[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 130 (Friday, October 7, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11280-S11285]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COMMUNITY DISASTER LOAN ACT OF 2005
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate
proceed to the consideration of S. 1858, the Vitter bill, which is at
the desk, that the bill be read three times, passed, and that the
motion to reconsider be laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
Mr. REID. Reserving the right to object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic leader.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, let the Record be spread with my admiration
for the senior Senator from the State of Louisiana for her tireless
work on behalf of the people of Louisiana. I think most all of us would
agree that this bill is imperfect, and that is an understatement. But I
so appreciate the enthusiasm, the diligence, the hard work of my friend
from the State of Louisiana, Senator Landrieu.
Also, once this bill passes--and it will pass--I think the focus then
moves to the other side of the Capitol. I hope those people who are
listening to this who have connections with the administration would
assist us in getting the House to do the right thing: not only pass
what we have done here, but hopefully take out this provision which I
[[Page S11281]]
think is different than the people of the State of Louisiana thought
they would get.
I hope that by the time the House closes business today, we have a
better product than what we have here. I also think it is important for
me, having expressed my appreciation to the Senator from Louisiana--I
acknowledged the senior Senator, but I acknowledge the work of the
junior Senator from Louisiana. They have worked together. I understand
that. It is a difficult situation in which we find ourselves based on
that storm none of us anticipated, at least I did not.
We are going to have to continue to work our way through this. Even
though the devastation of the storm has left the mind's eye of most
people momentarily--and it is only momentarily--it is so easy to
conjure up in our minds the images we saw--we simply need to help those
people who have been forced to leave their homes and take their
children to other places.
It is a terrible situation, and we need to help. This is a first step
in helping, even though, as the Senator from New York so clearly
opined, this is not the best solution. It is a solution.
I again want the Record to be spread with the fact that I appreciate
the work of the Senators from Louisiana, especially my friend, Ms.
Landrieu.
Mr. LEVIN. Reserving the right to object.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, first, I ask unanimous consent that I be
allowed to explain an amendment which I am going to ask the majority
leader to accept as part of this unanimous consent request, and that I
be allowed to proceed for 4 minutes to explain what this amendment
does.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, we have all gotten up on this floor and
talked about the urgent necessity of helping the people of Louisiana,
Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. We have all been on this floor talking
about the uniqueness of the disaster which is called Katrina. Every one
of us goes back home. We received into our homes, our churches, our
synagogues people who have been displaced by Katrina. Our people have
responded magnificently to this disaster, to this catastrophe back
home.
Now the question is whether we in the Congress are going to be
helpful to the victims in a way which we have been helpful in so many
other disasters of a smaller magnitude by providing a loan so that
operations can continue, or whether we are going to incorporate a
provision in this loan which has never been incorporated before in any
loan ever made to a community that obtained a loan under this law.
We have never imposed this restriction that is in this bill on any
community in this country. We have lent money to Ricksburg, ID; we have
lent money to Johnstown, PA; we have lent money to Clifton, AZ; we have
lent money to Albian Borough, PA; we have lent money to Vassar, MI, in
my home State.
There are occasions when those loans have been forgiven, and in the
ones I just listed--and I want the majority leader to understand the
depth of the feeling on this issue because it can happen to any of us--
the loans I just listed, including one to my home State, have been
forgiven when they met the conditions of the Stafford Act for forgiving
loans.
But now we are telling the victims of the worst disaster we have had
in this country that the Stafford Act provisions, which, under certain
circumstances, could permit the forgiveness of a loan, will not be
available to them. My amendment does not turn this loan into a grant.
If my amendment is accepted, it would provide that the same terms and
conditions under which this loan is made will be the terms and
conditions that have been applied to other loans.
To discriminate against these people who have been so victimized, to
me, is unthinkable--that we would single them out for discriminatory
language. I don't believe we can operate this way, and I don't believe
the House would reject our language if my amendment is accepted.
The Senator from Delaware and I went over to the House last night. We
talked with the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, and he
indicated that the language which I am going to suggest would be
acceptable to him. He didn't speak for the whole House, obviously, and
if the Senator from Delaware chooses to comment on this, I think he
will restate what I just stated as being accurate.
My request, my plea, is that we adopt language which strikes the
discriminatory provision which allows the Stafford Act forgiveness to
be considered with these loans the way it has been considered with all
other loans. That is my plea. And my plea is incorporated in an
amendment.
My amendment, which I ask the majority leader to consider, would
strike the word ``not'' in the bill where it says:
. . . that loans may not be canceled.
Strike the word ``not'' and substitute the words ``may be canceled
pursuant to the Stafford Act,'' and with an additional requirement,
``with the approval of the Congress.''
I suggest we add an additional safeguard, the safeguard of the
Stafford Act, which has been applied to all other loans, but in
addition to that, add a requirement that if there is forgiveness, it
could only happen with the approval of the Congress. That is a double
safeguard. That still would single them out as no others have been
singled out, but at least it would keep the possibility explicit in the
bill that under the circumstances that are provided for every other
loan, that these loans might be forgiven should Congress so choose.
I have been told we can always do that; we always have that power,
and we do. It is implicit. But I think we should make it explicit to
give people the assurance that in addition--it is bad enough to be
victims of this hurricane; it is doubly bad to be victims of
discriminatory language. And we are not going to walk down that road.
We are going to hold our hand out to you and not insult or offend at
the same time.
I ask the leader whether he would amend his unanimous consent
proposal to strike the word ``not'' on page 2, line 10, and substitute
the words ``only with the approval of the Congress''?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the majority leader so modify his
request?
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I object to the request.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the majority leader's
original consent request?
Mr. CARPER. Reserving the right to object.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, regular order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Regular order being called for, the Senator
from Delaware must object or not object.
Mr. LEVIN. Parliamentary inquiry.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
Mr. LEVIN. Does the Senator from Delaware or any other Senator not
have the right to reserve the right to object?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. It is not a right to reserve the right to
object; it is an indulgence of the Chair.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, regular order.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection to the unanimous consent
request by the majority leader?
Without objection, it is so ordered.
The bill (S. 1858) was read three times and passed, as follows:
S. 1858
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Community Disaster Loan Act
of 2005''.
SEC. 2. DISASTER LOANS.
(a) Essential Services.--Of the amounts provided in Public
Law 109-62 for ``Disaster Relief'', up to $750,000,000 may be
transferred to the Disaster Assistance Direct Loan Program
for the cost of direct loans as authorized under section 417
of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5184) to be used to assist local
governments in providing essential services: Provided, That
such transfer may be made to subsidize gross obligations for
the principal amount of direct loans not to exceed
$1,000,000,000 under section 417 of the Stafford Act:
Provided further, That notwithstanding section 417(b) of the
Stafford Act, the amount of any such loan issued pursuant to
this section may exceed $5,000,000: Provided further, That
notwithstanding section 417(c)(1) of the Stafford Act, such
loans may not be canceled: Provided further, That the cost of
modifying such loans shall be as defined in section 502 of
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 (2 U.S.C. 661a).
[[Page S11282]]
(b) Administrative Expenses.--Of the amounts provided in
Public Law 109-62 for ``Disaster Relief'', up to $1,000,000
may be transferred to the Disaster Assistance Direct Loan
Program for administrative expenses to carry out the direct
loan program, as authorized by section 417 of the Stafford
Act.
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to address the
Senate for 5 minutes.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, for the last 24 hours, we have dealt with
an issue that centers around the Vitter bill and the proposal to
appropriately be able to modify, increase the amounts of loans and loan
programs. We have struggled to come to the point we have today, which
maximizes our likelihood, having just passed the Vitter bill, to get
language to the House of Representatives before they leave today so
that we can respond to the very real needs of the local communities in
New Orleans.
We have been working actually for about 10 days on the specific issue
of being able to support local government, law enforcement, and
hospitals. The step we just took in passing the Vitter bill maximizes
our chance today of getting a bill to the House, which we will do, of
having the House address it in the next few hours, and having this
relief being made available to the people of New Orleans.
There have been a lot of suggestions in terms of language and changes
in words, all of which is fine, and some of the language is even very
reasonable in terms of the language itself, but after discussions with
Republican leadership, the administration having fully vetted the
language that is in the Vitter bill, I strongly believe that this gives
us the best chance to respond to the very real needs of the people of
New Orleans.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
Mr. VITTER. Mr. President, the last 24 hours has been a frustrating
and disappointing time for me, quite frankly--frustrating because as we
face an unprecedented crisis along the gulf coast, some elements of the
Senate have acted as they often do by giving speeches and
filibustering.
When I ran for the Senate last year, that is what I heard the most
from real people in real life in real towns and cities across
Louisiana. They did not get that disconnect. There were real issues on
the ground they had dealt with every day in their lives, and yet so
often the response of some in the Senate was to give speeches, to
obstruct, and to filibuster. So I have to say particularly in these
circumstances, when my State and the gulf coast face unprecedented
obstacles and hurdles, it has been frustrating to get that response
from the other side in the Senate. But we have moved through that, and
I am glad.
Just a few minutes ago, we sent over to the House a significant
measure to try to get some immediate relief to local governmental
entities so that they can sustain essential services, police and fire
and hospitals and the like. That is vitally important.
When others have been filibustering, making speeches, and delaying,
particularly in the last 24 hours, I tried to do something
constructive. What I did is what I have done for the last 10 days--
working on this vital issue, trying to get something meaningful,
important, and positive done. When others gave speeches about what the
perfect language would be, I actually talked to other folks who were
clearly going to be involved in the process at the White House, at OMB,
and in the House of Representatives to understand what the best
language would be that we could hopefully pass this week. I continued
that work last night, again as others were giving speeches and holding
up action. I continued that work talking to dozens of people to try to
get something important and significant done. Across the board, that
included Members here, members of the administration, and Members of
the House.
Senator Levin, the distinguished Senator from Michigan, mentioned one
conversation with the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. I
followed up with the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. I
talked to him after that conversation, and it was crystal clear to me
from my conversation with him that significant elements of the House of
Representatives needed to see that at least at the front end, this was
a loan program. We can talk later about what we will do at the back
end, how things proceed, what the financial picture looks like in the
future, but at least in the front end, it is very clear that they want
to frame it as a loan program. That is the only reason I accepted that
language, because I actually want to do something. I actually want to
get needed help today, not in 2 weeks when it will be too late for so
many of those communities and local jurisdictions of government that
need to preserve their police, fire, and hospital services. That is the
only reason I have focused on this particular version of the bill and
that particular language.
Several speakers on the other side called it discriminatory. Let me
explain a few other ways in which it is discriminatory because it is
discriminatory in at least three other ways, and I am pretty darn proud
of being able to negotiate those three other discriminatory provisions.
No. 1, for the first time ever that I am aware of, ever in history, we
are moving emergency Stafford Act funds that have already been
appropriated by the Congress into this community disaster loan program
under homeland security so it can be used for ongoing expenses, ongoing
salaries, and other expenses of local government. That has never
happened before. That is discriminatory, and I am proud of that
discriminatory provision.
Secondly, we are lifting the cap on this program that ordinarily
limits these funds to $5 million per entity of local government. We are
blowing well past that, and there are significant numbers of local
government entities, such as the city of New Orleans, that will be able
to get loans way in excess of that, perhaps 10, 11, 12 times in excess
of that in the case of the city of New Orleans. That is discriminatory
because it has never happened before. It is discriminatory in our favor
because we needed it.
So there are many provisions in this version of the bill that were
discriminatory in our favor because these are unusual circumstances and
call for absolutely dramatic action. So I am proud of being able to
negotiate those. I accept this other provision because, again, what is
important to real people in the real world in the real devastated area
is that we get real help to them today--not give a speech, not
filibuster, but get real help to them today and not simply pass it off
for 2 weeks or a month. I am hopeful that is what this bill which we
have just passed through the Senate will do.
It has not yet cleared the House, and immediately from this floor, I
will go to the House and continue my discussions which were begun over
a week ago with House leaders, House Members, to try to ensure that
this type of strong, effective action actually happens today.
I thank the Chair for his indulgence. It certainly was not my plan or
my actions which caused this 24 hours of obstruction, filibuster, and
frustration. I share that frustration, and I thank everyone who has
worked constructively on trying to get something done, everyone here,
everyone in the U.S. House, everyone in the administration, and OMB,
whose help put that together.
I yield back my time.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan is recognized.
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I rise today first to pay tribute to the
senior Senator from Louisiana for her courage, her strength, and her
resolve. I have been so amazed and impressed at the way she has been
willing to continue to be on this floor, regardless of how tired she
became, in order to fight for the people of Louisiana. I hope everyone
in Louisiana understands what she is doing on their behalf and on
behalf of all of those in the entire gulf region.
What is so disappointing for me is to see that this has not been a
bipartisan effort. It seemed reasonable to me. I represent Michigan,
and fortunately we have not been in a situation like my colleagues from
New York or the gulf or California. So far--knock on wood--we have not
had to face that kind of a catastrophe. But I found what the Senator
from Louisiana was asking for very reasonable.
On a bipartisan basis, we have appropriated $61 billion to be used
through FEMA. We assumed it would be already being used for the things
the Senator
[[Page S11283]]
talked about. I was shocked to learn that those funds had not been
released to help local communities, as we have been told, and that the
process was not moving as it should when people are so desperately in
need of support, whether it be the small businesses, the families, the
seniors, the cities.
When the Senator from Louisiana asked us for a very modest request of
allowing $1 billion of $61 billion to be used directly and immediately
to help those who have been so devastated, we do not have bipartisan
support for that. I was very disappointed that both Senators from
Louisiana were not standing together for that, very surprised that
instead what we see is an alternative that comes back that is not only
less than what is needed but has restrictions that have not been put on
other States and other communities. The caps being talked about being
raised in terms of loans have been done before, but it is my
understanding that no community has been asked before to guarantee a
repayment on those loans. I do not know why anyone would support that
kind of an effort for their State or their communities to be treated
differently than other States or other communities.
If I were in that position, I would not want to say to my folks: I
trust you less than I trust the folks in New York; I voted for a
different set of rules for what happened in New York, what happened in
relation to Washington, DC, and the Pentagon. I certainly would not
want to be in a situation of saying that I would vote for rules that
were penalizing my own people or saying we do not trust you as much as
we trust people in other places. So I am surprised and disappointed,
and I know the senior Senator from Louisiana, Ms. Landrieu, is as
concerned, surprised, and deeply disappointed, certainly, as I am and
more than I am because she is working on this every single day.
I just want to indicate that we could have done better, and I believe
working together America can do better. I believe we can do better for
the people of Louisiana and the gulf coast than what has been offered
and passed here today. I know the senior Senator from Louisiana has
worked very hard in order to put forward proposals that are better and
that would do better than what has been achieved today.
I commend her once again and thank her on behalf of all of us who at
any moment could find ourselves in the same situation, could find
ourselves fighting for our people because of a devastating attack or
natural disaster. I hope I would have the courage of conviction, the
compassion, and the strength that the Senator from Louisiana has shown
and I know will continue to show.
I yield back.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, folks who might be watching this debate
across the country may be wondering what this is all about. Let me try
to simplify it as best I can.
Over the last month or so, the Congress has appropriated some $61
billion to be used to assist in the reconstruction, the aid, and the
housing of a lot of people whose lives have been disrupted and in some
cases destroyed. There are a number of cities, towns, and jurisdictions
within that region where their revenue base--the ability to raise taxes
and to provide essential services--is gone. Of that $61 billion, FEMA
is not authorized to extend or lend that money to those cities or towns
or jurisdictions without our authorization.
The legislation that is before us today would authorize the movement
of about $750 million from FEMA to be able to lend that money to some
of these cities, towns, parishes, and jurisdictions so that hospitals
can be helped and police, fire services, and other services can be
extended even though the revenue base has dried up under all of this
water.
Historically, when FEMA has been given the authority to extend this
money, to lend money to other communities, other cities, other States,
the loans have in some cases been forgiven. It did not require an act
of Congress to do that. It did not require any particular action by OMB
or certification by OMB to do that. It occurred under the law. The
loans were forgiven.
Senator Levin mentioned earlier that a number of jurisdictions, a
number of local government borrowers borrowed money extended through
FEMA to help these communities in their most tough times, in Idaho, in
West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Arizona, and others. They did not
have to come and ask for an act of Congress to get that forgiveness.
They didn't have to go to OMB and say please forgive this loan. The
loans were forgiven.
Senator Clinton spoke a bit earlier as well and talked about the
generous assistance that the taxpayers of this country provided to New
York City on the heels of 9/11. Mr. President, $20 billion was the
amount of money, almost a direct infusion. I thought it was loan. For
all these years I thought it was a loan that was forgiven. I was wrong.
It was a grant--just a gift to the people of New York as they struggled
to recover from their tragedy.
The tragedy that has fallen on the folks along the gulf coast is
every bit as bad for a lot of them as what happened in New York on 9/
11. Yet we are not prepared to provide a grant to those communities,
those cities, so they can provide essential services. Frankly, none of
us are calling for doing that.
FEMA has all this money we provided them. Absent some legislation
today, they are not able to extend any of that money to help these
communities and cities. The legislation is designed to say we are going
to allow FEMA to extend those loans.
But unlike the way we treated New York, which got a grant, not a
loan, and unlike the loans that were extended to all the communities
listed on this sheet of paper whose loans were forgiven and did not
even require our action or OMB's forgiveness, we say with respect to
the folks on the gulf coast: We are not going to forgive your loan.
Carl Levin--Senator Levin--and I spent a good deal of time last night
trying to put together a compromise. I appreciate very much the
cooperation of Senator Landrieu to help find that compromise and
Senator Vitter and certainly Senator Frist. Senator Levin and I, at the
midnight hour last night, were down in the House and found Congressman
Lewis, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, and said to him:
What if we provide a change in language in this bill so, in order to
forgive a loan that FEMA would make under the authorization of this
bill, it would require an act of Congress? The Senate and House and
President would have to concur in that forgiveness.
He said he thought that was a reasonable idea and thought even the
House might go along with that.
I am disappointed to hear this morning that is not going to happen.
Senator Frist, last night in conversation after midnight with Senator
Levin and me, said he thought that was a reasonable idea. He couldn't
commit himself to make it happen, but he thought that was a reasonable
approach, and, frankly, I do, too. For the life of me, I do not see why
that is not acceptable.
If we were to include language--and we are not going to get the
chance do this because Senator Levin's amendment is not going to be
made in order, but if we were to include language that said an act of
Congress was required in order to forgive loans made by FEMA to these
jurisdictions in their hour of need, that is a very high standard. It
is a standard we never set for these communities. It is a standard we
never set for New York.
The greatest irony to me is, going back, we didn't require an act of
Congress or intervention of OMB to enable the forgiveness of these
loans. Going forward, as I read the legislation--going forward, if you
are from Delaware or from Michigan or if you are from Georgia and your
communities seek a loan from FEMA in a similar situation, an emergency,
moneys that have been authorized and appropriated, you don't have to
get an act of Congress to have that loan forgiven. You don't have to
get any special approval from OMB so the loan can be forgiven. It can
be forgiven.
Yet in this case, with respect to the Gulf Coast States, we do not
allow that to happen. Going back in time and going forward in time it
looks to me as if we protect the rest of us. We allow for the loans to
be forgiven for the other 49 States or 48 States. But not in this case.
That does not make sense. That does not make sense.
As we move to pass the legislation, I echo what some of my other
colleagues
[[Page S11284]]
have said. We can do better. When we have an opportunity to return, in
a week or so, my earnest hope is that we will do better.
In closing, I say to my friend and colleague, Senator Landrieu, it
has been an honor to stand by her side in this struggle. The people of
Louisiana are fortunate to have Senators with that kind of passion and
care for them. I hope, as we go forward working with Senator Vitter, we
can get to an outcome that is fair to the people you represent.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.
Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I thank, so much, the Senator from
Delaware who, before he was a Senator--because he wasn't born one
either--was a Governor of Delaware. Before he was Governor, he was a
husband and a father, which he still is. I know he does a magnificent
job at family and in the Senate because I have seen him here at late
hours.
Last night this Senator from Delaware, who does not, obviously, have
a dog in this hunt, stood through the night and negotiated with myself
and with my colleague from Louisiana, with Senator Frist, with Senator
Reid, and we negotiated and offered one compromise after another in
meetings, on the telephone, on the floor, when we could speak--because
speech was limited last night. Despite the notion that is out there
that Senators can speak any time they want, the rules of the Senate
actually prevent Senators from speaking. So I was not able to speak as
much as I would have liked through the night last night. When I was not
able to speak on the floor, we were in meetings, in phone calls,
speaking with the White House and the House leadership and Republican
colleagues and Democratic colleagues, trying to work through this
situation.
We put our best efforts forward. We are now down to this time, which
is basically the end of this debate, having passed a bill by Senator
Vitter and Senator Frist that will basically allow us to have the loans
we seek, loans that are so necessary, but a bill that forces us to take
it in a discriminatory fashion.
I believe this Senator has shown, on many occasions, a willingness to
compromise and to work through difficult situations. I helped negotiate
No Child Left Behind on this floor, one of the premier centerpieces of
the current President's administration, of his agenda, even when half
of my caucus was opposed--not sort of opposed but very opposed. But I
knew what was best for Louisiana was to move forward because we had
already gone down the road of accountability. It was showing some
results. The children in my State were learning. The gap between the
rich and the poor was closing, not because the rich were coming down
but because the poor were coming up.
White children and Black children, who had been by law separated for
over 150 years in schools, were then thrust together in the 1960s and
1970s. I believed that law, and I still believe this law, could help
lift those who had limited opportunities. I have worked with Senators
on both sides of the aisle, for the 8 years that I have been here, to
try to craft and negotiate some of the toughest legislation the Senate
has seen--compromise on missile defense, compromise on Corps of
Engineers to move a WRDA bill. I worked for 10 years to compromise the
Conservation and Reinvestment Act where 4,500 organizations in this
country, from the most liberal to the most conservative, came together
one time on one bill to provide coastal money for all the communities
in the Nation: 10 years of meetings, 10 years of phone calls, 10 years
of speeches, 10 years of pleas, 10 years of press conferences, 10 years
of alliance building, only to get down to the last minute some years
ago to be told, with 72 signatures on that bill at the last minute, 5
years ago: Senator, we cannot bring your bill up, there is an election
around the corner and it may have repercussions for one or two people
here. We can't do it.
You could have taken a knife and stabbed it in my heart, but I stood
there and took it, not because it was me but because the people I
represent I knew were getting a bad deal. But in my heart I knew that I
and our delegation had literally done everything we could possibly do.
When it came to the end, the death was quick.
When I got back in the next session, after my State had been stabbed
in the heart and left for dead--which we have died, through this
hurricane--I started putting yet another bill together because there is
nothing wrong with me that I don't know how to work through difficult
situations. My family has been doing it a very long time.
I thank Senator Clinton for her remarks. She obviously understands
what the people of New York went through. I also thank Senator Schumer.
Although he was not here in person, he was here in spirit. He and
Senator Clinton stood by the Republican mayor at the time, Rudy
Giuliani, lifted him up and helped him. No second-guessing; they helped
him and they lifted the city up.
I thank Senator Jeffords, who has been a champion. He stood at the
Leeville Bridge with me. I have been on so many trips down to Louisiana
I lose count, but one of them I remember very well. Senator Jeffords
came down with me, so far to the bottom of Louisiana if he had taken
one more step he would have been in the Gulf of Mexico. There is not
much down there--no big cities, no big money, no big press conferences.
There is hardly a camera at the end of LA-1, at Port Fourchon, but
Senator Jeffords went. He stood there, and while I was explaining to
him the difficulty of getting people out in an evacuation for a
hurricane on a highway that goes underwater when there is rain, let
alone when a category 5 hurricane comes bearing down on you--he stood
there on the bridge with me and at the moment--if I could have scripted
it myself I could not have done it any better, and people who were not
there are not going to believe what I am going to say but I have a lot
of witnesses--at the very moment I was pointing to the Leeville Bridge,
a shrimp trawler came in, lifted their nets up as they do--they look
like butterflies out on the gulf--they lifted their nets up and ran
into the bridge, with Senator Jeffords on it, and shook the bridge and
shut it down like that.
The words had just come out of my mouth: Senator Jeffords, not only
is the road a problem but when the hurricane comes, if this bridge
shuts down, there is no way out. And the shrimp trawler hit the bridge.
He said to me, laughing with his good sense of humor: Senator, don't
you think you went a little too far to make your point?
And we had a big laugh about it, not that I laughed about the shrimp
trawler, but we literally cannot believe that and have talked about it
for 3 years.
Our strength is found at home in our neighborhoods, in our churches,
on corners, in our workplaces, and in our places of worship. Right here
is where our strength is found--not in anyplace overseas, right here at
home.
I am going to wrap up by showing you pictures of the homes to make my
point. This is our home on the gulf coast. After the photographer took
this picture, the commentary in the National Geographic magazine was
something like: It looks like a weapon of mass destruction went off on
the gulf coast. This is exactly what would happen if a weapon of mass
destruction would go off, except you wouldn't have the trees and maybe
the beach would be a little disheveled. That is what it looks like. It
was a storm of massive destruction.
Our strength begins at home.
The underlying bill is sending $415 billion overseas. We ask for a
loan program of $1 billion already allocated under the same terms and
conditions that everyone in America has received. And we are told no.
It was too much to do.
I am going to close with this.
This is a picture of New Orleans. It doesn't look like this today
because all the water has gone down. But when people say, Why can't you
be a little bit more self-reliant, I am not sure any city in America
could stand itself up by itself with no loans, no grants, with the
police force being laid off, a fire department being laid off, city
workers being laid off, an electric company taking bankruptcy, no water
in the pipes. And when we come to ask for a loan, we are told: Sorry,
there is no money in the Treasury. We have made other arrangements for
the taxes that you have paid over the last 300 years.
Let me submit for the Record a letter from the U.S. Conference of
Mayors
[[Page S11285]]
which they sent to this Senate. They said:
We greatly appreciate Congress' attention to America's
cities devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and now Hurricane
Rita, and to those cities home to hundreds of thousands of
evacuees. The leadership of the U.S. Conference of Mayors,
convened in Long Beach on September 22-24, resolved that
Congress must pass legislation to provide direct fiscal
assistance to cities devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita--
All cities, cities that are Republican cities and cities that are
Democratic cities, communities that do not vote for Democrats and
communities that do not vote for Republicans--all cities.
Most importantly, we urge the Senate to reject language
that would for the first time in history remove the
possibility that communities' disaster loans be forgivable,
if needed, due to the dire situation many of the impacted
cities will continue to face in the months and years ahead.
It goes on to say they are going to keep a vigil. I hope somebody
keeps the candle burning.
I ask unanimous that the letter be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
The United States
Conference of Mayors,
Washington, DC, October 7, 2005.
Hon. Bill Frist,
Majority Leader, U.S. Senate.
Hon. Harry Reid,
Democratic Leader, U.S. Senate.
Dear Senate Leaders:
fiscal aid needed now for hurricane cities, without new strings
attached
We greatly appreciate Congress's attention to America's
cities devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and now Hurricane
Rita, and to those cities home to hundred of thousands of
evacuees. The Leadership of The U.S. Conference of Mayors,
convened in Long Beach on September 22-24, resolved that
Congress must pass legislation to provide direct fiscal
assistance to cities devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita, as we stated to you in our letter of September 29.
Most importantly, we urge the Senate to reject language
that would--for the first time in history--remove the
possibility that community disaster loans be forgivable, if
needed, due to the dire situation many of the impacted cities
will continue to face in the months and years ahead.
As we learned during our recent fact-finding mission to
Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, the mayors of these
cities have lost most of their tax base and will soon be
without the funds needed to pay first responders, public
works employees, and other key local personnel that are
leading the recovery effort. These local personnel are truly
national assets in the recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and
Rita, and these cities must not be allowed to go bankrupt.
Without a functioning local government, the private sector
will be stymied in efforts to invest in the reconstruction
effort, and it will be impossible for volunteer relief
efforts to be coordinated and to function.
If you would like to discuss this further, please contact
our Chief of Staff Ed Somers at (202) 861-6706 or
[email protected].
We look forward to working with you in the coming days, as
together we strengthen the intergovernmental partnership
needed to make sure our cities are safe and our nation
prospers.
Sincerely,
Beverly O'Neill,
Mayor of Long Beach, President.
Tom Cochran,
Executive Director.
Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I have shown all the pictures I can show
for the week. I have done all the talking I can do for today. But I can
promise you this. This talking will continue and these meetings will
continue and this debate will continue. It is not going away.
The leadership of the House of Representatives needs to be put on
notice that this debate is going to go on for a very long time, until
we get relief, recovery, respect, and the dignity that we deserve as
American citizens from Louisiana to Texas to Alabama to Mississippi and
the people whom we represent, Black and White, rich and poor, young and
old, small and large businesses alike, and our faith-based community,
get the respect it deserves from the floor of this Senate and the
Congress of the United States, and gets the help it needs to get
through and rebuild.
I assure you that we will rebuild this coast. We will rebuild the
gulf coast. It was paid for by a great President, President Jefferson,
at 3 cents an acre in 1803 where he borrowed money. He knew what he was
borrowing money for. He had a good reason to borrow it, and he bought
the Louisiana Purchase. Andrew Jackson came and defended it. His statue
never went underwater.
We will rebuild this region all through the gulf coast and into
Louisiana--the ports, the energy infrastructure, turn our lights on
again, and keep the lights on all over America, to try to keep people's
bills as low as we can and keep their heat on this winter, which is
approaching. Even if you do not give us one penny, even if you do not
lend us money, we have been self-reliant for over 300 or more years.
The people here are pretty tough and it takes a lot more than this to
beat our spirit.
The bill is gone. It is the best we could do. It is not the best we
could have done, but it is what we have. We will live with it, but we
will not stop this debate.
I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
____________________