[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 111 (Thursday, September 8, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H7796-H7797]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HURRICANE ASSISTANCE FOR FLORIDA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce 
legislation with all 25 Members from the State of Florida that would 
assist residents of Florida who were victims of Hurricane Katrina. But 
before I do, I would like to say that I am proud to have supported the 
two emergency relief supplemental that we have passed for victims of 
the hurricane in an overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion. The pain of 
those who have lost loved ones, their homes, their pets and now find 
themselves in temporary housing thousands of miles from home, their 
pain is palpable.
  As a Member of Congress who represents south Florida, I can empathize 
with the victims of Hurricane Katrina in the gulf States because my 
home, south Florida, has been struck by numerous hurricanes and is 
threatened by them every year. Even now we have Hurricane Ophelia, 
which at 5 o'clock was declared a hurricane approaching the coast.
  The scenes of the destruction throughout Alabama, Louisiana and 
Mississippi have reminded south Floridians of the devastation of 
Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 hurricane which struck south Florida 13 
years ago.
  However, I rise tonight to call the Nation's attention to something 
that I think has been overlooked, understandably, by the Nation, and 
that is the plight of those residents in Florida who suffered damage 
because of Hurricane Katrina. I want to remind people that Hurricane 
Katrina first made landfall in Florida, striking Broward and Miami-Dade 
counties in the heart of my congressional district.
  When it first hit Florida, Hurricane Katrina was not a large storm. 
In fact, when it made landfall in Florida, it was only a Category 1 
hurricane which moved quickly over the State and moved out into the 
gulf before building strength and causing the devastation that has 
transfixed our Nation for the last 10 days.
  While only a Category 1 hurricane at the time, the damage caused by 
Katrina in south Florida was extensive for many people.
  In Broward and Miami-Dade counties, more than 350 homes were damaged 
or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
  The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports today that Craig Fugate, 
Florida's emergency management chief, told FEMA officials this week 
that the State expects the loss of over 2,000 farm-related jobs in 
Miami-Dade County alone. Okra, malanga, sweet potato, and cassava crops 
have been destroyed, he said, resulting in about a $492 million loss. 
In addition, State agriculture officials say avocado and tropical fruit 
crops were severely affected.
  Many of the farmers and agricultural workers that grow and tend these 
crops will be out of jobs or will lose significant income this year as 
a result of this storm.
  On Saturday, August 27, the front page of The Washington Post and 
many other media outlets throughout the country showed pictures of the 
flooding and damage in south Florida resulting from Hurricane Katrina.
  That is why it came as a surprise to many homeowners when last week 
FEMA announced that they would not be providing individual assistance 
to residents of Florida who suffered damage or destruction as a result 
of Hurricane Katrina.
  I want to make it very clear to you, Madam Speaker, what the effect 
of this decision means to the residents of south Florida who suffered 
damage from the hurricane. This here, this, is what FEMA refuses to pay 
for when Hurricane Katrina struck Florida.

[[Page H7797]]

  This woman here, who has had the roof ripped off her house and most 
of her possessions water damaged, FEMA's response to her is, you are on 
your own. Good luck.
  And how about this family here. This woman is standing in water that 
is above her knees. The water is inside her house and has damaged her 
cars. Her house is not a fancy beach house. It is an average American's 
house. Her car is a later model and clearly more than 10 years old.
  What was FEMA's response to her family's request for help? The same 
as it was to the people in New Orleans who were dying in the first days 
after Katrina struck: you are on your own.
  My question to FEMA is this: Storms do not know State boundaries, so 
why does FEMA?
  Looking at this picture here of the woman standing in her destroyed 
home, I am reminded of a woman that I met last week when touring 
hurricane damage in my own congressional district. I was touring the 
damage at the Park City Estates mobile home community in Davie, when I 
met Dorothy Rothbauer, an 86-year-old resident whose mobile home was 
damaged in Hurricane Katrina.
  Ms. Rothbauer's home is roughly 20 miles from the beach. Her mobile 
home is nice. It is not extravagant. It is cozy and it has been her 
home for 25 years. Ms. Rothbauer is not a woman who lives beyond her 
means. She lives modestly and saves her money and has gotten by all of 
these years.
  But now she needs help. She needs her government's help. As she 
showed me the damage to her house, she began to cry. It was 
excruciating. Pieces of the exterior have fallen off. Water has leaked 
in and the extent of structural damage is unknown.
  She looked into my eyes, knowing that FEMA had told her that they 
could not offer her assistance, and crying, asked me what she was 
supposed to do now.
  As I visited the other homes in the neighborhood, I realized that 
Dorothy's house did not have even as extensive damage as the others.
  Across the street and down the block, roofs were entirely ripped off 
of these houses.
  Dorothy's neighborhood is just one of many communities affected by 
Hurricane Katrina throughout Broward and Miami-Dade counties. And 
FEMA's answer to why they are not offering individual assistance to us 
in Florida is that for this storm FEMA has decided there is a State 
threshold of 800 homes that need to be damaged in Florida.
  My State of Florida has been hit by six hurricanes, six in the past 2 
years. Denying the people of Florida Federal assistance to rebuild 
their homes is wrong, and I urge my colleagues in the House to join the 
25 Members from Florida in ensuring that FEMA will reimburse them for 
their damage.
  The Census Bureau reports that in 2004, the percentage of people 
living in the Miami/FL area in poverty was 17 percent. The Federal 
poverty level is, just $12,334 for a family of two and only $19,307 for 
a family of four. Denying the people of this area Federal aid in 
rebuilding their lives is unconscionable.
  It is for this reason, Mr. Speaker, that today I am proud to 
introduce legislation that is co-sponsored by every member of Florida's 
House of Representatives delegation. All twenty-five Republicans and 
Democrats.
  My legislation would direct FEMA to cover valid claims for individual 
assistance resulting from Hurricane Katrina's impact on the State of 
Florida.
  This legislation does not ask for something unusual, it only asks to 
right the wrong done to the people of Florida and it allows us as a 
Nation to answer the tear-filled question of what am I supposed to do 
now, posed to me by Dorothy Rothbauer last week.
  I urge my colleagues to co-sponsor my legislation that would extend 
relief to the Florida victims of Hurricane Katrina.

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