[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 111 (Thursday, September 8, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9744-S9745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EMERGENCY FUNDING
Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, we will sometime later today be getting a
supplemental request in the Senate to continue to fund the needs of the
relief effort in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, which will be
approximately $50 billion on top of the $10 billion that has already
been spent. Obviously, it is essential that we get these dollars down
there and put them to use aggressively in order to try to help the
people who are in such dire straits, and to try to begin to bring some
order and some relief to those who have suffered so much.
As we proceed in this effort, we should err on the side of making
sure that we get the dollars there quickly in order to support these
individuals who are in such dire straits, and to try to assist this
part of the country that has been hit by this catastrophic event.
But in the process, I think it is important that we have some fiscal
oversight that allows us to feel comfortable that the dollars that are
being spent are going effectively, quickly, and aggressively to relief
efforts which are legitimate and appropriate.
Thus, I congratulate the House of Representatives for putting in the
supplemental and identifying within the supplemental $15 million which
will be assigned to the Inspector General's Office to start to put in
place the auditing process and the oversight process on how the money
is being spent, which I believe is critical.
We have seen some issues which obviously, if they are pursued
logically, make sense. But if they are pursued in a way that is not
logical, they are going to cost us a lot of money and probably not get
us a lot of relief.
For example, there was a report in my State paper which said that all
the dealerships who sell Winnebagos in New Hampshire have been
contacted and told to get ready to transfer their entire inventory over
to the Federal Government because they are going to ship it all out.
Maybe that is what we will end up doing, but we hope before we buy up
all the Winnebagos in America and send them to the gulf coast, we would
be thinking about the cost and how we are going to approach that and
whether that is the best way to proceed.
There are a lot of ideas floating out there. I think it is important
we have the structure in place that effectively monitors cost and how
the money is being spent. So I congratulate the House.
In addition, I think the President's decision, along with the Vice
President, to have the Vice President physically going there and being
on the ground in that region is a very positive step in our efforts to
get order in the process of delivering relief.
Anybody who knows the Vice President--and I have had the good fortune
to serve with him in the House and fortunate to serve with him here
while he has been Vice President--will note that he is a no-nonsense
individual. He looks at an issue, decides how to get the best results
for resolving the problem, and moves forward. He did that as Defense
Secretary. He has done it, obviously, as Vice President. He will bring
immediate coherence, intelligence, and aggressive action in solving the
problem and will move forward with the complexities of this
reconstruction and relief effort. I think it is an excellent decision
to have the Vice President step into the middle of this effort and
basically try to calm the waters, but more importantly execute
efficiently what is going on in the area of the Federal relief effort.
However, it does lead to the point I made earlier--
[[Page S9745]]
and which I want to stress once again--which is that this is not an
overnight, 2- or 3-month exercise. We all realize that rebuilding this
region is going to take a significant amount of time and a tremendous
amount of resources and a lot of thought and an intelligent process.
We need to set up, I believe as we move forward--obviously, not
within the next few days but certainly within the next month--some type
of structured commission along the lines I would suggest as was done
after the horrific floods of 1926 when Herbert Hoover led the effort,
where you basically have a central focal point with an individual of
great ability and national recognition leading the effort, and
basically manage the Federal dollars as they come in from all the
various Federal agencies that will be impacted, and make sure those
Federal dollars are effectively, efficiently, and quickly brought to
bear on the problems in concert with the State and local governments.
I believe that is going to take a separate type of entity to be
created. I think we should be thinking about how to structure that
entity. I would certainly be looking to people such as Senator Cochran,
Senator Lott, Senator Shelby, Senator Sessions, and the Senators from
Louisiana, Ms. Landrieu and Mr. Vitter, for ideas about how we should
set that up. We should be starting the process.
I wanted to come to the floor and say, as we move forward on this
supplemental--obviously, it is totally outside of the budget. It is an
emergency, and that is the way it should be done, but it is $50
billion--it is important that we retain this language--and I guess we
will try to move this supplemental through the Senate without
amendment--retain this language which makes sure that the Inspector
General has the resources the office needs in order to effectively
monitor how these funds are managed; to make sure we are getting the
best return in the most prompt way for these tax dollars which are in
such dire need down there in order to pursue the reconstruction and
relief effort.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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