[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 110 (Wednesday, September 7, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H7705-H7706]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RELIEF EFFORTS FOR HURRICANE KATRINA VICTIMS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am proud of what I have seen 
of what is happening not only in America, but also in my home State of 
Texas. I think we are all an America, where the tragedy occurred in 
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama last week, and the human and 
economic cost is unprecedented in our history. I know our Congress will 
respond to that.
  We pray daily for those who have been affected by this terrible 
storm, and as we say in southeast Texas, ``There but for the grace of 
God go us'' in southeast Texas, because we have had our storms and our 
floods, and that is why I think we have been so willing to help, 
particularly in Texas as a whole, our neighbors to the east, mostly 
Louisiana, but possibly Mississippi and Alabama.
  I rise to focus on the relief efforts for these evacuees, thousands 
of which are in my hometown of Houston, Texas. Getting folks out of 
harm's way is the first objective, and we then have to provide for them 
during the many months it takes to recover from this disaster.

                              {time}  1915

  Today there are over 30,000 in four mega-shelters in Houston where 
Texans are being the best friends in need that they can be. The Reliant 
Astrodome, Reliant Center, Reliant Arena, and George R. Brown 
Convention Center are full or filling up with evacuees.
  The American Red Cross has shelters around the area with an estimated 
2,600 displaced persons, including Baytown, Texas. And the people of 
our area, whether in Baytown or across our county, are responding to 
this tragedy. Countless people are working long hours to serve, 
particularly, I know, a Baytown City Council member, Sammy Mahan, and 
Fire Marshal Bernard Olive who literally formed their own shelter and 
provided so much assistance to our neighbors.

[[Page H7706]]

  Thousands more are in hotels and private homes across Texas and in 
the Houston area. There are about 100 seniors that have just moved into 
a senior housing facility in our district, and thousands more may end 
up in similar housing.
  Some estimate in the Houston area we have about 100,000 to 150,000 
total evacuees, maybe more.
  The health care, food, and clothing and other needs of these shelters 
is and will continue to be enormous for a long time.
  The charitable giving by individuals, nonprofits, and businesses has 
been overwhelming. Like 9/11, we are seeing Americans and Texans at 
their best.
  However, most of the burden for caring for these new residents of the 
Houston area will fall on already over-burdened local governments. So 
we are relieved that FEMA is up with five disaster relief centers at 
some of the shelters coordinating the disaster assistance. But we need 
a lot more. We had 20 centers during Tropical Storm Allison in 2001.
  Unfortunately, we are having a hard time caring for all the needy 
folks who live in the Houston area alone, so we are going to have to 
rely on the Federal Government to respond to this national disaster.
  To show how steep the costs are, the city of Houston on Monday, Labor 
Day, met in special council session and put $10,000 advance cost 
immediately for evacuee costs. This does not include our Harris County 
costs. And the amounts are so huge in other jurisdictions, the city has 
to rely on accountants from the Big Four accounting firms who 
volunteered to compile these expenses.
  I understand our Federal disaster law has never been used to 
compensate States for such a massive relief operation for citizens who 
are not from our State.
  There appears to be a significant amount of red tape for the money. 
There are several different ways to flow funds, through Louisiana then 
to Texas, or Texas may have to bill Louisiana, and then Louisiana gets 
reimbursed, and Texas may be reimbursed by the Federal Government 
directly.
  In addition, the public health costs alone present a complex 
situation. And I believe Texas will need a public health emergency 
declaration just like Louisiana.
  Many of these evacuees could already have or be susceptible to 
infectious diseases that thrive in our cramped conditions. That is why 
we are trying to move them out of these large facilities to apartments 
and homes as quickly as we can.
  How can Texas afford handling the Medicaid and Medicare costs of 
Louisiana residents who fled to our State? We cannot even cover our own 
needy children as we would like to. That is why the Federal Government 
should pay, at least in an emergency, 100 percent of the Medicaid match 
in times of emergency and national disaster. And tonight I am going to 
introduce legislation for that.
  While progress is being made on the housing front, there is much work 
to be done, and the sooner housing is found, the better off for our 
health situation.
  We need to figure out the best way to do this in an unprecedented 
situation. This event will be the largest charity and volunteer 
operation ever by Texans, and I think by our Nation. But we are 
stepping up to the challenge.
  Many Houstonians worked through Labor Day weekend to provide the 
initial relief for our Louisiana brothers and sisters. Donations are 
pouring into our churches and charities across my district, our 
community, and our State.
  Our religious community, it is great to see these daily meetings in 
the city of Houston with our Democratic city of Houston mayor and our 
county judge is a Republican, being problem solvers and dealing with 
our faith community. Our Catholic bishop and our Methodist bishop, 
churches of all walks of life are literally out there every day 
helping. However, local and State governments cannot be equipped.
  Mr. Speaker, I know I have used up my 5 minutes. That is why I would 
like to put the rest of my statement in the Record. And I cannot say 
too much about being so proud to be a Texan, but also an American.
  However, the local and State governments are just not equipped to 
deal with the scale of the situation. There is a reason that disasters 
like this are borne on the Federal level.
  Therefore, Texas, like Louisiana, will need to be reimbursed for the 
local government costs of this operation. Otherwise Hurricane Katrina's 
impact will become ever wider as the costs spread ever outwards.
  FEMA has been criticized for its red tape, but on this issue we have 
a chance to be pro-active. Let's devise a financial strategy that keeps 
aid and relief moving as fast as possible.
  If we need a legislative fix, then we need to find out now, rather 
than later. We will have at least two more supplementals to address the 
situation.

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