[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 133 (Wednesday, October 19, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H8957]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  TRIBUTE TO COAST GUARD IN EFFORTS DURING HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Butterfield) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
extraordinary efforts of our Coast Guard in the aftermath of hurricanes 
Katrina and Rita. The Coast Guard again demonstrated just how well they 
live up to their Latin motto, which means: ``Always Ready.''
  Several days before Katrina made landfall, the Coast Guard activated 
emergency response plans, while maintaining communications with both 
the Atlantic and Pacific commands and headquarters in Washington. As 
the disaster drew near, if something did not work, the Coast Guard 
modified its plans to meet the needs.
  The first images we as Americans saw on television depicting this 
disaster were those of Coast Guard helicopters rescuing stranded 
citizens from rooftops amid rising flood waters. In the face of high 
winds and flying debris, daytime temperatures nearing 100 degrees and 
downed utility lines, our brave men and women heeded the call of duty 
to perform selfless acts of courage.
  During around-the-clock flight operations over a 7-day period, our 
Coast Guard helicopters operating over New Orleans saved an astonishing 
6,470 lives. They also helped to save thousands of other victims by 
delivering tons of food and water to those who could not be evacuated 
immediately. In all, the Coast Guard rescued 33,500 people in its 
response to Katrina, six times the number of people it rescued in all 
of 2004.
  Mr. Speaker, I am extremely proud of the Coast Guard air crew rescue 
swimmers, many of whom trained at the Coast Guard Aquatic Training 
Facility, located in my congressional district at the Coast Guard 
station in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. The Coast Guard rescue 
swimmers faced some very adverse conditions, including flooded houses 
and buildings, steep slippery roofs, foul and contaminated water, and 
the need to hack through attics with axes or break out windows to free 
the survivors. Despite these obstacles, these brave men and women saved 
many American lives.
  The Coast Guard's responses to Katrina and Rita should serve as a 
model for our governmental agencies and our first responders in the 
face of future disasters. These brave men and women succeeded in 
keeping these devastating events from becoming even greater tragedies. 
I thank the Coast Guard for their dedicated service, and I ask my 
colleagues to join me in congratulating them and supporting my future 
efforts to upgrade their training facility in my congressional 
district.

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