[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 134 (Thursday, October 20, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCING THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS ESTABLISHMENT ACT

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 20, 2005

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the 
National Emergency Centers Establishment Act. Many of us share the 
belief that the Federal Government's response to Hurricane Katrina was 
disorganized and inadequate. FEMA was far too slow to arrive, and 
evacuees were left stranded in massive shelters with egregious standard 
of living violations. Victims of the storm are now spread all over the 
country, costing the government $11 million per day just to house only 
a portion of evacuees in hotels. Tens of thousands are still living in 
inadequate shelters and even tents--months after the storm--with little 
assurances for their safety and security.
  These two problems--increasing the availability of temporary housing 
in times of national emergencies and improving training and 
preparedness for national emergencies--must be resolved to ensure that 
the humanitarian catastrophe that occurred in the gulf coast and 
continues to happen today will never occur again.
  I come to the floor today to introduce the National Emergency Centers 
Establishment Act. My bill establishes no fewer than six National 
Emergency Centers spread throughout the United States. The Centers 
would be used, first and foremost, to provide temporary housing, 
medical and humanitarian assistance, including education, for 
individuals and families displaced due to an emergency. The Centers 
would also serve as a centralized location for the training and 
coordination of first responders in the instance of an emergency. In 
turn, the Centers will improve the coordination of preparedness, 
response and recovery efforts between government, private, not-for-
profit entities and faith-based organizations.
  The National Emergency Centers would be located on military bases, 
with a preference wherever possible for those installations closed 
during the most recent BRAC round. I am proposing these sites because 
the necessary infrastructure to house, feed, educate and care for 
evacuees over an extended period of time is already in place, thus 
limiting the cost and time needed to construct these facilities.
  Mr. Speaker, our Nation was not prepared for the disastrous 
hurricanes that struck the gulf coast last month. The establishment of 
National Emergency Centers will go a long way to ensuring that our 
response to national emergencies are not as disastrous as the disasters 
that created the emergencies in the first place.
  I ask for my colleagues' support and urge the House Leadership to 
bring this legislation to the floor for its swift consideration.

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