the costs of
repairs to structures and facilities, replacement of
destroyed or damaged equipment, and preparation and recovery
of naval vessels under construction: Provided, That Congress
designates these amounts as an emergency requirement for this
specific purpose: Provided further, That the Secretary of
Defense may transfer these funds to appropriations for
procurement; research, development, test, and evaluation; and
military construction: Provided further, That funds
transferred shall be merged with and made available for the
same purposes and for the same time period as the
appropriation to which transferred: Provided further, That
this transfer authority is in addition to any other transfer
authority available to the Department of Defense: Provided
further, That such funds may be obligated and expended to
carry out rebuilding of military construction projects not
otherwise authorized by law.

Military Construction

Military Construction, Navy

For an additional amount for ``Military Construction,
Navy'', $138,800,000, to remain available until September 30,
2005, for emergency hurricane-related expenses, for the costs
of repairs to structures and facilities: Provided, That
Congress designates this amount as an emergency requirement
for this specific purpose: Provided further, That such funds
may be obligated and expended to carry out rebuilding of
military construction projects not otherwise authorized by
law.

Military Construction, Army Reserve

For an additional amount for ``Military Construction, Army
Reserve'', $8,700,000, to remain available until September
30, 2005, for emergency hurricane-related expenses, for the
costs of repairs to structures and facilities: Provided, That
Congress designates this amount as an emergency requirement
for this specific purpose: Provided further, That such funds
may be obligated and expended to carry out rebuilding of
military construction projects not otherwise authorized by
law.

Base Realignment and Closure Account

For an additional amount for ``Base Realignment and Closure
Account'', $50,000, to remain available until September 30,
2005, for emergency hurricane-related expenses, for the costs
of repairs to structures and equipment: Provided, That
Congress designates this amount as an emergency requirement
for this specific purpose.

Family Housing

Family Housing, Operation and Maintenance, Army

For an additional amount for ``Family Housing, Operation
and Maintenance, Army'', $313,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2005, for emergency hurricane-related expenses,
for the costs of repairs to structures and equipment,
evacuation, base preparation, and base recovery: Provided,
That Congress designates this amount as an emergency
requirement for this specific purpose.

Family Housing, Operation and Maintenance, Navy and Marine Corps

For an additional amount for ``Family Housing, Operation
and Maintenance, Navy and Marine Corps'', $3,276,000, to
remain available until September 30, 2005, for emergency
hurricane-related expenses, for the costs of repairs to
structures and equipment, evacuation, base preparation, and
base recovery: Provided, That Congress designates this amount
as an emergency requirement for this specific purpose.

Family Housing, Operation and Maintenance, Air Force

For an additional amount for ``Family Housing, Operation
and Maintenance, Air Force'', $5,600,000, to remain available
until September 30, 2005, for emergency hurricane-related
expenses, for the costs of repairs to structures and
equipment, evacuation, base preparation, and base recovery:
Provided, That Congress designates this amount as an
emergency requirement for this specific purpose.

Revolving and Management Funds

Working Capital Fund, Defense-Wide

For an additional amount for ``Working Capital Fund,
Defense-Wide'', $77,000,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2005, for emergency hurricane-related expenses,
for the costs of repairs to structures and equipment, and
base recovery: Provided, That Congress designates this amount
as an emergency requirement for this specific purpose.

General Provisions--Department of Defense

General Transfer Authority

Sec. 201. Upon his determination that such action is
necessary in the national interest, the Secretary of Defense
may transfer between appropriations up to $210,000,000 of the
funds made available to the Department of Defense in this
title: Provided, That the Secretary shall notify the Congress
promptly of each transfer made pursuant to this authority:
Provided further, That the transfer authority provided in
this section is in addition to any other transfer authority
available to the Department of Defense: Provided further,
That the authority in this section is subject to the same
terms and conditions as the authority provided in section
8005 of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2005,
except for the fourth proviso.
Sec. 202. Funds appropriated in this title, or made
available by the transfer of funds in or pursuant to this
title, for intelligence activities are deemed to be
specifically authorized by the Congress for purposes of
section 504 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C.
414).

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Departmental Management

Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund

For an additional amount for ``Public Health and Social
Services Emergency Fund'' to support aging services, social
services and health services associated with natural disaster
recovery and response efforts, $50,000,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That Congress designates
this amount as an emergency requirement for this specific
purpose.

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Emergency Preparedness and Response

Disaster Relief Fund

For an additional amount for necessary expenses under the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.), $6,500,000,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That Congress designates
this amount as an emergency requirement for this specific
purpose.

United States Coast Guard

Operating Expenses

For an additional amount for ``Operating Expenses'',
$26,000,000, to remain available until expended for emergency
hurricane-related expenses: Provided, That Congress
designates this amount as an emergency requirement for this
specific purpose.

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Community Planning and Development

Community Development Fund

For an additional amount for ``Community Development
Fund'', as authorized under title I of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1974 (Act), for emergency
expenses resulting from natural disasters in Florida, except
those activities reimbursable by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency or available through the Small Business
Administration, and for reimbursement for expenditures
incurred from the regular Community Development Block Grant
formula allocation used to achieve these same purposes,
$150,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2007:
Provided, That Congress designates this amount as an
emergency requirement for this specific purpose: Provided
further, That such funds may be awarded to the State of
Florida for affected areas: Provided further, That
notwithstanding 42 U.S.C. 5306 (d) (2), the State of Florida
is authorized to provide such assistance to entitlement
communities: Provided further, That in administering these
funds for economic revitalization activities in Florida, the
Secretary may waive, or specify alternative requirements for,
any provision of any statute or regulation that the Secretary

[[Page H8303]]

administers in connection with the obligation by the
Secretary or the use by the recipient of these funds (except
for requirements related to fair housing, nondiscrimination,
labor standards, and the environment), upon a finding that
such waiver is required to facilitate the use of such funds,
and would not be inconsistent with the overall purpose of the
statute or regulation: Provided further, That for activities
funded by amounts provided herein, the Secretary may waive,
on a case-by-case basis and upon such other terms as the
Secretary may specify, in whole or in part, the requirements
that activities principally benefit persons of low- and
moderate-income pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 5301(c) and 5304(b)(3):
Provided further, That the Secretary shall publish in the
Federal Register any waiver of any statute or regulation
authorized under this heading no later than 5 days before the
effective date of such waiver.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

United States Geological Survey

Surveys, Investigations, and Research

For an additional amount for ``Surveys, Investigations, and
Research'', $1,000,000, to remain available until expended
for emergency hurricane-related expenses: Provided, That
Congress designates this amount as an emergency requirement
for this specific purpose.

Fish and Wildlife Service

Resource Management

For an additional amount for ``Resource Management'',
$2,700,000, to remain available until expended for emergency
hurricane-related expenses: Provided, That Congress
designates this amount as an emergency requirement for this
specific purpose.

Construction

For an additional amount for ``Construction'', $24,700,000,
to remain available until expended for emergency hurricane-
related expenses: Provided, That Congress designates this
amount as an emergency requirement for this specific purpose.

National Park Service

Construction and Major Maintenance

For an additional amount for ``Construction and Major
Maintenance'', $48,900,000, to remain available until
expended for emergency hurricane-related expenses: Provided,
That Congress designates this amount as an emergency
requirement for this specific purpose.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Federal Prison System

Buildings and Facilities

For an additional amount for ``Buildings and Facilities'',
$18,600,000, to remain available until expended for emergency
hurricane-related expenses: Provided, That Congress
designates this amount as an emergency requirement for this
specific purpose.

Salaries and Expenses

For an additional amount for ``Salaries and Expenses'',
$5,500,000, to remain available until expended for emergency
hurricane-related expenses: Provided, That Congress
designates this amount as an emergency requirement for this
specific purpose.

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

Operations

For an additional amount for ``Operations'', $5,100,000, to
remain available until expended for emergency hurricane-
related expenses: Provided, That Congress designates this
amount as an emergency requirement for this specific purpose.

Emergency Assistance to Airports

(Airport and Airway Trust Fund)

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for emergency
hurricane-related insurance-ineligible capital costs to
repair or replace public-use airport-related facilities at
public-use airports identified in the National Plan of
Integrated Airport Systems, to enable the Federal Aviation
Administration to compensate entities for such capital costs,
up to $25,000,000, to be derived from the Airport and Airway
Trust Fund, to remain available until June 30, 2006:
Provided, That Congress designates this amount as an
emergency requirement for this specific purpose.

Federal Highway Administration

Federal-aid Highways

Emergency Relief Program

(Highway Trust Fund)

For an additional amount for the Emergency Relief Program
for emergency expenses resulting from 2004 Hurricanes
Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne, as authorized by title 23
U.S.C. 125, $800,000,000, to be derived from the Highway
Trust Fund (other than the Mass Transit Account): Provided,
That notwithstanding 23 U.S.C. 125(d)(1), the Secretary of
Transportation may obligate more than $100,000,000 for
projects arising from Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan, and
Jeanne: Provided further, That any amounts in excess of those
necessary for emergency expenses relating to the above
hurricanes may be used for other projects authorized under 23
U.S.C. 125: Provided further, That amounts provided herein
shall remain available until expended: Provided further, That
the entire amount is designated by the Congress as an
emergency requirement for this specific purpose.

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Veterans Health Administration

Medical Services

For an additional amount for ``Medical Services'',
$38,283,000, to remain available until September 30, 2005,
for emergency hurricane-related expenses: Provided, That
Congress designates this amount as an emergency requirement
for this specific purpose.

Medical Facilities

For an additional amount for ``Medical Facilities'',
$46,910,000, to remain available until expended for emergency
hurricane-related expenses: Provided, That Congress
designates this amount as an emergency requirement for this
specific purpose.

Medical Administration

For an additional amount for ``Medical Administration'',
$1,939,000, to remain available until September 30, 2005, for
emergency hurricane-related expenses: Provided, That Congress
designates this amount as an emergency requirement for this
specific purpose.

DEPARTMENTAL ADMINISTRATION

General Operating Expenses

For an additional amount for ``General Operating
Expenses'', $545,000, to remain available until September 30,
2005, for emergency hurricane-related expenses: Provided,
That Congress designates this amount as an emergency
requirement for this specific purpose.

National Cemetery Administration

For an additional amount for ``National Cemetery
Administration'', $50,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2005, for hurricane-related expenses: Provided,
That Congress designates this amount as an emergency
requirement for this specific purpose.

Construction, Minor Projects

For an additional amount for ``Construction, Minor
Projects'', $36,343,000, to remain available until expended
for emergency hurricane-related expenses: Provided, That
Congress designates this amount as an emergency requirement
for this specific purpose.

CORPS OF ENGINEERS--CIVIL WORKS

Operation and Maintenance, General

For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
General'' for hurricane-related expenses necessary to dredge
navigation channels and repair other Corps projects,
$94,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided,
That Congress designates this amount as an emergency
requirement for this specific purpose.

Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies

For an additional amount for ``Flood Control and Coastal
Emergencies'' as authorized by section 5 of the Flood Control
Act of August 16, 1941, as amended (33 USC 701n), for
emergency hurricane-related expenses from coastal storm
damages and flooding, $147,000,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That Congress designates this amount as
an emergency requirement for this specific purpose.

Flood Control, Mississippi River and Tributaries, Arkansas, Illinois,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee

For an additional amount for ``Flood Control, Mississippi
River and Tributaries, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee'' to cover
the additional costs of dredging and mat laying operations on
the main stem of the lower Mississippi River due to
hurricanes and other severe storms, $4,000,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That Congress designates
this amount as an emergency requirement for this specific
purpose.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Buildings and Facilities

For an additional amount for ``Buildings and Facilities,''
$3,000,000, to remain available until expended, for emergency
hurricane-related expenses: Provided, That Congress
designates this amount as an emergency requirement for this
specific purpose.

INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

Agency for International Development

International Disaster and Famine Assistance

For an additional amount for ``International Disaster and
Famine Assistance'', $100,000,000, to remain available until
expended, for emergency hurricane-related expenses without
regard to section 10 of Public Law 91-672 and section 15 of
the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956: Provided,
That Congress designates this amount as an emergency
requirement for this specific purpose.

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

Space Flight Capabilities

For an additional amount for ``Space Flight Capabilities'',
to repair facilities damaged and take other emergency
measures due to the effects of hurricanes, $126,000,000, to
remain available until expended: Provided, That Congress
designates this amount as an emergency requirement for this
specific purpose.

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Disaster Loans Program Account

For an additional amount for ``Disaster Loans Program
Account'' for emergency expenses resulting from natural or
other disasters, to remain available until expended,
$501,000,000 for the cost of direct loans; and $428,000,000
for administrative expenses to carry out the disaster loan
program, which may be transferred to the appropriations for
``Salaries and expenses'': Provided, That Congress designates
these amounts as an emergency requirement for this specific
purpose.

EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Unanticipated Needs

For an additional amount for ``Unanticipated Needs'', not
to exceed $70,000,000, to remain available until September
30, 2005, for

[[Page H8304]]

the American Red Cross for reimbursement of disaster relief
and recovery expenditures and emergency services associated
with Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Ivan, and only to the
extent funds are not made available for those activities by
other federal sources: Provided, That these funds may be
administered by any authorized federal government agency to
meet the purposes of this provision and that total
administrative costs shall not exceed three percent of the
total appropriation: Provided further, That the Comptroller
General shall audit the use of these funds by the American
Red Cross: Provided further, That Congress designates this
amount as an emergency requirement for this specific purpose.
This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Supplemental
Appropriations for Hurricane Disasters Assistance Act,
2005''.

The CHAIRMAN. No amendment to the bill shall be in order except the
amendment printed in House Report 108-735 and amendment number 2 for
printing in the designated place in the Congressional Record. Each
amendment may be offered only by a Member designated in the report or
the Member who submitted it for printing in the Congressional Record,
shall be considered read, debatable for 20 minutes, equally divided and
controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to
amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the
question.

Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr. Neugebauer

Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The CHAIRMAN. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Amendment No. 2 offered by Mr. Neugebauer:
In section 101, strike the section heading and subsection
(a) and insert the following (and redesignate existing
subsections (b) through (f) accordingly):

SEC. 101. AGRICULTURAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE.

(a) Crop Disaster Assistance.--
(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
(A) Additional coverage.--The term ``additional coverage''
has the meaning given the term in section 502(b) of the
Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1502(b)).
(B) Insurable commodity.--The term ``insurable commodity''
means an agricultural commodity (excluding livestock) for
which the producers on a farm are eligible to obtain a policy
or plan of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7
U.S.C. 1501 et seq.).
(C) Noninsurable commodity.--The term ``noninsurable
commodity'' means an agricultural commodity for which the
producers on a farm are eligible to obtain assistance under
section 196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform
Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333).
(2) Emergency financial assistance.--Notwithstanding
section 508(b)(7) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C.
1508(b)(7)), the Secretary of Agriculture shall use such sums
as are necessary of funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation
to make emergency financial assistance authorized under this
subsection available to producers on a farm that have
incurred qualifying crop or quality losses for the 2003 or
2004 crop (as elected by a producer), but not both crops, due
to damaging weather or related condition, as determined by
the Secretary.
(3) Administration.--The Secretary shall make assistance
available under this subsection in the same manner as
provided under section 815 of the Agriculture, Rural
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-387; 114
Stat. 1549A-55), including using the same loss thresholds for
the quantity and quality losses as were used in administering
that section.
(4) Ineligibility for assistance.--Except as provided in
paragraph (5), the producers on a farm shall not be eligible
for assistance under this subsection with respect to losses
to an insurable commodity or noninsurable commodity if the
producers on the farm--
(A) in the case of an insurable commodity, did not obtain a
policy or plan of insurance for the insurable commodity under
the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) for
the crop incurring the losses; and
(B) in the case of a noninsurable commodity, did not file
the required paperwork, and pay the administrative fee by the
applicable State filing deadline, for the noninsurable
commodity under section 196 of the Federal Agriculture
Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333) for the
crop incurring the losses.
(5) Contract waiver.--The Secretary may waive paragraph (4)
with respect to the producers on a farm if the producers
enter into a contract with the Secretary under which the
producers agree--
(A) in the case of an insurable commodity, to obtain a
policy or plan of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance
Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) providing additional coverage for
the insurable commodity for each of the next 2 crops; and
(B) in the case of a noninsurable commodity, to file the
required paperwork and pay the administrative fee by the
applicable State filing deadline, for the noninsurable
commodity for each of the next 2 crops under section 196 of
the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7
U.S.C. 7333).
(6) Effect of violation.--In the event of the violation of
a contract under paragraph (5) by a producer, the producer
shall reimburse the Secretary for the full amount of the
assistance provided to the producer under this subsection.
(7) Payment limitations.--
(A) Limit on amount of assistance.--Assistance provided
under this subsection to a producer for losses to a crop,
together with the amounts specified in subparagraph (B)
applicable to the same crop, may not exceed 95 percent of
what the value of the crop would have been in the absence of
the losses, as estimated by the Secretary.
(B) Other payments.--In applying the limitation in
subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall include the following:
(i) Any crop insurance payment made under the Federal Crop
Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) or payment under
section 196 of the Federal Agricultural Improvement and
Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333) that the producer receives
for losses to the same crop.
(ii) The value of the crop that was not lost (if any), as
estimated by the Secretary.
(C) Effect of florida disaster programs.--The amount of
assistance that a producer would otherwise receive under this
subsection shall be reduced by the amount of assistance that
the producer receives for the same loss under the Florida
Disaster Programs carried out pursuant to the Farm Service
Agency notice (DAP-203) released October 4, 2004.
(b) Livestock Assistance Program.--
(1) Emergency financial assistance.--The Secretary of
Agriculture shall use such sums as are necessary of funds of
the Commodity Credit Corporation to make and administer
payments for livestock losses to producers for 2003 or 2004
losses (as elected by a producer), but not both, in a county
that has received an emergency designation by the President
or the Secretary after January 1, 2003, of which an amount
determined by the Secretary shall be made available for the
American Indian livestock program under section 806 of the
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law
106-387; 114 Stat. 1549A-51).
(2) Administration.--The Secretary shall make assistance
available under this subsection in the same manner as
provided under section 806 of the Agriculture, Rural
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-387; 114
Stat. 1549A-51).
(3) Mitigation.--In determining the eligibility for or
amount of payments for which a producer is eligible under the
livestock assistance program, the Secretary shall not
penalize a producer that takes actions (recognizing disaster
conditions) that reduce the average number of livestock the
producer owned for grazing during the production year for
which assistance is being provided.
(c) Tree Assistance Program.--
(1) Emergency assistance.--The Secretary of Agriculture
shall use such sums as are necessary of the funds of the
Commodity Credit Corporation to provide assistance under the
tree assistance program established under sections 10201
through 10204 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act
of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8201 et seq.) to producers who suffered
tree losses during the period beginning on December 1, 2003,
and ending on December 31, 2004.
(2) Additional assistance.--In addition to providing
assistance to eligible orchardists under the tree assistance
program, the Secretary shall use an additional $15,000,000 of
the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to provide
reimbursement under section 10203 of the Farm Security and
Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8203) to eligible
forest land owners who produce periodic crops of timber from
trees for commercial purposes and who have suffered tree
losses during the period specified in paragraph (1).
(d) Emergency Conservation Program.--The Secretary of
Agriculture shall use an additional $50,000,000 of the funds
of the Commodity Credit Corporation to provide assistance
under the Emergency Conservation Program under title IV of
the Agriculture Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.).
Participants in the Emergency Conservation Program shall
receive the maximum cost share percentage allowed under
section 701.26 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations.
(e) Offset.--Section 1241(a)(3) of the Food Security Act of
1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)(3)) is amended by inserting before
the period at the end the following: ``, using not more than
$6,037,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2005 through
2014''.

The CHAIRMAN. Pursuant to House Resolution 819, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Neugebauer) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) each
will control 10 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Neugebauer).
Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Chairman, this amendment represents a fiscally responsible
approach to agriculture disaster assistance. I want those that were
devastated by the successive hurricanes that hit Florida

[[Page H8305]]

and surrounding States to receive the much-needed aid they deserve. I
also want to make sure that the disaster assistance package that helps
farmers across the country who have faced losses in the past 2 years,
including those who lost over 1.3 million acres of crops in west Texas
last year, get their appropriate aid.
I supported the bill that the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm)
introduced that mirrored the assistance package that the Senate had
approved. Unfortunately, like my friend from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne)
pointed out earlier, it has become apparent that that bill, without
offsets, will not be successful.
This amendment will provide assistance in a manner that is consistent
with the Senate amendment. The cost is offset through the same
mechanism used to fund the agriculture disaster program 2 years ago,
capping the CSP or known as the Conservation Security Program. This
offset does not impact current funding of the CSP, and even with the
cap, the CSP will receive ample funds over the next 10 years.
This approach does not, and I repeat does not, reopen the farm bill;
it simply puts the 2003 cap back on the CSP. No farm commodity programs
will be affected by this offset.
Many have said, well, I would prefer a disaster program that had no
offset. So would I. However, when we know that the preferred
alternative is not going to be accepted in these negotiations, then we
are willing to consider other alternatives that would ensure its
passage. What is more important to me is, the farmers that suffered
these losses in 2003 and 2004 get the very-much-needed relief that they
deserve.
It is a shame that disaster assistance becomes the political football
this time of year in Washington. That is why I introduced legislation
earlier this year that would provide a new crop insurance tool that
would help alleviate the need for disaster programs in the future.
I urge Members to support this amendment in order to provide
agriculture disaster assistance for all farmers and ranchers who
experienced severe losses and provide it in a fiscally responsible way.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm).
Mr. STENHOLM. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.
Mr. Chairman, it is amazing, listening to my colleague saying that
the bill that he cosponsored yesterday would not be accepted. Why?
Fourteen Republicans signed onto the bill yesterday. All of my
Democratic colleagues indicated their support on a vote. Therefore, if
my colleague from west Texas would have chosen to vote his conscience,
it would have passed. He can say all he wants to that it would not have
passed, but the only reason is that once again when the leadership
speaks, folks on that side jump.
On September 27, the President proposed the disaster assistance
before the House today. His request included agriculture assistance for
hurricane and tropical storm disaster victims. On Monday, I introduced
H.R. 5203, which is cosponsored by 42 Members, 16 of them Republicans.
This morning at 7 a.m., the leadership of this House, through the Rules
Committee, said very clearly, no fairness is required. Disaster aid
without offsets was okay for Florida producers, but not producers
elsewhere who are hurting just as much.
The cosponsors of my bill, as well as the organizations, 25 farm
groups, agree with me and disagree with my friend from Texas.
Instead of taking up this bill at 10 a.m., the leadership took a few
hours to see the error of its ways and to at least allow some drought
assistance, a flawed one, but drought assistance to be considered. But
that leadership has demanded that agriculture disasters be treated
differently than other disasters which are alleviated by the bill and
that we reopen the farm bill.
The President has not required offsets for the agriculture disaster
assistance that he requested. It was the leadership in this House that
made that request. The President understands the unpredictable nature
of disasters and requested emergency spending appropriately.
In following the leadership and choosing this path of reopening the
farm bill, this House and the Members of it who are concerned for
agriculture will surely come to regret it. But the House has spoken. I
notice that the leadership has spoken. And when the leadership of this
body on the other side of the aisle says, this is the way it is going
to be, everybody falls in line.
I have never operated that way in 26 years. When I disagreed with my
leadership in what I believed was right, not just for west Texas in
this concern, but with the other States who have just as much interest
in this as we do, we said ``no'' to the leadership.
I know that some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle's
consciences are bothering them a little bit right now because deep down
in their hearts they know that what we are about to do and the reasons
for which we are about to do it are not in the best interests of
American agriculture. They know that, but they have chosen to follow a
leadership that has put politics ahead of policy and interjected policy
and politics into an appropriations process that should never have
gotten to this point.
I repeat, the President did not request offsets for agricultural
disasters. The only people that have requested this are the leadership
of this House. Sixteen Members on the other side of the aisle yesterday
were doing the right thing. Today, they are doing the wrong thing for
American agriculture, and 25 agricultural groups have said this is
wrong and have sent a letter to every Member of this House. Fifteen
conservation groups have said this is wrong. And some of you have voted
not in the best interest of your districts because the Conservation
Security Program is already working within your districts and you have
been for it.
Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Bonilla), chairman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture,
Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies of
the Committee on Appropriations.
(Mr. BONILLA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. BONILLA. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Neugebauer
amendment. This is a hard chore to accomplish. The gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Neugebauer) has been working day and night to make this work.
Every producer in this country that has ever come to see me before
about a pending problem, an emergency situation that they face, people
who represent different commodity groups, know that we have always done
everything we possibly can to help them. But it is difficult. Money
does not grow on trees and sometimes we have to take from one place and
put it in another to make it work for the foreseeable future. It is no
different than American families have to do when they have to struggle
to make ends meet during emergency situations in their own homes and in
their own neighborhoods.
We have always tried to be fair. In the years that I have chaired the
Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, I have learned a lot, heard a
lot and worked a lot on situations similar to this over the years.
There is always a different solution that we try to look for.
In this case, we do have an offset that applies to one particular
program, the CSP program. But tomorrow will be another day and we will
figure out how to handle a shortfall, as we always do, in the future
when we face a pressing need.
I would say to everyone out there who has concerns about this,
tomorrow is another day. Today is the day we have to get this done for
producers and for commodity groups all across the country.

{time} 2115

Again, I commend the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Neugebauer) for
working day and night to try to pull this deal together. It is a good
deal.
Is everyone happy? Absolutely not. But it is the best that we can
possibly do. Our hearts are in the right place, and we have worked hard
to get to this point.
I urge all of my colleagues to support the Neugebauer amendment.

[[Page H8306]]

Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young), committee chairman.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for
yielding me this time, and I thank him very much for all the
cooperation that he has shown us as we prepared this legislation for
these tremendous supplementals for hurricane disaster relief.
I am not going to speak in opposition to the amendment, but I want to
say this. The process is disturbing. The inconsistencies in the process
are disturbing.
For example, I have talked often this afternoon about H.R. 5227 that
does what I think needs to be done in this hurricane relief, and the
additional agriculture disaster assistance that the gentleman offers in
his amendment is included in H.R. 5227. But the process would not allow
me, as chairman of the committee, to include this additional
agriculture disaster funding in H.R. 5212. That inconsistency, to me,
is very disturbing and it is not acceptable.
I am not going to argue against the amendment because I tried to
include similar funding myself. The gentleman from Texas, I do not know
who he knows or what he knows, but he got a chance to do it. But the
chairman of the committee could not. The process is not acceptable.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 30 seconds.
Mr. Chairman, I agree with the gentleman. That is what I meant when I
said that the way this House is being run these days, the people who
know the least about these things are evidently being given the
opportunity to do the most about them, which is backwards in terms of
my understanding of the legislative body.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Stenholm).
Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Chairman, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Bonilla), I
greatly admire, respect, and appreciate the job that he has done and is
doing; but it is curious he would make a fiscally responsible argument
for my amendment when he does not make the same one for the $12 billion
that we have all agreed is emergency spending.
Why would you come to the floor and defend one small part that does
bad policy for agriculture, and you know it? But just as the chairman
has expressed his concern about the procedure and the gentleman from
Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) has echoed the procedure, and everybody knows what
the procedure is in this, the sad thing about this is that the policy
that is going to be interjected because of the misuse of procedure in
this body is going to be devastating to American agriculture. It is
going to be bad. And that is why 25 groups agree with me and disagree
with the gentleman from West Texas.
The chairman has said it more eloquently. The procedure lacks a
little bit in common sense.
Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the
distinguished gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Goodlatte), chairman of the
Committee on Agriculture.
(Mr. GOODLATTE asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Chairman, obviously we would prefer to provide
assistance without offsets, but the reality of the situation is that
there will be no disaster money before we go home unless we provide
budget offsets. We will not touch the farm commodity programs that are
the heart of the farm bill.
The savings we are making will cap the Conservation Security Program
at $6 billion. That is three times the amount of money that was put
into this program. It was a new program when the farm bill was created.
This is a new program still in its start-up phase. The gentleman
suggested that some people might be at risk for this program. This
year, this program will spend $175 million. With the 3 years remaining
in the farm bill and $9 billion to spend, nothing is at risk in the
rest of the farm bill.
We should make sure we accomplish two things here: use this money, as
we did 18 months ago with support from the folks on the other side of
the aisle, to do exactly what we are doing today; and make sure that we
put a cap back on this program so that it does not raid other parts of
the farm bill. We can accomplish both of those goals here tonight.
I urge my colleagues to support this vital amendment.
I want to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Neugebauer) for his
leadership on the issue of disaster assistance for producers. We have
been working for several weeks to find a way to help farmers and
ranchers from west Texas to Minnesota to Colorado, as well as those
devastated by hurricanes in the Southeast. With the tight budgets we
now face, it has been a difficult task, but we believe the Neugebauer
amendment provides the path to secure assistance our producers need.
I urge my colleagues to support this sound amendment.
Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from Kansas (Chairman Moran).
Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Texas
for yielding me this time.
I rise tonight in support of this amendment. I would like to show a
photograph from home of what we face in our State. These issues that
Florida has encountered as a result of hurricanes create tremendous
problems, but 5 years of no rain in western Kansas results in a
photograph like this. This is not the 1930s; this is the spring of
2004, and we have Kansas counties that are drier now than in the
``Dirty '30s.''
This issue is important to us. It is about whether or not our farmers
and ranchers can survive and live into the future, whether or not there
is hope and opportunity for rural communities, whether or not we have
young people in school, whether or not we have people who shop on our
main streets. This is about the survival of rural America.
And I am pleased to be here tonight to see the House take action in a
responsible way, designed to address the serious needs faced by many
rural American communities as a result of weather-related conditions
through no fault of their own. This is an opportunity for us to come
together as a country and support not only Florida and the southern
part of the United States whose sympathy and condolences we have for
the disasters they have encountered but also to recognize that all of
America is in this battle together.
I thank the gentleman for allowing me the opportunity to speak
tonight in favor of this amendment, finally bringing it to the House
floor, addressing this issue we seriously face.
Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from Nebraska (Mr. Osborne).
Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this
time.
We have stated very clearly the need for drought assistance. Some
have said this is a 500-year drought, and it certainly is in most
areas. Reservoirs are depleted. One part of Nebraska had 1 inch of rain
in 12 months, no pastures. So it is badly needed.
There has been a lot of argument tonight about the process, and I
must say that I agree with some of those arguments. There is some
validity.
Two years ago Mr. Thune and the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) and
I went to the White House two or three times, when we had this same
problem. And we were told unequivocally that there would be no aid
without an offset. And so that is where we find ourselves again
tonight. I am not pointing the finger at anybody. I am just saying that
is the reality.
And I agree with many of the things the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Stenholm) has said, but I guess I have to weigh that against getting
drought relief for some farmers that I think need it very badly, and
this is the only option that I see at the present time that is
workable, that will work. So I admit to discomfort, but it is the best
we can do.
I urge support of this amendment.
Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the
gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs. Musgrave).
Mrs. MUSGRAVE. Mr. Chairman, as we think of our friends in Florida,
we saw them boarding up their windows in preparation for the tropical
storm that would hit and be devastating. However, in many parts of
rural Colorado, the businesses on Main Street are boarding up their
windows because our ag producers are having such a horrific time with
the prolonged drought.
The gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) and the gentleman from Nebraska
(Mr. Osborne) are in the same

[[Page H8307]]

region, and we know the devastation that this prolonged drought has
shown. We have not had reporters in rural Colorado, standing there and
showing the disaster, because it has been over a long period of time,
getting worse every year.
So we desperately need this relief at this time for our farmers and
for our individuals that raise cattle, that have even had to sell off
their breeding stock because the pastures have not had any grass on
them now for years.
So at this difficult time we make difficult choices, and I rise in
support of the efforts of the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Neugebauer).
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Stenholm).
Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me
this time.
And one point I want to make: I will not accept for one-half second
the fiscal responsibility comment that was made. For a majority party
that has presided over the largest deficits in the history of our
country, I will not accept any charge that tonight we get fiscally
responsible by choosing to treat agriculture different from any other
disaster.
Do not make the fiscally responsible argument. That dog will not
hunt. We are talking about policy. Twenty-five agricultural groups are
agreeing with me. The majority is agreeing with the leadership of the
House and are deciding, for some strange reason, this is a political
point that needs to be made.
The President did not ask for offsets. Why did their leadership
suddenly ask for offsets for agriculture when we are not offsetting any
other part of this bill? If they want to get fiscal responsibility, I
will join with them and we will treat agriculture just like every other
aspect, but I will not allow agriculture to be singled out, which this
amendment is doing tonight.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Isakson). The gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Neugebauer) has 15 seconds remaining.
Mr. NEUGEBAUER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.
I will just close with this thought. I came to this House tonight not
to talk about politics, but about getting the job done for farmers and
ranchers around this country, and I hope that my colleagues on both
sides of the aisle will join me and let us get the job done for
American farm and ranch families.
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Chairman, what is happening on this floor tonight is blatant,
obvious, raw politics. That is all it is.
The Republican majority leadership is bringing a bill to the floor
which has over $10 billion in aid to various areas of the country. No
offsets. No offsets at all. But when on this side of the aisle we are
trying to deal with disaster problems for farmers on an equal footing
with the hurricane disasters that we have just had in Florida and other
States, then we are told, Oh, no. All of a sudden a new rule has to
apply.
I would say to the gentleman from Nebraska that is like saying that
in an Oklahoma-Nebraska football game, Oklahoma has to go 200 yards for
a touchdown while Nebraska only has to go 100 yards. It just is not
fair. It is not square.
I would make another point. Even if we were going to have offsets,
this is a ``let's pretend'' offset. This is a phony offset, because if
we take a look at the scoring by the beloved Congressional Budget
Office, which the majority party used to stick with, come hell or high
water, if we take a look at this, there is no offset whatsoever in the
first fiscal year, zero savings by this ``let's pretend'' offset.
In the second year there is a $56 million savings out of a $2.8
billion cost. Who are they kidding?

{time} 2130

This is a political maneuver. This is not a financial or budgetary
offset. It is a joke. And if it did not do so much damage to farmers, I
would laugh at it. Over 3 years, it provides only one-tenth the offset
that is required to meet the standard budget rules around here.
What we have got here tonight is not an offset, it is a political
shell game, and the problem is that shell game results in sticking it
to farmers. Shame on you.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore (Mr. Isakson). All time having been yielded,
the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Neugebauer).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment Offered by Mr. Hensarling

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Amendment offered by Mr. Hensarling:
At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the
following:
Sec. __. (a) Offsetting Government-Wide Rescission.--Of the
discretionary budget authority provided in appropriation Acts
for fiscal year 2005, there is rescinded the total amount
determined by the Director of the Office of Management and
Budget to be required to offset the discretionary budget
authority that is provided in this Act and designated as an
emergency requirement.
(b) Application.--The rescission made by subsection (a)--
(1) shall take effect immediately after the enactment of
all of the regular appropriation Acts for fiscal year 2005
(whether enacted separately, included in a consolidated
appropriations law, or covered by a continuing appropriations
law that funds programs through the end of the fiscal year);
(2) shall not apply to the discretionary budget authority
provided for the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security,
and Veterans Affairs; and
(3) shall be applied proportionately to the discretionary
budget authority provided for each other department, agency,
instrumentality, and entity of the Federal Government.
(c) Report.--The Director of the Office of Management and
Budget shall include in the President's budget submission for
fiscal year 2006 a report specifying the reductions made to
each account, program, project, and activity pursuant to this
section.

The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 819, the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) and a Member opposed each will
control 10 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling).
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself of such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Chairman, I first want to congratulate the distinguished chairman
of the Committee on Appropriations for his good work to help those
devastated by the recent hurricanes.
My amendment represents a very simple proposition. But before stating
that proposition, let me state the proposition it does not stand for.
Specifically, nothing contained in this amendment would deny one penny
of relief to those who suffered the ravages of the hurricanes that hit
Florida; not one penny less, not one penny delay.
The proposition this amendment does stand for is that so-called
emergency spending for natural disasters should come out of the budget.
In other words, this supplemental spending should be offset with lower-
priority spending, which, frankly, was our practice throughout the
decade of the nineties. In every single year of the nineties, when
supplemental spending bills were enacted, so were rescissions of other
spending.
In that spirit, Mr. Chairman, this amendment would reduce 2005
discretionary spending approximately 3 percent, exempting national
defense, homeland security and veterans spending.
Unfortunately, today, when we pass supplemental spending, we just add
it to the deficit. We pass the bill along to our children and
grandchildren. Many, many Members have come to the floor to decry
deficit spending. It will be interesting to see how many of them truly
want to do something about it and support this amendment.
Mr. Chairman, the true question before us is, who will tighten their
belt to pay for this $10.9 billion of hurricane damage? Families, or
government. I vote for the government.
Opponents of this amendment will argue that it will gut vital
government programs. I simply reject that notion. I believe the
government spending is already out of control. For only the fourth time
in our Nation's history, the Federal Government is now spending over
$20,000 per household. Over the last decade, almost every major
department of government has grown way beyond the rate of inflation.
Interior is up 42 percent; HHS, 110 percent; education, 125 percent;
and the list goes on.
Mr. Chairman, much of the Federal budget helps our Nation in vital
ways,

[[Page H8308]]

but much of it does not: $800,000 outhouses, rain forests constructed
in Iowa, wheelchairs costing four times as much as they should. Again,
the $10.9 billion will either come out of the Federal budget, or the
family budget.
Let us look at the family budget. The average down payment on a home
in America is $21,600. If we defeat this amendment, might we be denying
half a million Americans their first home? The average home computer
costs $482. If we defeat this amendment, might we be denying over 20
million school children an invaluable educational tool?
To pay for hurricane relief, we must either tighten the Federal
budget, or ask families to tighten theirs. This amendment comes down on
the side of families.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition to
the amendment.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) is
recognized for 10 minutes.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield 5 minutes to the
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey).
Mr. OBEY. Mr. Chairman, I would simply like to point out some of the
budget reductions which will be caused by this amendment: The National
Institutes of Health would be cut by $884 million from the House-passed
bill.
The Centers For Disease Control, who told us yesterday we have a
crisis on our hands with respect to childhood influenza, this amendment
would cut $136 million from the House-passed bill for that agency.
Head Start, this amendment would cut $214 million, $10 million below
last year's level.
The Low Income Heating Assistance Program, LIHEAP, would be cut $62
million from the House level.
The Federal Aviation Administration, they would be funded nearly one-
half billion dollars below the fiscal 2004 level.
Education would be cut by $1.8 billion below the House-passed labor-
health bill.
No Child Left Behind would be cut by $440 million. The vice president
last night in the debate talked about the importance of that program.
Title I grants would be cut by $414 million.
Special education, which both political parties posed for holy
political pictures on for the last 4 years, that program is being cut
by $400 million.
Pell Grants, the President at the national convention talked about
the need to expand Pell Grants. This would cut Pell Grants, would
exacerbate the shortfall by $300 million.
The FBI would be cut $161 million, including personnel resources for
the Office of Intelligence and counterterrorism field investigations.
NASA would be cut.
National parks would be cut by $70 million, meaning a layoff of some
800 park rangers and maintenance staff.
Nuclear nonproliferation programs, which both presidential candidates
said last week were their number one concern, would be cut by $40
million.
Law enforcement assistance would be cut by $81 million.
This is a family-friendly amendment? Give me a break.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Chairman, such reductions can be made by department heads.
Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
Feeney), who has seen hurricanes up close.
Mr. FEENEY. Mr. Chairman, I thank the courageous gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Hensarling) for the great job he is doing trying to contain
Federal spending, and I really do want to thank our appropriations
chairman. The gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) is a great hero, not
just in Florida but nationally. He has set priorities straight. He has
done an incredible job.
I want to say that I do speak in favor of this amendment, though, on
offsets. We know that we are going to have emergencies on a regular
annual basis. We do not know where they are going to be. We do not know
what they are going to be. That is why they are emergencies. This is
one of the reasons we need a huge supplemental fund, a rainy day fund
in the Federal budget, just like a family budget or a business budget
needs one, and that is something that conservatives in this House have
advocated for.
I support the funding for FEMA. They ran out of money before the
first hurricane in Florida. We had four. Thank goodness and thank God
that the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) and his friends understand
the pressure that has been put on the people of Florida and we are
going to live up to our moral and financial obligations.
Thank God for people like the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling)
who have started the Washington Waste Watchers to try to save money
where it is being wasted and defunded all the legitimate needs of the
people throughout our country.
Mr. Chairman, there are bureaucrats running agencies throughout our
country, and they know that if they do not use and spend all of their
dollars every year, they don't get to save them. So what they do is
they go out in extraordinary ways and find ways to spend the money in
unfortunate and unnecessary ways so they get more money the following
year.
That type of mentality is what the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Hensarling) and his amendment is trying to address.
House conservatives have asked that a rainy day fund be put in place
every year for emergencies, because on an average basis, FEMA knows
there are 30 declared disasters each and every year in America. We do
not know where or when, but they are going to happen. And the
appropriate way is to budget for those emergencies.
I can tell you, the rainy day fund, we know it rains in Florida, and
God knows it has rained a lot the last four hurricanes.
Finally, Floridians are great resilient people. They can survive four
hurricanes. If we can survive deficit spending by the Federal
Government largesse for the next 20 or 30 years, that is a different
story.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Chocola), the author of the rainy day
amendment.
Mr. CHOCOLA. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me
time.
Mr. Chairman, I rise tonight in strong support of this amendment, but
the reality is, this amendment should never have had to be offered in
the first place. What we should do is budget for emergencies, in other
words, create a rainy day fund as part of our budget process.
Every single year, Federal tax dollars are used to pay for
emergencies, yet we almost never budget for them. If we want to be
honest with the American people and exercise fiscal responsibility when
we know we are going to spend money, we should budget for it.
Since 1953, FEMA has had over 1,500 disaster declarations, which
averages more than 30 per year. Since 1980, we have had 58 weather
disasters, 49 of those have been since 1988, which have totaled almost
$220 billion.
Mr. Chairman, hurricanes are disasters, but they are not surprises.
There is no question that the people of Florida deserve the relief
contemplated in this spending bill. That is not the issue we are
discussing tonight.
The issue is, if we care about the size of the deficit, if we care
about fiscal responsibility, if we care about future generations of
Americans and if we care about being responsible, then we must learn to
prioritize spending and reform our budget process to reflect reality.
Hurricane relief is a high priority, and so is the future of our
children and our grandchildren. Let us do the right thing tonight and
let us provide relief to the victims who in some cases have lost
everything, and let us also do the right thing tonight by not creating
future victims of a larger deficit.
I encourage my colleagues to support the Hensarling amendment.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling)
has 3 minutes remaining and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young) has
7\1/2\ minutes remaining.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
South Carolina (Mr. Barrett).
Mr. BARRETT of South Carolina. I thank the gentleman for yielding me
time.

[[Page H8309]]

Mr. Chairman, I rise tonight in full support of the amendment offered
by my good friend the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling) because it
allows us to help those in need while at the same time requires us to
be fiscally responsible.
My heart goes out to the folks of Florida and everybody that has been
affected by hurricanes. My prayers and my thoughts are with them. There
is no doubt they have been through a horrible ordeal, and they need our
help, and they will get it. But in doing so, we must make sure that we
can pay the bill.
This amendment would fully offset the cost of the $10.9 billion
supplemental through a rescission in the FY 2005 discretionary
spending, once enacted. Funding for defense, homeland security and
veterans would be specifically exempt. We must look at the bottom line,
and we have to start today making sound fiscal decisions.
Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to join me in ensuring that the
Federal Government helps those in need today, but in a responsible
manner.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman
from Arizona (Mr. Flake).
Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for bringing this amendment
forward. It is important. We need to be fiscally conservative at long
last here. We have got to make sure that we offset these programs. If
we do not, we are simply adding to the burden of our kids and our
grandkids. It is simply not right. So I welcome this amendment, and
simply say that the notion that we cannot find savings elsewhere in the
Federal Government is simply absurd.
We have seen the run-up of spending in each of the Federal agencies
over the last several years. We know that savings can be had, and we
simply need to find them. When we look at the debate that was just had
on the farm programs, I distinctly remember, a couple of years ago when
we were debating a rather large farm bill, it being said that we needed
to do this because we cannot keep doing emergency supplementals and
that this program will take care of them.

{time} 2145

Well, guess what? Here we are again. We need to find real offsets,
and that is what this amendment does, and I thank the gentleman for
offering it.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore (Mr. Isakson). The gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Hensarling) has 1 minute remaining; the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
Young) has 7\1/2\ minutes remaining.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, does the gentleman from Florida have
the right to close?
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. Yes, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young)
has the right to close.
Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Chairman, we have an opportunity tonight to aid Florida without
imposing costs on our families, on our children, on our grandchildren.
Either we must tighten the Federal budget, or we must force families to
tighten their budget.
I would ask each Member to think about families in their district
before they make this vote. I think about the Kings in Athens, Texas,
and how this supplemental will impact their ability to pay for that
last tuition payment for their son. I think about the Williams in
Mesquite, Texas, and their small business, their paint and body shop.
How is this supplemental going to impact their ability to hire two more
workers? I think about the Evans in Garland, Texas, and I wonder how
this supplemental will impact their ability to make those health
insurance premiums.
We are going to relieve the people in Florida. The question is, is
the $10 billion going to come out of the government budget, or is it
going to come out of the family budget? Again, we believe it should
come out of the government budget. We believe that we should protect
the family budget. I would urge all Members to vote for this amendment.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of the
time.
Mr. Chairman, I want to congratulate the gentleman from Texas and
those of his colleagues, our colleagues, who have spoken in favor of
this amendment. I will tell my colleagues that, as the chairman of the
Committee on Appropriations, the committee that must pass legislation,
the only bills that have to pass in this place are appropriations
bills. Other bills can go by for years, and as my colleagues know, many
of them do. We have been working on a transportation bill, not I, but
others, working on a transportation bill for 3 or 4 years now and have
not passed it. But these gentlemen have done a really good job in
making sure that in our must-pass appropriations bills, that we pay
close attention to what we are doing, that we make sure that we are
able to justify whatever we are suggesting, because we know that if we
do not do it right, they are going to be all over us, as they should
be.
So I compliment them for their effort. But tonight I have to oppose
their amendment, and there are several reasons. One is, when we adopted
the budget resolution, well, actually we never did; we deemed the
budget resolution as approved by the House. We actually reduced the
President's budget request by $2 billion. What is the significance of
that? Why do I even bring this up? The President asked for a very
austere budget, and I say amen to him. The House budget that we worked
under was $2 billion less than that, and, Mr. Chairman, I say to my
friend, the gentleman from Texas, all of the bills that we have passed
are within that budget. We did not exceed the budget, except for the
emergency designations dealing with things like body armor for troops
in Iraq and ammunition and things of that nature. So we were starting
with a very austere budget, and we stayed within that budget.
The Committee on Appropriations 2\1/2\ months ago reported its final
and last bill. The Committee on Appropriations worked hard and we got
the bills out, we had them out. Mr. Chairman, 2\1/2\ months ago, we
reported the last one. Twelve of those bills have passed. One has not
passed because, as one of our distinguished colleagues said to me, it
is not going on the floor because there is not enough money in it. Sort
of inconsistent, wanting to hold down the budget, but then complaining
that there is not enough money in it.
But the problem that I have with this is that they do not take the
across-the-board cut from the bill that is before the House tonight.
They take the across-the-board cut from future legislation, the 2005
bills. Now, the problem with that is, none of us really know how much
those 2005 bills are going to appropriate. Why is that? Because despite
the fact that we have done our job in the House, as I suggested, at the
other end of the Capitol, they have not, and we have no control over
that. That is the price of a bicameral legislature, and I support a
bicameral legislature. There are days when I wish I did not, but I do,
from the standpoint of a constitutional government. But borrowing from
next year's appropriation to pay for this emergency supplemental
tonight to me is not conservative government. That is borrowing in the
future. That is borrowing from things that we are going to need to do
in fiscal year 2005, this coming year.
So because of that, while, again, I applaud my colleagues for their
fiscal conservatism, and probably, I would be more supportive if my job
was not to make sure that all of the appropriations bills pass, but
that is my job. I have to make sure that all of the appropriations
bills pass, because if they do not, the government shuts down, and we
do not want that to happen. I do not want that to happen on my watch,
and it has not happened on my watch, and it is not going to.
But anyway, for those reasons, I applaud the gentleman from Texas on
this amendment and those who spoke in favor of it, but I have to ask my
colleagues to vote against it and then get on with passing this very
important bill, this very good bill as far as it goes. But as I have
repeated myself tonight several times, it just does not go far enough.
But we are going to pass this bill tonight, and then we will work on
making it a better bill as we go through the process.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIRMAN pro tempore. All time having been yielded, the question

[[Page H8310]]

is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Hensarling).
The question was taken; and the Chairman pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.

Recorded Vote

Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
A recorded vote was ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 89,
noes 321, not voting 22, as follows:

[Roll No. 500]

AYES--89

Akin
Ballenger
Barrett (SC)
Bartlett (MD)
Barton (TX)
Beauprez
Bishop (UT)
Blackburn
Blunt
Boehner
Boozman
Brady (TX)
Brown-Waite, Ginny
Burgess
Burton (IN)
Cannon
Carter
Chabot
Chocola
Coble
Cole
Collins
Cox
Crane
Cubin
Davis, Jo Ann
Davis, Tom
Deal (GA)
Duncan
Feeney
Flake
Forbes
Fossella
Franks (AZ)
Garrett (NJ)
Gibbons
Gingrey
Goode
Goodlatte
Graves
Green (WI)
Gutknecht
Harris
Hart
Hayworth
Hefley
Hensarling
Herger
Hoekstra
Hostettler
Jenkins
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Keller
King (IA)
Kline
Lewis (KY)
Manzullo
McInnis
Miller (FL)
Miller, Gary
Moran (KS)
Musgrave
Myrick
Nussle
Otter
Pence
Petri
Pitts
Portman
Radanovich
Ramstad
Rehberg
Rohrabacher
Royce
Ryan (WI)
Schrock
Sensenbrenner
Shadegg
Smith (MI)
Sullivan
Tancredo
Taylor (MS)
Thornberry
Tiahrt
Toomey
Turner (OH)
Whitfield
Wilson (SC)

NOES--321

Abercrombie
Ackerman
Aderholt
Alexander
Allen
Andrews
Baca
Baird
Baker
Baldwin
Bass
Becerra
Bell
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Biggert
Bilirakis
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Blumenauer
Bonilla
Bonner
Bono
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Bradley (NH)
Brady (PA)
Brown (OH)
Brown (SC)
Brown, Corrine
Burns
Burr
Butterfield
Buyer
Calvert
Camp
Cantor
Capito
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Cardoza
Carson (IN)
Carson (OK)
Case
Castle
Chandler
Clay
Clyburn
Conyers
Cooper
Costello
Cramer
Crenshaw
Crowley
Culberson
Cummings
Cunningham
Davis (AL)
Davis (CA)
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis (TN)
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
DeLay
Deutsch
Diaz-Balart, L.
Diaz-Balart, M.
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Doolittle
Doyle
Dreier
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Emanuel
Emerson
Engel
English
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Everett
Farr
Fattah
Ferguson
Filner
Foley
Ford
Frank (MA)
Frelinghuysen
Frost
Gallegly
Gerlach
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gonzalez
Gordon
Granger
Green (TX)
Greenwood
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Hall
Harman
Hastings (FL)
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Herseth
Hill
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hobson
Hoeffel
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hooley (OR)
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Hyde
Inslee
Isakson
Israel
Issa
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
John
Johnson (CT)
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, E. B.
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kelly
Kennedy (MN)
Kennedy (RI)
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind
King (NY)
Kirk
Knollenberg
Kolbe
Kucinich
LaHood
Lampson
Langevin
Lantos
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latham
LaTourette
Leach
Lee
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (GA)
Linder
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Lofgren
Lowey
Lucas (KY)
Lucas (OK)
Lynch
Majette
Maloney
Markey
Marshall
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McCotter
McCrery
McDermott
McGovern
McHugh
McIntyre
McKeon
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Menendez
Mica
Michaud
Miller (MI)
Miller (NC)
Miller, George
Mollohan
Moore
Moran (VA)
Murphy
Murtha
Nadler
Napolitano
Neugebauer
Ney
Northup
Nunes
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Osborne
Ose
Owens
Oxley
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Payne
Pearce
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Pickering
Platts
Pombo
Pomeroy
Porter
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Putnam
Quinn
Rahall
Rangel
Regula
Renzi
Reyes
Reynolds
Rodriguez
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Ros-Lehtinen
Ross
Rothman
Roybal-Allard
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Ryun (KS)
Sabo
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sanders
Sandlin
Saxton
Schakowsky
Schiff
Scott (GA)
Scott (VA)
Serrano
Sessions
Shaw
Shays
Sherman
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shuster
Simmons
Simpson
Skelton
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Solis
Souder
Spratt
Stearns
Stenholm
Strickland
Stupak
Sweeney
Tanner
Tauscher
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Tiberi
Tierney
Turner (TX)
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Upton
Van Hollen
Velazquez
Visclosky
Vitter
Walden (OR)
Walsh
Wamp
Waters
Watson
Waxman
Weiner
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Wexler
Wicker
Wilson (NM)
Wolf
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn
Young (FL)

NOT VOTING--22

Bachus
Boehlert
DeMint
Dooley (CA)
Gephardt
Houghton
Istook
Jones (OH)
Kingston
Kleczka
Millender-McDonald
Neal (MA)
Nethercutt
Norwood
Paul
Pelosi
Slaughter
Stark
Tauzin
Towns
Watt
Young (AK)

Announcement by the Chairman Pro Tempore

The CHAIRMAN pro tempore (Mr. Isakson) (during the vote). Members are
advised that 2 minutes remain in the vote.

{time} 2217

Messrs. BILIRAKIS, STEARNS, SMITH of Texas, LINDER, ABERCROMBIE amd
NEY changed their vote from ``aye'' to ``no''.
Mr. MANZULLO, Ms. HART and Mr. TIHART changed their vote from ``no''
to ``aye''.
So the amendment was rejected.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The CHAIRMAN. There being no other amendments, under the rule, the
Committee rises.
Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr.
Thornberry) having assumed the chair, Mr. Gillmor, Chairman of the
Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, reported that
that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5212)
making emergency supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2005, for additional disaster assistance relating to
storm damage, and for other purposes, pursuant to House Resolution 819,
he reported the bill back to the House with an amendment adopted by the
Committee of the Whole.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the rule, the previous question is
ordered.
The question is on the amendment.
The amendment was agreed to.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third
reading of the bill.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was
read the third time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
Pursuant to clause 10 of rule XX, the yeas and nays are ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 412,
nays 0, not voting 20, as follows:

[Roll No. 501]

YEAS--412

Abercrombie
Ackerman
Aderholt
Akin
Alexander
Allen
Andrews
Baca
Bachus
Baird
Baker
Baldwin
Ballenger
Barrett (SC)
Bartlett (MD)
Barton (TX)
Bass
Beauprez
Becerra
Bell
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Biggert
Bilirakis
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Bishop (UT)
Blackburn
Blumenauer
Blunt
Boehner
Bonilla
Bonner
Bono
Boozman
Boswell
Boucher
Boyd
Bradley (NH)
Brady (PA)
Brady (TX)
Brown (OH)
Brown (SC)
Brown, Corrine
Brown-Waite, Ginny
Burgess
Burns
Burr
Burton (IN)
Butterfield
Buyer
Calvert
Camp
Cannon
Cantor
Capito
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Cardoza
Carson (IN)
Carson (OK)
Carter
Case
Castle
Chabot
Chandler
Chocola
Clay
Clyburn
Coble
Cole
Collins
Conyers
Cooper
Costello
Cox
Cramer
Crane
Crenshaw
Crowley
Cubin
Culberson
Cummings
Cunningham
Davis (AL)
Davis (CA)
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis (TN)
Davis, Jo Ann
Davis, Tom
Deal (GA)
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
DeLay
DeMint
Deutsch
Diaz-Balart, L.
Diaz-Balart, M.
Dicks
Dingell
Doggett
Doolittle
Doyle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Emanuel
Emerson
Engel
English
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Everett
Farr
Fattah
Feeney
Ferguson
Filner
Flake
Foley
Forbes
Ford
Fossella
Frank (MA)
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Frost
Gallegly
Garrett (NJ)
Gerlach
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gingrey
Gonzalez
Goode
Goodlatte
Gordon
Granger
Graves
Green (TX)
Green (WI)
Greenwood
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Gutknecht
Hall
Harman
Harris
Hart
Hastings (FL)
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Hensarling

[[Page H8311]]

Herger
Herseth
Hill
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hobson
Hoeffel
Hoekstra
Holden
Holt
Honda
Hooley (OR)
Hostettler
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Hyde
Inslee
Isakson
Israel
Issa
Istook
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
Jenkins
John
Johnson (CT)
Johnson (IL)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Keller
Kelly
Kennedy (MN)
Kennedy (RI)
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kirk
Kline
Knollenberg
Kolbe
Kucinich
LaHood
Lampson
Langevin
Lantos
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latham
LaTourette
Leach
Lee
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (GA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Lofgren
Lowey
Lucas (KY)
Lucas (OK)
Lynch
Majette
Maloney
Manzullo
Markey
Marshall
Matheson
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McCotter
McCrery
McDermott
McGovern
McHugh
McInnis
McIntyre
McKeon
McNulty
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Menendez
Mica
Michaud
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Miller (NC)
Miller, Gary
Miller, George
Mollohan
Moore
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Murphy
Murtha
Musgrave
Myrick
Nadler
Napolitano
Neugebauer
Ney
Northup
Nunes
Nussle
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Osborne
Ose
Otter
Owens
Oxley
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Payne
Pearce
Pence
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Pickering
Pitts
Platts
Pombo
Pomeroy
Porter
Portman
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Putnam
Quinn
Radanovich
Rahall
Ramstad
Regula
Rehberg
Renzi
Reyes
Reynolds
Rodriguez
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Ross
Rothman
Roybal-Allard
Royce
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Sabo
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sanders
Sandlin
Saxton
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schrock
Scott (GA)
Scott (VA)
Sensenbrenner
Serrano
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherman
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shuster
Simmons
Simpson
Skelton
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Solis
Souder
Spratt
Stearns
Stenholm
Strickland
Stupak
Sullivan
Sweeney
Tancredo
Tanner
Tauscher
Taylor (MS)
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thornberry
Tiahrt
Tiberi
Tierney
Toomey
Turner (OH)
Turner (TX)
Udall (CO)
Udall (NM)
Upton
Van Hollen
Velazquez
Visclosky
Vitter
Walden (OR)
Walsh
Wamp
Waters
Watson
Waxman
Weiner
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Wexler
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson (NM)
Wilson (SC)
Wolf
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn
Young (FL)

NOT VOTING--20

Boehlert
Dooley (CA)
Gephardt
Houghton
Jones (OH)
Kingston
Kleczka
Millender-McDonald
Neal (MA)
Nethercutt
Norwood
Paul
Pelosi
Rangel
Slaughter
Stark
Tauzin
Towns
Watt
Young (AK)

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Murphy) (during the vote). There are 2
minutes remaining in this vote.

{time} 2236

So the bill was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

____________________