[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 111 (Thursday, September 8, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H7777-H7786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




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

  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 3673) making further emergency supplemental 
appropriations to meet immediate needs arising from the consequences of 
Hurricane Katrina, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2005, and 
for other purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3673

       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, namely:

                    DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE--MILITARY

                       Operation and Maintenance


                OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE, DEFENSE-WIDE

                     (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

       For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance, 
     Defense-Wide'', $1,400,000,000 for emergency hurricane 
     expenses, to support costs of evacuation, emergency repairs, 
     deployment of personnel, and other costs resulting from 
     immediate relief efforts, to remain available until September 
     30, 2006: Provided, That the Secretary of Defense may 
     transfer these funds to appropriations for military 
     personnel, operation and maintenance, procurement, family 
     housing, Defense Health Program, and working capital funds: 
     Provided further, That not to exceed $6,000,000 may be 
     transferred to ``Armed Forces Retirement Home'' for emergency 
     hurricane expenses: Provided further, That funds transferred 
     shall be merged with and be available for the same purposes 
     and for the same time period as the appropriation or fund 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 upon a determination that all or part of the funds 
     transferred from this appropriation are not necessary for the 
     purposes provided herein, such amounts may be transferred 
     back to this appropriation: Provided further, That the 
     Secretary of Defense shall, not more than 5 days after making 
     transfers from this appropriation, notify the Committees on 
     Appropriations in writing of any such transfer: Provided 
     further, That the amounts provided herein are designated as 
     an emergency requirement pursuant to section 402 of H. Con. 
     Res. 95 (l09th Congress).

                      DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE-CIVIL

                         Department of the Army


                        CORPS OF ENGINEERS-CIVIL

                       OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE

       For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance'' 
     for emergency expenses for repair of storm damage to 
     authorized projects in the Gulf states affected by Hurricane 
     Katrina, $200,000,000, to remain available until expended: 
     Provided, That the Chief of Engineers, acting through the 
     Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, shall 
     provide, at a minimum, a weekly report to the Committees on 
     Appropriations detailing the allocation and obligation of 
     these funds, beginning not later than September 15, 2005: 
     Provided further, That the amount provided herein is 
     designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 
     402 of H. Con. Res. 95 (l09th Congress).


                 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 (33 D.S.C. 701), for emergency 
     expenses for repair of damage to flood control and hurricane 
     shore protection projects in the Gulf states caused by 
     Hurricane Katrina, $200,000,000, to remain available until 
     expended: Provided, That the Chief of Engineers, acting 
     through the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, 
     shall provide, at a minimum, a weekly report to the 
     Committees on Appropriations detailing the allocation and 
     obligation of these funds, beginning not later than September 
     15, 2005: Provided further, That the amount provided herein 
     is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 
     402 of H. Con. Res. 95 (109th Congress).

                    DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

                  Emergency Preparedness and Response


                            DISASTER RELIEF

                     (INCLUDING TRANSFERS OF FUNDS)

       For an additional amount for ``Disaster Relief'', 
     $50,000,000,000, to remain available until expended: 
     Provided, That up to $100,000,000 may be transferred to and 
     merged with ``Emergency Preparedness and Response--Public 
     Health Programs'' for the National Disaster Medical System to 
     support medical care as authorized by the Public Health 
     Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 
     2002 (42 U.S.C. 300hh-11): Provided further, That $15,000,000 
     shall be transferred to and merged with ``Departmental 
     Management and Operations--Office of Inspector General'' for 
     necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General for 
     audits and investigations as authorized by law for Hurricane 
     Katrina response and recovery activities: Provided further, 
     That the Secretary of Homeland Security shall provide, at a 
     minimum, a weekly report to the Committees on Appropriations 
     detailing the allocation and obligation of these funds, 
     beginning not later than September 15, 2005: Provided 
     further, That the amounts provided herein are designated as 
     an emergency requirement pursuant to section 402 of H. Con. 
     Res. 95 (109th Congress).

                           GENERAL PROVISION

       Sec. 101. For procurements of property or services 
     determined by the head of an executive agency to be used in 
     support of Hurricane Katrina rescue and relief operations--

[[Page H7778]]

       (1) the emergency procurement authority in subsection 
     32A(c) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 
     U.S.C. 428a(c)) may be used; and
       (2) the amount specified in subsections (c), (d) and (f) of 
     section 32 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act 
     (41 U.S.C. 428) shall be $250,000.
       This Act may be cited as the ``Second Emergency 
     Supplemental Appropriations Act to Meet Immediate Needs 
     Arising From the Consequences of Hurricane Katrina, 2005''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lewis) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Obey) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis).
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it was less than 1 week ago that Congress approved $10.5 
billion in disaster aid to begin providing immediate assistance to the 
people of the gulf coast. That emergency supplemental bill was the 
first of what will likely be several supplementals addressing the 
urgent needs of our citizens affected by Hurricane Katrina.
  I plan to be very brief in my remarks.
  The human needs in the gulf region are all too apparent. The 
President has promised an unprecedented level of assistance and, once 
again, Congress is backing that promise with the funding and resources 
to keep the aid flowing.
  This is a straightforward supplemental providing $51.8 billion for 
emergency response and recovery needs associated with this disaster. 
Our effort today will ensure that there is no disruption in funding for 
needed relief efforts. We fully expect to be approving still more 
assistance once we have an assessment of the full scope and costs of 
this disaster.
  It is important for our Members to know that we are insisting on 
proper oversight for those appropriated dollars to ensure that funds 
are being spent wisely. Specifically, we have added a provision 
allowing the transfer of up to $15 million from FEMA's Disaster Relief 
Fund to the Homeland Security inspector general. Congress also will 
provide that every dollar needed is spent to rebuild, but we will 
require accountability for every dollar that is spent.
  The destruction along the gulf coast will require months and even 
years of intense effort to recover and rebuild. Congress and the Bush 
administration are fully committed to the rebuilding process.
  One final thought in closing. I recall vividly the scene of 
Republicans and Democrats standing on the steps of the Capitol singing 
``God Bless America'' on the evening of September 11, 2001. We stood 
not as partisans or political opponents, but as American citizens 
united in our grief and resolve. We would all do well to follow that 
model of comity and civility. Our success in rebuilding in the wake of 
this natural disaster demands that we tone down our political rhetoric 
and weigh our words and actions carefully.
  The lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people are at 
stake. The temptation to point fingers is great in the aftermath of a 
tragedy of this magnitude. Regardless of party affiliation, we must all 
resist this temptation to point fingers when our citizens are suffering 
and in need. There will be plenty of time to assess how and why this 
disaster occurred, but not today, not now. We must stand together as we 
did on 9/11, united as Americans, to assist our citizens in need.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 4 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, 19 times this year the majority party has asked me as 
the ranking member of the Committee on Appropriations to help them with 
procedural waivers of House rules so they could accelerate the passage 
of their appropriations bills, and we provided that cooperation.
  Today, under consideration of this bill we on the minority side asked 
for three things. We asked, first of all, that since the last money 
that was provided to the hurricane region was provided with virtually 
no real debate, we asked that this bill be brought to the floor under 
an open rule so that Members could offer amendments trying to increase 
the efficiency of the money which is going to be delivered to the 
stricken area. The majority party said ``no.''
  The majority party then insisted on bringing this bill up under 
suspension despite the fact that their own caucus rules indicate that 
no bill should be brought to the floor under suspension, which means no 
Member has a right to amend. Their own rules say that they should not 
be brought to the House floor unless the bill is under $100 million. 
This is a $50 billion bill.
  Thirdly, because we had 17 Members who wanted to comment or ask 
questions about it, we asked if they were going to consider it under a 
closed rule that they give each side of House 1 hour to discuss the 
matter. We have been turned down.
  Lastly, we asked the majority to provide for us an opportunity for at 
least one amendment so that we can correct the fact that right now FEMA 
has been used as a political dumping ground for patronage by the White 
House, and as a result we have a dysfunctional and chaotic agency. We 
were not even allowed to offer that amendment.
  So I simply want to put the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) on 
notice. He need not bother me asking me for any further procedural 
considerations for the rest of the session. If the gentleman wants to 
stick to the rules, we are going to stick to the rules.
  I agree with the gentleman that it would be nice if we could follow 
on the model of 9/11 when we had bipartisan consideration of these 
matters. The reason we had bipartisanship is because the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Young) and I worked together. We were consulted equally. 
We met in the Speaker's office and the minority had some opportunity 
for input in the product.
  We have been given no such opportunity by the White House, by your 
leadership, or by you yourself under those circumstances. I think the 
gentleman needs to expect to receive the same kind of cooperation which 
he has extended.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Alexander).
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for 
yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to personally thank all of the Members of the 
House for the help that they have given us, for their kindness, for 
their prayers for the State of Louisiana.
  What I am going to ask of Members today is if Members cannot vote for 
this measure, find a reason other than the Governor of Louisiana. I 
served with the lady 20 years ago in the State legislature. She had 
some criticism for me when I changed parties last year, but I 
understand that. But she is a decent lady and does not deserve to have 
her name mentioned in the same column with the word ``corruption.''
  I would appreciate it if Members would refrain from throwing stones 
at this particular time. We have some devastation down there and a lot 
of hurt people, but please, if Members would find another reason other 
than that.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany).
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, we are now entering a new phase of this recovery effort. 
Although my Louisiana district did not suffer significant damage from 
the hurricane, we now face the enormous challenge of sheltering and 
supporting numerous evacuees now in southwest Louisiana.
  In Lake Charles, Louisiana, a small community, we have an estimated 
25,000 evacuees in need. In Lafayette, my hometown, there are an 
estimated 40,000 evacuees. We basically doubled our population. Funding 
appropriated in this installment today is critically needed to begin 
the transition from emergency shelter to a more permanent solution for 
housing of families of the gulf coast that are affected by this 
disaster.
  The resources of local communities providing for these evacuees are 
being stretched ever so thinly now. The Cajundome in Lafayette, my 
hometown, continues to house nearly 5,000 individuals at a cost of 
nearly $60,000

[[Page H7779]]

per day. In a mere 30 days we will deplete the budget allocated for 
that facility for the entire year, so we need help.
  Local community organizations are stepping up to help, but have 
limited resources. The recovery process will be long and expensive. The 
Federal Government must continue to step in and bring its full 
resources to the effort and Congress must provide proper oversight.
  The visual images of all of this have been just horrific and the 
human stories are unbelievable to hear. And I have been frustrated with 
some of the delays, but we must get the job done.
  This is not the time to point fingers. This is not the time to cast 
blame. This is the time to get to work. We have an enormous amount of 
work to do in front of us, and it has to be done in a bipartisan 
fashion. I ask Members on both sides to use restraint in the debate. 
Accountability will come as we move forward.
  I know Congress will look into the disaster, and I urge my colleagues 
to rise above the vicious rhetoric that does not provide for the 
thousands of children in my district who need school supplies and 
uniforms.
  Displaced small businesses with help to get back on their feet; 
opportunities for families to reunite; housing for those without, or, 
seniors with medical care and comfort.
  This emergency supplemental is the next installment in the long road 
to establishing the industries and communities of the Gulf Coast. I 
would like to thank the House leadership and my colleagues for their 
continued support.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the supplemental.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kirk), a member of our committee.
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation. I also want to 
point out that the chairman and ranking minority member have quite 
wisely repeated a precedent that we set in previous large supplementals 
of enhancing the capabilities of the Inspector General's office with 
new resources and new investigators to make sure that the assistance 
reaches those who are in need.
  This legislation that we are considering is three times larger than 
any previous domestic disaster assistance legislation that we have 
considered. We were advised last night by OMB that the Federal 
Government is spending at the rate of $2 billion a day, and that rate 
will likely continue for some time. In spending the taxpayers' 
resources that quickly, we want to make sure that we are still reaching 
those in need. We have seen in previous large supplementals, enhancing 
the Inspector General's Office creates a positive environment of making 
sure everybody knows that they are just in the office next door and if 
something uncareful is done, they could face consequences.
  This legislation has that protection in it for the taxpayers.

                              {time}  1430

  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from 
Rhode Island (Mr. Kennedy).
  Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, we have talked a lot about 
making sure that we not overlook those who have been affected by this 
terrible tragedy. Today, Mr. Speaker, I rise to support this bill, but 
also just to say we should make sure that we do not overlook those 
significant numbers of people that have been traumatized by this 
terrible event.
  The mental health impact of this horrifying event, it cannot be 
measured in dollars. If trauma can disable even those who are trained 
for battle, we have seen police officers commit suicide already because 
of what they have witnessed, who can begin to even calculate the 
fallout on those who are most vulnerable, those who suffered trauma in 
the past, those who deal with mental illness every single day?
  In addition, there is an extreme need for those with mental illnesses 
who have become evacuees themselves. Untreated, their diseases can be 
debilitating or even fatal under extreme stress. I know that efforts 
are under way by SAMPHSA and FEMA and many private organizations to 
meet the mental health needs today and in the future, but I also know 
that there are never enough resources when it comes to mental health, 
even in the best of times.
  So I look forward to working with the committee to make sure that 
these and other needs are met in this bill.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Bonner).
  Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, the events we have witnessed during the past 
2 weeks on the gulf coast have been nothing short of tragic. Never in 
my life could I have imagined the scale of devastation which has come 
to pass in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana as a result of Hurricane 
Katrina.
  The endless stream of video on national television networks and cable 
stations has provided us with images that until recently we had only 
seen in devastated Third World countries in other parts of the world.
  My district in south Alabama was severely impacted by this monstrous 
storm. In some areas, such as Bayou La Batre and Dauphin Island, entire 
neighborhoods and businesses have simply been washed away. As horrific 
as this impact has been on my constituents, it is only a small part of 
the overwhelming destruction covering 90,000 square miles along 
America's gulf coast.
  Ninety thousand square miles. To put that in perspective, in the area 
commonly known as Ground Zero in New York City affected by the 
terrorists on September 11, it totaled just 16 acres.
  As everyone in this Chamber is aware, particularly our friends in 
Louisiana and Mississippi, the recovery time facing us will be long and 
difficult. It will require determination, strength of mind, spirit and 
body; and it will require a sense of unity.
  In the days since the storm, we have seen all of these qualities in 
great abundance, in the people doing such large things as providing 
housing, jobs and hot meals for displaced families, and those doing 
such small things as providing a hug to someone in need.
  But this recovery will also require one other thing. It will require 
a tremendous amount of funding. The emergency supplemental measure 
under consideration here today will provide much-needed funding from 
local, State, and Federal agencies to continue the seemingly 
insurmountable task of rebuilding lives, communities, and States.
  It is difficult to know what the final cost will be in rebuilding 
after Hurricane Katrina. However, the $10.5 billion in emergency 
funding approved by this body last week was a good start, and the $51.8 
billion measure we are considering today will provide even more vital 
funding for the rebuilding of America's gulf coast.
  I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) for his leadership 
in this very difficult, yet important, matter. On behalf of my home 
State of Alabama, I want to especially thank President Bush for his 
assistance to the impacted region and for his tremendous display of 
support to those affected by this storm. I am also most grateful to the 
leadership of this House for responding so rapidly to the great 
challenges that this emergency funding will help address.
  Let me close by urging my colleagues to support this measure and, in 
so doing, show their support and compassion for the millions of women, 
men and children impacted in countless ways, both great and small, by 
this storm. Hope is something Americans should never lose. Let us, by 
both our words and actions, continue to provide that hope.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Sabo), the ranking member on the 
Subcommittee on Homeland Security.
  Mr. SABO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time, 
and I rise in strong support for this bill and this supplemental 
appropriation. The Congress clearly needs to pass it as quickly as we 
can, but let me make just a few random comments.
  I think it is obvious to most of us, or at least to me and some 
others, that the Federal Government probably would have responded more 
quickly and in a more professional manner to this crisis if FEMA 
existed as it existed before the creation of the Department of Homeland 
Security, and I think that is an issue at some point we have to deal 
with.
  Secondly, I think it is appropriate that we deal with this bill 
quickly and as a supplemental appropriation today and do it quickly so 
we can meet real

[[Page H7780]]

urgent, current needs. However, at some point, as this need and the 
need for a supplemental grows, at some point we should follow regular 
order and have the administration respond to our committees and respond 
to questions and to build their case for what their plans are on what I 
expect will be a significantly larger amount of money that is being 
spent.
  So while we proceed today, clearly we should plan, I would hope, the 
next time we face a bill, at least some committee hearings where 
Members can ask questions and the administration is required to provide 
some more detailed plans.
  Thirdly, clearly the administration, we and everyone is guessing at 
what some of the needs are going to be, but one concern I have, what is 
lacking and that I have heard no discussion of, is we have dealt with 
kids in college, but we have thousands of kids in elementary and 
secondary education who have been uprooted from their homes, been 
uprooted from where they were planning to go to school a very short 
time ago and scattered throughout the country. They are going to have 
some very unique problems, and I have heard no discussion by the 
Department of Education of providing any additional funding for these 
kids in whatever school districts they end up around the country.
  I think that clearly should be the responsibility of the Federal 
Government. I think they are going to have unique needs in terms of 
counseling, and it is going to put additional burdens for additional 
students on school districts; but if there are any plans for doing it, 
they have escaped me. So I would hope the administration, the 
Department of Education would move very quickly to develop some 
realistic plans on how we deal with kids who are going through great 
turmoil and are going to face the uncertainty of being in schools that 
they were not planning on.
  So we need to pass this bill, but we have got lots more work to do.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), the chairman of the Subcommittee 
on Homeland Security.
  Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for 
yielding time and, more importantly, for the work that he has been 
doing these past several days trying to come to the aid of colleagues 
in the South.
  One year ago, this Congress responded to an unprecedented event, four 
hurricanes striking a State within 2 months in Florida. Little did we 
know that a year later this Nation would be tested beyond what we saw 
in Florida. Not quite 2 weeks ago now, we saw the fury and destruction 
that Mother Nature can unleash; and we all watched as not just homes 
and communities were destroyed but entire cities.
  The images on television were horrific. I do not know a single heart 
in America that is not breaking as we watch hundreds of thousands of 
our fellow citizens become victims to the worst natural disaster in the 
Nation's history.
  There has been much debate, finger-pointing in the press about who is 
to blame for problems with relief efforts, about who allowed such a 
human disaster to happen. This is an important question and one to 
which we must find answers, but at the appropriate time. Right now, it 
is time to finish the job of rescuing human beings from harm's way, to 
comfort those that have lost all of their possessions, and to help them 
find a sense of comfort and normalcy.
  This bill will provide the beginnings to do just that. We do not know 
yet what the total disaster costs will be, but we want to assure the 
victims and the Nation that we will do everything in our power to help 
them recover.
  Just an idea, Mr. Speaker, in World War I we had a thing called 
Liberty Bonds. I think it is time we thought about perhaps having 
Katrina Bonds. A lot of people are wanting to help across the Nation. 
This would be a way for every individual, if they chose, to find a way 
to help the victims of this great, horrible disaster. So I recommend 
that we think of that, establishment of K savings bonds.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Melancon). We have seen him in his 
efforts in his own district after this disaster.
  Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, after a week and a half of difficult days, 
today is one of the toughest for me.
  This morning I had to leave the devastation and overwhelming need of 
the people that were affected by Katrina to come to the House to do my 
duty as a Member of Congress, to see that they are taken care of in the 
near term and in the long term. I hope we can bring some real help to 
Louisiana and the gulf region.
  First, we can make a difference in the form of today's supplemental 
appropriations to provide immediate relief for all that have suffered 
directly in this tragedy.
  Second, we can commit today that the problems that plagued the 
Katrina response will never happen again in future disasters.
  Beginning today, we can start a tough and honest assessment of our 
emergency response capability and how we deal with disasters like 
Katrina. With new legislation I have introduced, I am calling for 
creation of the Katrina Commission, an independent and bipartisan 
commission that will cut through the partisan finger-pointing and give 
us some real answers.
  We all need answers, Mr. Speaker. Louisianans, and my district in 
particular, need answers to what went wrong; and the rest of America 
needs answers to how we are going to better be prepared in the future 
in the case disaster hits them.
  We need to know why, when New Orleans was a nightmare, we sat and 
watched instead of helping the places we could help. I can tell my 
colleagues, because I have been there, that some of the hardest hit 
places were ignored and abandoned and even now are not getting the 
attention they need.
  There is a sense in my district, in places like St. Bernard and 
Plaquemines Parishes, that the Federal Government, our government, Mr. 
Speaker, has completely failed them. It is this point I have a lot of 
trouble telling them that they are wrong.
  As their Congressman, it is painfully ironic that the help I have 
been able to give them has not been from the Federal Government at all. 
I have had to work around the system, identifying needs and 
coordinating resources myself, much of it from private and unofficial 
sources.
  The system was broken long before Katrina hit, and just because we 
can turn on the television today and no longer see thousands of people 
in immediate peril does not mean we have somehow fixed it.
  As we move forward, we must remember that there are success stories 
in all of this, and there is much to be proud of. First responders, 
charitable groups, thousands of volunteers have given more than we 
could have ever asked.
  Local officials like State Senator Walter Boasso of St. Bernard 
Parish and the Plaquemines Parish sheriff and parish president worked 
together as a team on the ground to deliver for their people and 
protect their property. Why on their own? Because for days there was no 
help coming from the Federal Government.
  In the last week, Louisiana has had help and had support from all 
over the country. We have been grateful for law enforcement from New 
York, food and clothing donations from Phoenix, and so much more from 
everywhere else in this country.

                              {time}  1445

  We also owe a debt of gratitude to the States and cities that have 
opened their doors to hundreds of thousands of Louisiana citizens who 
have had to flee their homes. Your generosity is a testament to the 
strength of our American spirit, and your support has allowed us to 
continue on when we were not sure we could.
  I thank America, and I particularly thank this body for the support 
that I have received from its Members through calls and shipments.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\3/4\ minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the minority whip.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens in our gulf 
coast

[[Page H7781]]

region have been devastated and displaced by the worst natural disaster 
in our Nation's history. The needs of the survivors and affected 
communities are great and our willingness to respond must match the 
challenge. This great Nation must respond in a manner that the American 
people expect and demand.
  I have every expectation that every Member of this House will vote 
today for this emergency supplemental appropriation because our 
paramount concern must be to assist the victims of this catastrophe, 
our brothers and sisters in the gulf States. But it pains me to say, 
Mr. Speaker, that once again we have abrogated our obligation to 
conduct real, meaningful, effective legislative oversight of the 
executive branch. We want to help, but we have an obligation to assure 
ourselves that the help is going where it is needed.
  Ten and one-half billion dollars by unanimous consent; I was for 
that. Fifty-two billion, plus; I am for that. No hearings, no 
oversight, no questions. No examination of when and how and where and 
who will spend the money and who will get it. As I understand it, 
neither the chairman nor the ranking member of the Committee on 
Appropriations was consulted in the drafting of this legislation.
  The unfortunate truth is, Mr. Speaker, this compliant Congress has 
acted more like an adjunct to this administration than the co-equal 
branch that the Constitution demands we be.
  Now, more than ever, the American people deserve honest answers to 
hard questions about the inadequate Federal response to this disaster. 
For example, why did Federal agencies and officials fail to appreciate 
the magnitude of this disaster, even as they were being warned by 
hurricane experts of the potential devastation? We all watched it on 
television being reported to us. Why was the Federal response too slow 
and initially too inadequate?
  As the columnist David Broder wrote on Sunday, ``The majority of 
Republicans see themselves first and foremost as Members of the Bush 
team and do not want to make trouble by asking hard questions.''
  I close, Mr. Speaker, by simply saying that, of course, we are going 
to support this, but, Mr. Speaker, I urge us to have oversight. Fifty-
two billion dollars is a lot of money, and we are going to spend 
whatever is needed, but let us make sure we spend it right and let us 
make sure the right people get the money.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume to mention, as I did in my opening statement, that we have 
changed this a bit by adding $15 million to make sure our inspector 
general is assisting us in making sure that every dollar that will be 
spent, and it is necessary to help those people who have been affected 
by this tragedy, that indeed it is our intention to ensure to the 
American public that every dollar is spent well.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\3/4\ minutes to the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar).
  (Mr. OBERSTAR asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this 
time.
  My colleague from Minnesota (Mr. Sabo) a moment ago cited the plight 
of elementary and secondary schoolchildren and the need to invest in 
education requirements to help them through this traumatic period. My 
area in our Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is the 
highways, the bridges, the water and sewer systems, the port 
facilities, the Coast Guard and, indeed, FEMA itself. We should 
understand, as I said last Friday on passage of the first increment, 
that this is a down payment. That $10.5 billion was a down payment. 
This $52 billion is a down payment on the needs of the gulf, the need 
for restoration of the wetlands, the buffers that slow the advance of 
storms, that prevent the erosion of the coastline.
  But there is also a need to restore the buoys in the harbor, to 
replot the sandbars and the channels in the harbor and the riverway. 
There is a need to invest more in the Corps of Engineers to reevaluate 
the levees and the protective systems, the riprap along the coast of 
the river banks of the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain.
  The causeway is under severe difficulty. The roadways throughout the 
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama gulf areas are in serious 
difficulty. The storm surge has taken those out. We are going to need a 
huge investment in highways, bridges, water and sewer and sewage 
treatment facilities in the city of New Orleans and in other 
communities.
  Our committee stands ready to address those issues, but we will need 
a comprehensive plan to address these issues, and I urge the Committee 
on Appropriations and the Office of Management and Budget to address 
that very issue of laying out a plan, so we think constructively into 
the future.
  Parallel to the tragedy of human and physical disruption in the 
aftermath of Katrina, is the obvious disarray of the Federal 
Government's response. FEMA should have been in charge--but they didn't 
seem to be. For a long while, no Federal agency appeared to be in 
charge, coordinating the recovery efforts.
  I predicted that this would happen when the Department of Homeland 
Security was created, with FEMA included in it. I argued against the 
inclusion of FEMA and offered an amendment to delete FEMA from the 
proposed new department during floor consideration of the DOHS bill.
  I include at this point in the Record my remarks from the Record of 
July 25, 2002, in support of my amendment.
       Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of 
     my time.
       Mr. Chairman, the Brookings Institution studied this 
     proposal for a Department of Homeland Security and reached 
     the same conclusion as former FEMA Director James Lee With 
     with this observation:
       ``There is very little day-to-day synergy between the 
     preventive and protective functions of the border and 
     transportation security entities in the Department and the 
     emergency preparedness and response functions a consolidated 
     FEMA contributes. There is, therefore, little to be gained in 
     bringing these very different entities under the same 
     organizational roof. And the costs are not insignificant.
       ``FEMA,'' the report says, ``would likely become less 
     effective in performing its current mission in case of 
     natural disasters, as time, effort, and attention are 
     inevitably diverted to other tasks within the larger 
     organization.''
       Prior to the time when we enacted the Stafford Act which 
     statutorily established FEMA in 1979, after we had shed its 
     disaster, civil defense role, the Federal Government had had 
     no coordinated or effective response to natural disasters, 
     but FEMA became that response agency.
       Now, if we move this really effective agency into a big 
     bureaucracy, we know what happens. We all know in this 
     Chamber what happens when a small agency gets into a big 
     department and the big appetite for more money to be shuffled 
     around with fungible dollars that can go from one agency to 
     the next and suddenly, FEMA's will just dissipate and fritter 
     away.
       Mr. Chairman, I am in the enviable position of rising in 
     support of the unanimous position of the Committee on 
     Transportation and Infrastructure in reporting out our 
     responsibilities toward homeland security, and that is the 
     committee reported out recommendation to keep FEMA as an 
     independent agency.
       All right. This is July 2002. Let us fast forward to July 
     2003. The majority has prevailed. FEMA is a box in the 
     mammoth bureaucracy of the Department of Homeland Security. 
     Flood waters are swirling around your city. You call for 
     help. You get the Department of Homeland Security. The 
     switchboard sends your call to the Under Secretary's office 
     which looks up ``disaster'' on their organizational chart and 
     sends you to the Congressional Liaison Office, which then 
     promises to get a message back to you in 24 hours. 
     Eventually, they find FEMA, by which time you are stranded on 
     the roof of your house waving a white handkerchief and 
     screaming for help. FEMA, the word comes back, sorry, is 
     looking for suspected terrorists some place in the hinterland 
     of America and will get back to you as soon as we can.
       This Department of Homeland Security is a bureaucracy in 
     search of a mission. Do not give them FEMA's mission. It is 
     too important to waste on this misguided department. There is 
     that old barnyard saying, ``if it ain't broke, don't fix 
     it.'' FEMA ain't broke. Don't fix it by ruining it and 
     sending it into the Department of Homeland Sccurity. It is 
     nimble, quick, lean, effective as an independent agency 
     today. Keep it that way. Help your city, help your State, 
     help yourself, help your firefighter by keeping FEMA as an 
     independent. agency where it belongs and has been effective.

  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Manzullo).
  Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3673, but as 
chairman of the Committee on Small Business I want to raise an issue of 
potential concern regarding one provision included in the bill that 
raises the micropurchase threshold from $2,500 to $250,000

[[Page H7782]]

for goods and services used in support of Hurricane Katrina rescue and 
relief.
  We understand the need for giving relief and aid to the victims as 
quickly as possible. I also understand that was the reason the 
administration requested inclusion of this provision in the 
supplemental.
  While the provision in the bill only deals with the immediate rescue 
and relief operations, I am concerned that, moving forward, we ensure 
that small businesses, particularly those in the impacted gulf areas, 
are able to play a significant role in the recovery.
  I would ask the chairman if he would be willing to work with me and 
the administration to ensure that our small businesses are fully 
utilized and that we maintain appropriate controls over contracting.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. MANZULLO. I yield to the gentleman from California.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I first want to say that I 
appreciate the gentleman bringing this to our attention, as chairman of 
the Committee on Small Business. Indeed, I will be happy to continue 
working with the gentleman over time regarding this matter, and I look 
forward to that effort.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, we have all seen the damage done when FEMA is run by 
incompetence and when FEMA itself is a disabled agency. We must 
depoliticize and professionalize the leadership at FEMA, and I hope we 
will have an opportunity to do that very soon, because until we do, 
this money is being spent by a disabled agency.
  One other point. The news media has talked often about those who were 
left behind in New Orleans. They are easy to see because the cameras 
are there and we can see the dead bodies floating in the water. But 
there are millions of other Americans in and outside of the region who 
are also being left behind in our schools. They are being left behind 
in health care. They are being left behind on Medicaid.
  I would hope that this Congress would have the decency to set aside 
its plans to provide billions of dollars in additional tax cuts for the 
most wealthy and the most prosperous and comfortable among us while the 
needs of so many are so apparent and while so many Americans are indeed 
still being left behind in the affected area and in other regions of 
our country.
  Mr. Speaker, I would also hope that we could come to an agreement 
that in a matter this serious, the most serious disaster that has ever 
affected this country, this Congress would find a way to deal with 
these issues in a bipartisan and consultive fashion. If you want 
cooperation, you need to extend cooperation. This is too important for 
this business to be handled any other way.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Jefferson).
  Mr. JEFFERSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me 
this time, and I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) for 
his fine gesture and for the work they have done on this appropriations 
matter.
  We have all seen the devastation in the news of my home district and 
my State of Louisiana and the gulf coast, but that is only a pale 
reflection of the destruction my constituents have experienced. 
Hundreds of thousands of my constituents have been uprooted from their 
homes. More than 100,000 businesses have been shuttered. And hundreds, 
possibly thousands, of lives have been lost due to the ravages of 
Hurricane Katrina. So words do not describe the damage.
  Just last week, this House convened in emergency session and 
appropriated $10.5 billion to begin the recovery from this natural 
disaster. And, remarkably, less than a week later, most of that has 
been spent or committed. Accordingly, we come together today for 
another $50 billion or so to continue what is a long, hard recovery 
throughout the gulf coast, but particularly in my hometown of New 
Orleans.
  With the passage of this supplemental appropriation bill, we have 
committed almost $63 billion to the recovery and reconstruction 
efforts. But I want to sound the alarm today, lest the House become the 
victim of Hurricane recovery fatigue.
  In normal circumstances, $63 billion would be a lot of money for 
recovery and reconstruction. But Hurricane Katrina was no normal 
hurricane, and her effects are unprecedented. So I want to make sure 
that this House and this Congress understand that these monies are just 
the beginning, what the President has called a down payment on the 
long-term commitment to the recovery and revival of the areas decimated 
by Hurricane Katrina.
  Reliable economic estimates suggest that the total Federal cost of 
the reconstruction and recovery of the affected areas will be in the 
neighborhood of $225 billion, with $100 billion required to clean up, 
reconstruct, resettle and revive my hometown of New Orleans. In other 
words, the almost $52 billion we are allocating today, while needed and 
wonderful, and we are grateful that we are doing it, and I appreciate 
everything that is being done here, it is just a down payment.
  I wanted to say one other thing today that concerns me, and I hope we 
can fix it up later. The bill, as it is presently set up, raises the 
cap on government emergency micropurchases from $15 million to $250 
million. This may work to the detriment of small businesses and prevent 
them from participating in this program. This is something we cannot 
let happen, and I hope we will fix this up as the bill moves along.
  But I am grateful to the House for its quick action on this matter. 
Our people need it.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah), a member of the committee.
  Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the fact that Americans 
have, through their private contributions, given more in terms of 
responding to this disaster than any other disaster in the country's 
history, well over $500 million to date.

                              {time}  1500

  I recognize the sobering work of our committee in coming to grips 
with this supplemental and putting forth tens of billions of dollars to 
respond to this crisis. I agree with my colleague from Louisiana that 
there will be a need for us to do more, and I, for one, know that our 
committee is prepared to stand and to respond to this crisis.
  It is unfortunate that our response was not as it should have been. 
As the President said, the results were inadequate. But I think it is 
appropriate that the Congress today take this action, and I want to 
thank the chairman and the ranking member for their ability to work 
together to bring this bill to the floor and to move it so 
expeditiously in this process.
  Even though imperfect, I hope it will be made more perfect as we go 
forward.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield for the purpose of 
making a unanimous consent request to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Gingrey).
  (Mr. GINGREY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, 

  I rise today to express my serious concerns for the process, let me 
repeat, the process under which these supplemental appropriations are 
being considered.
  First, I want to emphatically express my full support for aiding 
those lives and those cities devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Having 
been to Baton Rouge, having physically worked with the victims, there 
is no doubt in my mind that these people need our help.
  However, Mr. Speaker, we should help them in a responsible and 
thoughtful manner. There is no question that time is of the essence, 
but we are not talking about pocket change, $50 billion is not pocket 
change, Mr. Speaker, and fellow members of this body, we have a 
Constitutional duty to spend the people's money very carefully and with 
deliberate consideration. Even in times of crisis, a blank check does 
not guarantee results and can often lead to wasteful spending. Wasteful 
spending will not save one life. Wasteful spending will not rebuild one 
destroyed house, will not clear one single road, and will not feed one 
starving child.
  Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues in both this House and 
especially in the Senate to refrain from tacking on any pork. This 
supplemental should not be a gravy train for any special or individual 
interests.
  Every member of this body should condition their support of this 
supplemental upon strict oversight and follow up with sound policy

[[Page H7783]]

changes. We cannot just throw billions of dollars at this catastrophe 
or any catastrophe for that matter.
  Mr. Speaker, we need to follow-up these dollars with thorough 
oversight and investigation to make sure that every penny, I repeat, 
every penny goes to help the victims. And, we need to cut down every 
unnecessary piece of red tape in the process, such as suspending the 
requirements of the Davis-Bacon Act to help the reconstruction of this 
devastated area. Let's untie the hands of those who are ready to help 
and rebuild. We have enough obstacles to overcome as it is. We don't 
need any kind of bureaucratic surcharge on saving lives.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to again caution my colleagues. Let's get help to 
the people in need but let's do so in a responsible and sound manner. 
The American people expect no less of us, and we owe them no less.
  Mr. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished minority 
leader.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bass). The gentlewoman from California 
is recognized for 1 minute.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, this is indeed a solemn occasion for 
Congress, when we come together to help people in our country who have 
suffered greatly in a way that will take a very long time to repair. 
What they expect of us is for us to perform our Federal role in a 
manner that would honor the social compact between the Federal 
Government and the people in need in our country.
  I just heard on the news, and it is very sobering, that about 14 
bodies were found at Memorial Hospital in New Orleans. Last night we 
heard that 30 bodies were found at the nursing home there as well. 
These, and many, many other deaths, are a sad tragedy for our country, 
for those people, of course, and for their families. So it would be my 
hope that we could send out the best possible message to the people of 
our country, that the Congress is coming together in the manner that we 
did after 9/11 to work in a nonpartisan way, a bipartisan way, to help 
meet their needs.
  We had an opportunity to do that today. Sadly, it was a missed 
opportunity, because there was not a chance for amendment to the 
legislation that is on the floor now. The opportunity would have been 
there to subject FEMA to the scrutiny that it should be subjected to 
and to take action to correct the situation.
  FEMA is the link between the Federal Government and the American 
people and the social compact. Unfortunately, this time it was a weak 
link. But there is something that can be done about it. It can be moved 
from the Department of Homeland Security to be an independent agency, 
as it was before; and it could have the proper leadership running FEMA.
  I call upon the President to remove Michael Brown, the current 
director, and put in there a person of capability and credentials, 
perhaps someone from the military who knows organization and 
leadership, not someone who has absolutely no credentials for the job. 
This is important. It is not a question of criticizing, it is a 
question of changing the situation so that we can better meet the needs 
of the people who are suffering out there, and to do it before we have 
more unnecessary suffering.
  I believe that we had two disasters: one, a natural one; the second 
one, a man-made disaster, a disaster made by the mistakes of FEMA 
following Hurricane Katrina.
  This is something we can do immediately. This is something we can do 
immediately because here we are on the floor of Congress appropriating 
$50 billion to an agency which has a record of poor performance and a 
leadership without qualifications for the job. If you need any further 
evidence of the lack of performance, you need only look to last week.
  So why could we not have had legislation come to the committee of 
jurisdiction, the committee of the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Lewis), and the ranking member, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Obey), where the considerable talent on both sides of the aisle could 
have subjected this request to scrutiny, how is this money being sent, 
what is the accountability of it?
  This is $50 billion on top of $10.5 billion last week, which was 
brought to the floor with 5 minutes of debate on each side. That is all 
that was allowed before the bill was voted on. What are we afraid of? 
What are we afraid of? What is this Congress afraid of, that we will 
not allow our congressional committees to review the request, to 
establish accountability, to bring its expertise to bear on it?
  So, obviously we are all going to vote for this. It is very, very 
important for people to understand that whatever our differences on how 
the money gets to them that those differences do not stand in the way 
of probably what will be a unanimous vote in this House. But it is a 
lot of money, and it is not the end. We will be having more requests 
from the administration, I am sure, and when we do, I hope that they 
will have the confidence in their request to send their request to the 
committee of jurisdiction, so that there can be appropriate 
congressional review, public comment and, again, the accountability and 
oversight that Congress has the responsibility to perform.
  This is a democracy, the United States of America, the greatest 
democracy in the history of the world, and we are being governed by 
decree. The President decides on a figure, he sends it over, we do not 
even get a chance to look at it much before we are called upon to vote 
on it, again bypassing the committees of jurisdiction. I cannot imagine 
that is okay with the Committee on Appropriations. As a long-time 
member of the committee, I certainly hope it is not.
  But the bigger issue, the bigger issue, is how we do the job for the 
American people. In order to do that job, there are so many people who 
are so much more important than Members of Congress in all of this: 
public employees, firefighters, police officers, health care 
professionals, public and private sector people out there, who are 
great heroes, great heroes. They saved lives, and some of them gave 
their lives to help others.
  Responding to the Gospel of this past Sunday, the 23rd Sunday after 
Easter, the Gospel of Matthew about the commandment where Matthew says, 
``the greatest of these is love, to love thy neighbor as thyself.'' We 
will be tested on these as we go ahead to see if we are smart enough to 
help people in a way that enables them to take control of their lives 
as soon as possible.
  We have proposals the Democrats would have liked to offer today to 
cut the red tape, to improve the performance of FEMA, for there to be 
job creation in the region, to stop price gouging at the pump for 
gasoline and to have qualified, qualified, leadership in the roles.
  So this is all a question of our judgment. Is the performance that we 
saw last week up to standard for us? I do not think so, because it did 
not meet the needs of the American people.
  When we are little, I think it was high school, but now it is 
probably grade school, that children are reading John Donne, ``No Man 
is an Island,'' ``For Whom the Bell Tolls.'' But I thought of it so 
much as we see these lasting impressions of Mississippi, just 
obliterated on its coastline, and New Orleans inundated and Alabama so 
affected, and even parts of Florida, and the incredible generosity of 
all of the States receiving evacuees as guests in their State.
  I think the optimism, the goodness, the compassion of the American 
people is the greatest force for good in our country, and God bless 
them for their goodness.
  But, again, for whom the bell tolls, as we look at the tragedy in the 
gulf coast States, it is clear that we are seeing a mirror of our 
country; and if ever there was an occasion where the bell was tolling 
and we would ask the question for whom the bell tolls, it does toll for 
each and every one of us, because every one of those deaths does 
diminish, as the poem goes, every one of us.
  So I hope the families in America know that the staggering numbers 
are just appalling to us, but we think of them one family at a time and 
want to make decisions that address their needs one family at a time.
  Mr. Speaker, with that, I will vote for this. I would hope, again, 
that future appropriations requests for Katrina will be presented in a 
timely fashion that will enable us to review them, to have some 
accountability from FEMA on how this money is spent, so that we can 
honor our oath of office that we take to protect and defend the 
Constitution, yes, but to provide for the safety of the American 
people.

[[Page H7784]]

  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as I go about introducing my final speaker, I was very 
impressed by the gentlewoman's comments and her willingness to work in 
a bipartisan way regarding the challenge ahead of us.
  I wanted to mention to her we have been looking very seriously at the 
problems in the region of the gulf for a long time. In the last 5 
years, the Congress has appropriated some $1.9 billion for flood 
control in Louisiana. I might mention only $1.4 billion has been 
appropriated for all of California, seven times the population. So we 
have been truly focusing upon that region.
  Just last Friday, as you know, we passed a $10.5 billion package for 
this immediate crisis, and today we have over a $50 billion package 
before us. So the Congress is attempting to focus upon this very real 
challenge.
  I am very happy that the gentlewoman recognizes that we do need to 
work together in terms of finding the why of all of this, but right now 
it is most important to respond to the challenges and needs of the 
American people in danger.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
DeLay), the majority leader of the House.
  Mr. DeLAY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time, 
and I appreciate him and the gentleman from Wisconsin working together 
on this package and bringing it to the floor. It is incredibly 
important to a lot of people that are suffering.
  I have to begin my remarks by telling a little bit about myself and 
what I have been doing, to give you an idea that I know from what I 
speak. I was raised on the gulf coast. I have been through many 
hurricanes. I have watched responses to many hurricanes. I have watched 
the ability to respond to many hurricanes. I understand what the 
response is supposed to be.
  I also in this particular case come from Houston, Texas, and I am 
incredibly proud of my fellow citizens in the Houston-Galveston region 
in opening their arms and their compassion and wallets and resources 
and homes to those that are in need, especially our brothers and 
sisters from Louisiana.
  But we also consider that the third disaster. The first disaster was 
the hurricane, the second disaster was the floods in New Orleans, and 
the third disaster was what do you do with over 2 million people in a 
very short period of time? And in just days, Houston put together a 
virtual city for 60,000 people.
  Then I went through the same frustrations that many of those on the 
ground in New Orleans and Mississippi and Louisiana and Alabama went 
through, because you are dealing with the same things; you are dealing 
with the same people, FEMA, the Federal Government, State government, 
city government, all governments, and you run into the same 
frustrations.
  So, as is normal about me, I decided to do something about these 
frustrations, and I went to Baton Rouge where the control center was. I 
wanted to see the organization, the system, how was it working, what 
was going on on the ground.

                              {time}  1515

  I get into Baton Rouge, and I quickly realize that Baton Rouge was 
the biggest brunt of the third disaster because Baton Rouge, which I 
think is a city of about 500,000 people, all of a sudden saw within one 
day their population double. Double. And yet they were able to handle 
it. Sure, there were problems. Sure, there was suffering. But Baton 
Rouge citizens opened their arms and brought these people in. That was 
the first place that people could come, coming out of New Orleans.
  Then from there they went to Lafayette, and they received another big 
brunt of the third disaster, and they handled it. Sure, there were 
frustrations all over the place and there was, frankly, a breakdown in 
the system.
  The system is designed, if it works properly, from the bottom up. The 
system depends on the local government, whether it be mayor or county, 
dealing with whatever disaster problem they have; and when they find 
out they cannot deal with it, they go to the next level of government, 
to the Governor and to the State to help them out. And then when 
neither the State nor the locals can deal with it, they come to the 
Federal Government.
  That is how the system is supposed to work. That is how it is set up. 
And when that breaks down, everything breaks down because we have to 
realize that every hour is absolutely precious after a disaster. I have 
seen this my entire life. Every hour certain things have to happen. But 
when we have a situation where people will not make a decision, we have 
lost that hour and we are into the next hour, and then we have to 
circle around and come back into the first hour to clean up the mess 
while we are trying to handle and catch up to the other hours. And then 
when it really starts breaking down, entire chaos happens. And in this 
case, it was not entire chaos. I would describe it as organized chaos. 
It was pretty messy.
  Now, you can look at this disaster two different ways. You can offer 
nothing constructive except blaming when people need services at the 
moment and you spend your time and your caring time pointing fingers or 
making assumptions or calling for complete changes in government, and 
you spend all your time and energy focused on that.
  Or you can understand that there are problems when we have 2 million 
people or we have three States in dire need as if they were at war and 
deal with the problems and the frustrations at that time that we find 
them and find answers immediately and move forward and find ways to fix 
them and find ways to take care of these people, find them the clothes, 
the shoes, the diapers, the food, the water, find them the cots that 
they need, find them the health care system that they need, find them a 
military officer or a wonderful soldier to go down and pull them out of 
a house, find them the Coast Guard helicopter to go and pull them off 
the top of the house, find the wherewithal in just a day or so to plug 
up the levees. I mean, you can either point your finger or you can see 
what happened.
  The mirror of America that I saw was the most incredible outpouring 
of America that I have seen in my lifetime. All over this country, all 
over this country, people immediately got trucks and filled them up and 
drove 2,000 miles. One of our own Members did that from Nevada. Two 
thousand miles. This happened all over the country. Bringing supplies, 
bringing their hearts, bringing themselves and putting themselves in 
harm's way, especially in the case of New Orleans. I mean, it was 
unbelievable.
  Our first responders from all over the Nation are down in Mississippi 
and Louisiana and Alabama. People are opening their doors to the people 
that need it. Can the Members imagine, and I do not know exactly what 
the total population of the disaster is, but I would imagine it is 
around 4 million people, 4 or 5 million people, but this country 
absorbed 4 to 5 million people overnight. That is an incredible 
accomplishment. And we ought to be proud of that. And what are we doing 
in Washington? We are pointing fingers. We are talking about process. 
We are doing the things that, frankly, disgust people when they see it 
on television.
  Now, we have chosen to push that all aside because there is plenty of 
time for that later. What is important right now, I mean we are not 
even out of the save-the-life phase. We still have people in New 
Orleans that we are finding and pulling out of these houses.
  The next phase is called the recovery phase, and we are sort of in 
that in certain parts of the country, especially in Mississippi and in 
Alabama. We ought to be focused on that. These people are out in these 
shelters. Can the Members imagine, in the Astrodome. Look at your 
television. There are 10,000 people or more on the floor of the 
Astrodome living next to each other. That is unsustainable. We have to 
do something with these people. We have to give them hope for the rest 
of their lives. They are asking the question, What do I do tomorrow? 
And we have to give them that answer. What do I do next week? What do I 
do a month from now? How do I get my kids in school? Where do I find my 
wife? In some cases, where do I find my pet, my dog? What do I do 
tomorrow? I have no money. My bank is closed. This hit me at the end of 
the month, and I am out of money. What do I do?

  We have got the answer because we are focused on answering those 
questions. We are focused on giving them

[[Page H7785]]

the relief that they need. We have to give them the relief they need so 
that they can start planning their lives. One does not sit around after 
a disaster and not have some way of knowing how they are going to get 
back into a house, how they are going to be able to have a little 
privacy.
  They are living on the floor of the Astrodome with 16,000 other 
people. There is no privacy on the floor of the Astrodome. They have 
got to have some way of knowing what is going to happen to them 
tomorrow. We have focused on that. And bringing this bill to the floor 
pays for a lot of it.
  I know the American people, some of them, are worrying about all this 
money. Mr. Speaker, 5 million people, 5 million Americans, deserve our 
finding a way to make them whole. We are not even asking to make them 
whole. That was a misstatement. What we are asking is to give them a 
little hope over the next few weeks so that we can take care of their 
needs and get them back up and running again.
  Now, some would say we need to take over their lives and dictate to 
them and tell them what to do and put them back. That is not what we 
are talking about here. We are talking about the very essentials that 
we need for the recovery process and the beginning of the rebuilding 
process. And it is expensive because there are a lot of people, and 
there was an incredible amount of damage.
  We are not just writing a blank check. We have got some safeguards. 
We have got safeguards built into this bill, and we have got safeguards 
built into the law that already exists so that they can only spend 
money on things that should be spent on and not be frivolous about it 
and throw it away. Sure, there is going to be wasted money. We cannot 
deal with 5 million people and not waste some money. But the bulk of 
the money is going to go to the people and the process and the property 
that deserve it to get back on their feet.
  This is incredibly important, and it is too important to play 
politics with. It is too important to point fingers at. It is too 
important to second-guess. It is easy to be a Monday morning 
quarterback, but you should have been in that control room where those 
people were making life and death decisions, people that stayed up and 
got no sleep and very little food for 5 to 6 days straight trying to 
make the right decisions to save people.
  And what happens when we come up here? They point the finger. You did 
not make the right decision here. You did not take care of needs there. 
You did not do this; you did not do that. The point is if we look at 
the big picture, it is a phenomenal accomplishment by everybody 
involved. It is unbelievable. I am constantly struck by where we are 
today, just a little over a week from the worst catastrophe that this 
country has seen, I guess, certainly in recent history. We ought to be 
proud about that; and, most importantly, we should be proud of 
ourselves. We should be proud of our American brothers and sisters.
  Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Thornberry). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Lewis) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3673.
  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. OBEY. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Evidently a quorum is not present.
  The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, this 15-minute vote on H.R. 3673 
will be followed by 5-minute votes on H.R. 3669, H.R. 3668, H. Res. 
428, and H. Res. 427, all by the yeas and nays.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 410, 
nays 11, not voting 12, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 460]

                               YEAS--410

     Abercrombie
     Ackerman
     Aderholt
     Akin
     Alexander
     Allen
     Andrews
     Baca
     Bachus
     Baird
     Baldwin
     Barrett (SC)
     Barrow
     Bartlett (MD)
     Bass
     Bean
     Beauprez
     Becerra
     Berman
     Berry
     Biggert
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Bishop (UT)
     Blackburn
     Blumenauer
     Blunt
     Boehlert
     Boehner
     Bonilla
     Bonner
     Bono
     Boozman
     Boren
     Boswell
     Boucher
     Boustany
     Boyd
     Bradley (NH)
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (OH)
     Brown (SC)
     Brown, Corrine
     Brown-Waite, Ginny
     Burgess
     Burton (IN)
     Buyer
     Calvert
     Camp
     Cannon
     Cantor
     Capito
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardin
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Carson
     Carter
     Case
     Castle
     Chabot
     Chandler
     Chocola
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Coble
     Cole (OK)
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Costello
     Cramer
     Crenshaw
     Crowley
     Cubin
     Cuellar
     Culberson
     Cummings
     Cunningham
     Davis (AL)
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (FL)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (KY)
     Davis (TN)
     Davis, Jo Ann
     Davis, Tom
     Deal (GA)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delahunt
     DeLauro
     DeLay
     Dent
     Diaz-Balart, L.
     Diaz-Balart, M.
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doolittle
     Doyle
     Drake
     Dreier
     Duncan
     Edwards
     Ehlers
     Emanuel
     Emerson
     Engel
     English (PA)
     Eshoo
     Etheridge
     Evans
     Farr
     Fattah
     Feeney
     Ferguson
     Filner
     Fitzpatrick (PA)
     Foley
     Forbes
     Ford
     Fortenberry
     Fossella
     Frank (MA)
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Gerlach
     Gibbons
     Gilchrest
     Gillmor
     Gingrey
     Gohmert
     Gonzalez
     Goode
     Goodlatte
     Gordon
     Granger
     Graves
     Green (WI)
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Gutknecht
     Hall
     Harman
     Harris
     Hart
     Hastings (FL)
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayes
     Hayworth
     Hefley
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Herseth
     Higgins
     Hinchey
     Hinojosa
     Hobson
     Hoekstra
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hooley
     Hoyer
     Hulshof
     Hunter
     Hyde
     Inglis (SC)
     Inslee
     Israel
     Issa
     Istook
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson-Lee (TX)
     Jefferson
     Jenkins
     Jindal
     Johnson (CT)
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones (NC)
     Jones (OH)
     Kanjorski
     Kaptur
     Keller
     Kelly
     Kennedy (MN)
     Kennedy (RI)
     Kildee
     Kilpatrick (MI)
     Kind
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kirk
     Kline
     Knollenberg
     Kolbe
     Kucinich
     Kuhl (NY)
     LaHood
     Langevin
     Lantos
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Leach
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (CA)
     Lewis (GA)
     Lewis (KY)
     Linder
     Lipinski
     LoBiondo
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Lowey
     Lucas
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Lynch
     Mack
     Manzullo
     Marchant
     Markey
     Marshall
     Matheson
     Matsui
     McCarthy
     McCaul (TX)
     McCollum (MN)
     McCotter
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McHenry
     McHugh
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McKinney
     McMorris
     McNulty
     Meehan
     Meek (FL)
     Meeks (NY)
     Melancon
     Menendez
     Mica
     Michaud
     Millender-McDonald
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, Gary
     Miller, George
     Mollohan
     Moore (KS)
     Moore (WI)
     Moran (KS)
     Moran (VA)
     Murphy
     Murtha
     Musgrave
     Myrick
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal (MA)
     Neugebauer
     Ney
     Northup
     Norwood
     Nunes
     Nussle
     Oberstar
     Obey
     Ortiz
     Osborne
     Owens
     Oxley
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor
     Payne
     Pearce
     Pelosi
     Pence
     Peterson (MN)
     Peterson (PA)
     Petri
     Pickering
     Pitts
     Platts
     Poe
     Pombo
     Pomeroy
     Porter
     Price (GA)
     Price (NC)
     Pryce (OH)
     Putnam
     Radanovich
     Rahall
     Ramstad
     Rangel
     Regula
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Renzi
     Reyes
     Reynolds
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Ross
     Rothman
     Roybal-Allard
     Royce
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Ryan (WI)
     Ryun (KS)
     Sabo
     Salazar
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanders
     Saxton
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schmidt
     Schwartz (PA)
     Schwarz (MI)
     Scott (GA)
     Scott (VA)
     Serrano
     Sessions
     Shadegg
     Shaw
     Shays
     Sherman
     Sherwood
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simmons
     Simpson
     Skelton
     Slaughter
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smith (WA)
     Snyder
     Sodrel
     Solis
     Souder
     Spratt
     Stark
     Stearns
     Strickland
     Stupak
     Sullivan
     Sweeney
     Tanner
     Tauscher
     Taylor (NC)
     Terry
     Thomas
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Thornberry
     Tiahrt
     Tiberi
     Tierney
     Towns
     Turner
     Udall (CO)
     Udall (NM)
     Upton
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walden (OR)
     Walsh
     Wamp
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson
     Watt
     Waxman
     Weiner
     Weldon (FL)
     Weldon (PA)
     Weller
     Wexler
     Whitfield
     Wicker
     Wilson (NM)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wolf
     Woolsey
     Wu
     Wynn
     Young (FL)

                                NAYS--11

     Barton (TX)
     Flake
     Foxx
     Garrett (NJ)
     Hostettler
     King (IA)
     Otter
     Paul
     Sensenbrenner
     Tancredo
     Westmoreland

                             NOT VOTING--12

     Baker
     Berkley
     Brady (TX)
     Butterfield
     Conaway
     Everett
     Maloney
     McCrery
     Olver
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Taylor (MS)
     Young (AK)

[[Page H7786]]



                              {time}  1547

  Mr. NADLER and Mr. GILCHREST changed their vote from ``nay'' to 
``yea.''
  So (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the rules were 
suspended and the bill was passed.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________