[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 62 (Thursday, May 12, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E954-E955]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             RURAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE FAIRNESS ACT OF 2005

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BARBARA CUBIN

                               of wyoming

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 12, 2005

  Mrs. CUBIN. Mr. Speaker, in the dark of night on August 27, 2002, the 
town of Kaycee, Wyoming was overwhelmed by a 4-foot surge of water from 
the Powder River caused by a severe rainstorm--pouring down 2/3 of the 
town's annual rainfall within a 6-hour period. The damage was 
disastrous, over 80 percent of Kaycee's businesses and one-third of 
their residences were damaged or destroyed. But despite Kaycee's 
massive loss--one that would have cost billions had Manhattan, Los 
Angeles or Chicago lost 80 percent of their businesses--there was no 
disaster declaration.
  This flood effectively erased the community of Kaycee, and it's 
absolutely preposterous

[[Page E955]]

that damage of this magnitude does not qualify as a disaster. A 
comparable disaster in Washington, D.C. would have destroyed 96,196 
homes and 15,575 businesses. Washington, D.C. would not function after 
such a catastrophe and neither can Kaycee, Wyoming. In fact, under 
today's criteria, a majority of Wyoming's communities could be 
destroyed without receiving a disaster designation, as Kaycee has 
shown. Rural America needs help and that's why I am introducing the 
Rural Disaster Assistance Fairness Act of 2005.
  My bill will create a Small State Advocate who will participate in 
the disaster declaration process, assist small States in disaster 
declaration requests, and ensure the needs of rural communities are 
being addressed. Additionally, it would require the Department of 
Homeland Security to report to Congress regarding whether current 
regulations addressing small state disaster declarations are meeting 
the needs of states with populations of less than one million, and 
whether current disaster regulations are in compliance with statutory 
restrictions regarding arithmetic formulas and sliding scales.
  This is an important bill and I urge my colleagues to join me in 
updating the laws and regulations that treat many rural States unfairly 
compared to their larger neighbors.

                          ____________________