[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 113 (Monday, September 12, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1815]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HURRICANE KATRINA

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. AL GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 12, 2005

  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to join with persons 
across this great Nation and this world to express my condolences for 
those who have suffered as a result of Hurricane Katrina. I also want 
to commend all those people who have worked hard to lift up their 
fellow man during this time of crisis.
  This disaster is one unlike anything we've ever seen before. At one 
point 80 percent of the city of New Orleans was under water. Up to 1 
million families have been displaced. There are estimates that 400,000 
to 500,000 people could lose their jobs because of the hurricane. And 
despite the magnitude of these numbers, they still don't do justice to 
the human suffering we have seen on television and in person.
  But out of every tragedy comes the opportunity for each and every 
person to show his or her humanity through acts of compassion. That is 
why I am so proud of my fellow Texans and my fellow Houstonians. Our 
elected leadership, coalition of community groups, ministers and clergy 
have come together to make sure that we do everything in our power to 
help the quarter of a million evacuees we have taken in. In the Houston 
area alone, we have taken in over 100,000 of our neighbors to the east, 
15,000 of which were sheltered in the Astrodome, which is in my 
Congressional District.
  Several organizations in the Houston area are leading the disaster 
relief effort. Some of the help is coming from volunteers with 
Operation Compassion, a massive relief effort led by Interfaith 
Ministries for Greater Houston and spearheaded by the Second Baptist 
Church. The thousands of volunteers from 131 local congregations have 
assumed primary responsibility for feeding the masses of storm victims 
who have taken refuge there. I commend them and others for extending 
their good will towards others.
  As we in Congress look towards our next steps, we must ensure that 
our top priority remains caring for those who have lost loved ones, 
lost their homes, and lost their means of providing for their families. 
They have, through no fault of their own, become the least, the last, 
and the lost of our society. It is our responsibility to help them back 
on their feet. To do so they will need food stamp assistance and access 
to Medicaid. They will need temporary emergency housing and the Federal 
assistance to help them rebuild their homes and their lives.
  We have taken important first steps by passing a $10.5 billion 
disaster relief bill last Friday, followed by an additional $51.8 
billion for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security today. But 
these are only the first in a long series of actions that we will need 
to try to repair the physical damage caused by Hurricane Katrina as 
well as the lives of those affected by the hurricane. I ask that all of 
my distinguished colleagues and the people of this Nation join in the 
effort to help rebuild and sustain the lives of the Hurricane Katrina 
victims.

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