[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 113 (Monday, September 12, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9893-S9894]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CLEANUP PROGRESS SINCE HURRICANE KATRINA

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I am pleased to report that hour by hour, 
day by day, we are making steady progress in the rescue and recovery 
efforts in response to the natural disaster witnessed now a week and a 
half ago. As I speak, there are 20,000 Active military personnel on the 
ground, along with 50,800 National Guard, 4,000 Coast Guard, and 8,900 
FEMA responders. There are over 1,000 uniformed commissioned public 
health personnel on the ground as we speak.
  Law and order in New Orleans has been completely restored. Power is 
back for most of the city's central business district. City hall has 
running water and electricity. The Army Corps of Engineers reports that 
the city will be completely drained by early October. Hundreds of city 
engineers have been working around the clock, even sleeping on the 
floors of their pumping stations, to drain the toxic flood waters out 
of the city.
  Aaron Broussard, president of Jefferson Parish, is seeing continual 
progress. In his words, we are feeding more people, we are recovering 
more people, the infrastructure is more improved, we are clearing more 
roads, we have more power--every day more victories.
  Meanwhile, the Federal Government remains committed to helping 
shoulder the burden. To date, Congress has allocated more than $62 
billion in aid for rescue relief and recovery efforts. President Bush 
has granted the hurricane survivors special evacuee status which will 
make it easier for the storm victims to collect Federal benefits such 
as food stamps, childcare, and Medicaid wherever they are in America.
  FEMA has begun distributing $2,000 per household so that the 
survivors can start to get back on their feet and meet their immediate 
needs. This week, Congress will continue to clear

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measures to cut redtape and bureaucratic tangles to help hurricane 
victims get the assistance they need. I expect the Senate over the week 
to clear legislation making it easier for evacuees to receive welfare 
benefits and student aid.
  We also intend to boost FEMA's borrowing authority from $1.5 billion 
to $3.5 billion. The national flood insurance program administered by 
FEMA is facing its greatest losses in history. We need to make sure 
they have the resources they need so that victims receive appropriate, 
proper, and timely payment.
  We are also working on ways to spur private investment in this 
overall rebuilding effort. Katrina is estimated to have swept away over 
400,000 jobs. People need these jobs, and the Gulf Coast needs to be 
rebuilt bigger, more modern, and more prosperous so that it can provide 
economic opportunity. We will continue to press forward with the joint 
hearings announced last week on the preparations for hurricanes and 
that immediate disaster response. We need to find out what went wrong, 
what went right, what worked, and what did not.
  It is clear that things did not turn out as we would like for them to 
at a response level, at the Federal level, at the State level, or at 
the local level. There have been problems at all levels of government, 
and we will get to the bottom of those problems.
  Through it all, America will emerge smarter, stronger, and more 
effective in how we respond to disaster, natural and manmade. Nature 
has dealt a painful blow, but America does stand unified, and in the 
past 2 weeks her citizens have shown tremendous courage, generosity, 
and outpouring of spirit. Countless people are pouring out their 
hearts, time, and resources, and literally opening their homes to 
shelter and comfort the survivors. There are over 1.1 million people 
displaced. About half of those, or about 500,000, have been displaced 
to other States than those three most affected States. Private 
donations to hurricane relief funds have soared to nearly $700 million. 
The American Red Cross alone has received $500 million in gifts and 
pledges. Thirty-six thousand Red Cross volunteers are serving in over 
675 shelters in 23 States.

  The Salvation Army has received over $65 million. America's Second 
Harvest has raised nearly $12 million and delivered 16 million pounds 
of food. The list goes on. These are but a few examples.
  Americans from all across the country and all walks of life are 
asking what they can do to help. The past 2 weeks stand as a testament 
to the depth and strength of our national character and civic bonds. 
Millions of citizens, millions of Americans, are committed to the care, 
nurture and well-being of one another. The rescue and recovery will 
continue. The cities and towns all across that Gulf Coast will be 
rebuilt. They will reemerge more modern and more prosperous than ever 
before. The Senate will continue moving forward on behalf of our fellow 
citizens and on behalf of future generations who will call the gulf 
coast home.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Minnesota is recognized.

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