[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 110 (Wednesday, September 7, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1780]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT TO MEET IMMEDIATE NEEDS 
        ARISING FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF HURRICANE KATRINA, 2005

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                               speech of

                          HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 2, 2005

  Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, my heart and my prayers go out to all those 
caught in the path of Hurricane Katrina and the conditions they are 
suffering in its wake. Katrina was a hurricane of biblical proportions 
that has left thousands of people without food, clean water, shelter 
and medicine, particularly those people stranded in New Orleans where 
conditions are absolutely unlivable and public safety is virtually 
nonexistent. They have waited for days hoping for at least some sort of 
information about when they might get to escape their ravaged city and 
where they will go next.
  With the chaos and looting that has ensued in New Orleans, it is 
critical that our government get in there and provide the necessary 
relief--not tomorrow, not next week, but right now. People are dying on 
the streets; the President and the Federal Government cannot afford to 
waste another minute.
  It is inexcusable that the President and his administration did not 
act more swiftly to provide the basic necessities of survival to the 
victims, nor did they act swiftly to ensure the City's public safety. 
As the richest nation in the world and the world's only superpower, we 
ought to be ashamed. With so many troops abroad in Iraq attempting to 
secure a whole nation, it is inexcusable that we cannot secure one city 
on our own shores.
  That is why I am pleased that Congress acted quickly today to pass 
legislation providing $10.5 billion in emergency funds for the relief 
and recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The Supplemental Appropriations 
Act will deliver $10 billion in emergency aid for FEMA and $500 million 
for the Department of Defense.
  However, this is only a down payment. FEMA is currently spending $500 
million a day and under this scenario, the $10 billion for FEMA will 
provide only another 20 days as they continue to assess the needs of 
the devastated communities.
  It could take months for families to find homes and establish some 
sort of normalcy in their day-to-day life, and I call on the President 
and the Federal Government to remain committed to helping people 
rebuild their lives.
  Each of us has in some way been personally touched by this horrific 
tragedy. For my wife Dianne and I, it was waiting for our youngest son, 
Evan, to make his way to our house after escaping the disaster of New 
Orleans. We were further touched as we learned that a family member of 
a parishioner at the Church I pastor, St. James United Methodist, was 
given refuge by a kind elderly couple after being stranded in a home 
surrounded by water. Fortunately, the Coast Guard rescued them all on 
Sunday morning. All of us have a duty to reach out to those in greatest 
need.
  Americans will stand strong together to help our brothers and sisters 
in their time of dire need, and the Kansas City area is no exception. 
Children's Mercy Hospital has already opened their doors to twenty-four 
sick children and their families flown in from New Orleans by the 
Missouri Air National Guard, and the Red Cross has raised hundreds of 
thousands of dollars from Kansas Citians. The outpouring of support 
from across the country has been phenomenal, and I am confident that 
our citizens will remain resolute until the job is done.

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