[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 111 (Thursday, September 8, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H7773-H7774]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




EXPRESSING SINCERE GRATITUDE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES TO FOREIGN 
ENTITIES THAT HAVE OFFERED ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT TO THOSE AFFECTED BY 
                           HURRICANE KATRINA

  Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 428) expressing the sincere gratitude of the House 
of Representatives to the foreign individuals, organizations, and 
governments that have offered material assistance and other forms of 
support to those who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 428

       Whereas Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the 
     United States with devastating effect on August 29, 2005;
       Whereas the United States has a long history of 
     humanitarian response to other countries that have 
     experienced disasters of similar magnitude;
       Whereas soon after the scope of the destruction became 
     evident, assistance was offered by foreign individuals, 
     organizations, and governments; and
       Whereas numerous messages of condolence and support for the 
     people of the United States have been sent to the President 
     and Congress and to government authorities in the affected 
     area: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives expresses its 
     sincere gratitude to the foreign individuals, organizations, 
     and governments that have offered material assistance and 
     other forms of support to those who have been affected by 
     Hurricane Katrina.
       Sec. 2. The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall 
     transmit enrolled copies of this resolution to the Secretary 
     of State with a request that the Secretary transmit the 
     copies to the foreign governments described in this 
     resolution.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Iowa (Mr. Leach) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach).


                             General Leave

  Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Iowa?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, today I rise to express the gratitude of the American 
people for the tremendously generous offers of support and expressions 
of condolences that have poured in from around the world to those who 
have been affected by Hurricane Katrina.
  Katrina will be remembered as one of the most catastrophic natural 
disasters to ever hit our shores. At this point, it would appear that 
thousands of victims, perhaps tens of thousands, have perished in our 
gulf coast region. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced without 
knowing where to go or how they will reestablish a permanent residence. 
Hundreds of thousands of jobs and businesses have been lost. 
Infrastructure has been destroyed. It will take years to rebuild these 
areas that were hit hardest by the hurricane.
  However, in spite of the dark hours which we witnessed during the 
storm and its immediate aftermath, the spirit and will of the people 
most affected are beginning to shine through as a result of the support 
which they have received from the American people and from our friends 
and neighbors around the world. Nearly 100 countries have offered over 
$1 billion in monetary and other forms of tangible assistance. Even Sri 
Lanka, horribly victimized by the recent tsunami, has generously 
offered assistance. Such gestures will not be forgotten.
  As Americans, we have a long record of providing humanitarian aid to 
many countries around the world that have suffered from natural and 
other disasters, but we have never found ourselves in this type of 
situation before. The compassionate offers of assistance from our 
global friends are welcome, and as reflected in this resolution, we 
accept them with heartfelt gratitude.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation, and I urge 
all of my colleagues to do so.
  The United States is the largest provider of humanitarian assistance 
in this world. Whether in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch or the 
devastation of the Asian tsunami, the United States and our military 
have been in the front lines of responding to the needs of starving and 
destitute victims of nature's fury. It is only fitting, therefore, Mr. 
Speaker, that when we face devastation from a deadly hurricane that 
overwhelmed our own disaster plans, countries around the globe should 
respond to our own needs with offers of assistance.
  Let me join my colleagues on the other side of the aisle in 
expressing our gratitude for these offers.
  I am not, however, satisfied with the reception of these offers by 
some branches of our own government. I want to commend Secretary Rice 
and the Department of State for making significant and successful 
efforts to catalog these offers from abroad, but we learned from press 
reports that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was unable to 
process them and to determine what would be of assistance and what 
would not. Let me give my colleagues an example.
  The Swedish Government has offered water purification equipment. No 
item is more desperately needed in Louisiana than water purification 
equipment. They have also offered a cellular phone network which could 
have done much to ease the communications challenges on the gulf coast. 
As of yesterday, these offered items remain in Sweden.
  It took a week for our government to accept the offer of four 
Canadian rescue vessels.
  A German communications company was willing to provide an integrated 
satellite and cellular phone system that could handle 5,000 calls at 
once. The company waited for days for any response.
  This area is just one more example of the failures of executive 
agencies tasked with disaster relief in responding to this, the 
greatest natural disaster ever to confront our Nation.
  It is simply shameful that FEMA did not realize the scope of this 
disaster and failed to trigger its most significant response until the 
end of the day when the levees broke in New Orleans. It is simply 
shameful that there was not a way for FEMA to accept offers of 
assistance from our own military as well as citizen States across the 
Nation. It is simply shameful that the poor and the sick and the 
elderly were left without supplies and protection from the marauding 
gangs that seeped in and around New Orleans.
  I am sure that there is plenty of blame to go around in unraveling 
the bureaucratic bungling that contributed to this unacceptable 
response, but one thing, Mr. Speaker, is clear: FEMA's leadership 
failed, and I call on its director to resign today.
  Let us find a better way to accept offers of assistance from our 
friends abroad, from our fellow citizens, and from our own military.
  In order to address all these shortcomings, I strongly urge the 
appointment of a truly independent bipartisan commission made up of 
public figures of distinction and integrity and experts on disaster 
relief to investigate the failures that have cost the lives of so many. 
An investigation launched by the administration or dominated by one 
party will never be able to get to the bottom of what went wrong. We 
cannot afford such a flawed investigation. We need to get this right.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.
   Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
House Resolution 428, expressing the sincere gratitude of the House of 
Representatives to the foreign individuals, organizations, and 
governments that have offered material assistance and other forms of 
support to those who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina. To date, 
I understand that some 95 countries have come forward with offers of 
assistance.
  Bangladesh, one of the world's poorest nations, offered $1 million in 
aid.
  Thailand--still mourning its 8,000 missing and dead people after the 
tsunami--offered 60 nurses and shipments of rice.
  Israel, the largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid, is returning the 
favor by donating tents and first-aid kits.

[[Page H7774]]

  Oil-wealthy nations, such as Kuwait, have offered over $500 million 
in oil and relief.
  European nations, such as Spain, have focused on sending military and 
rescue gear.
  Both Djibouti and Georgia, relatively smaller countries, have offered 
$50,000 each.
  Sri Lanka, the small country off the coast of Africa and one that is 
about $600 million in debt, offered $25,000 in cash.
  There has been some criticism that we have been slow to accept the 
offers pouring in. The fact is that our greatest challenge has been to 
match the generous offers with the needs of the American people. The 
last thing we need is for someone to offer us assistance that can't 
really be utilized. For example, Russia, made us offers and our State 
Department told the Russians what we needed most urgently were MREs, 
(Meals-Ready-to-Eat), so they sent us MREs. We did the same thing with 
Germany. We took the MREs.
  The first aid we took, because, as the President said, it was the 
easiest to manage was cash. And the cash donations came in and quickly 
went out to Red Cross and others.
  As Chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, I would like to 
particularly acknowledge the outpouring of sympathy and solidarity we 
have witnessed from our friends and neighbors in Latin America. All the 
figures are still being compiled but I'd like to highlight a few 
examples, but by no means all examples of the support we have received 
from our friends in the Western Hemisphere.
  Honduras has offered to send 135 flooding and sanitation experts.
  Peru has offered to send a medical team of up to 100 members.
  A Mexican ship loaded with supplies set sail Monday from the Gulf 
Coast port of Tampico.
  Venezuela has offered 1 million barrels of gasoline, $5 million in 
cash and more than 50 tons of canned food and water.
  Even Cuba has offered to send 1,100 doctors, and;
  The Organization of American States approved the contribution of the 
maximum amount allowed under the statutes of the Inter-American 
Emergency Assistance Fund, and the establishment of a specific fund for 
the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
  These are just a few examples of the aid being offered. What is most 
important to remember in this situation is not the actual amount of aid 
offered, who offered what, and who may have offered nothing; what is 
important to remember, is the willingness of other nations, big and 
small, to come and give while we are vulnerable. It is important to 
appreciate the principle behind the gift.
  In closing, I want to offer my personal thanks to the entire 
international community for their help, their thoughts and their 
prayers for the people of the United States who have suffered and lost 
friends and loved ones in this terrible tragedy. The spirit of 
compassionate generosity and solidarity that we have witnessed from the 
international community is extremely comforting and gives me great hope 
for the future.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) that the House suspend the rules and 
agree to the resolution, H. Res. 428.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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