[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 159 (Tuesday, December 13, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2515]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         REBUILDING NEW ORLEANS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. NICK J. RAHALL II

                            of west virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 13, 2005

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, 106 days ago, the world watched as one of 
the worst natural disasters in the history of the United States came 
crashing down on our Gulf Coast. I spent much of the last weekend in 
New Orleans, touring the affected areas and speaking with folks about 
the recovery efforts.
  The effects of the hurricane and its aftermath are eerily similar to 
natural disasters that in recent years have befallen my home state of 
West Virginia--floods of the 100-year variety.
  Displaced families. Businesses boarded up. A sense of despair and 
unease in the community. Helpless citizens looking for someone, anyone, 
to provide some guidance to a sound and quick recovery.
  The damage done to the Gulf Coast and New Orleans, in particular, is 
well documented. But so are the promises made to those residents who 
call New Orleans home. And those promises have so far gone unfulfilled.
  Billions of dollars will be needed to rebuild New Orleans. First and 
foremost, the levee system, which failed New Orleans' residents in the 
aftermath of the hurricane, must be upgraded to protect from future 
100-year storms. Some estimates put that cost at more than $32 
billion--and many in Washington are balking at the price tag.
  My question is this: Can't we afford America? We have spent more than 
$300 billion in Iraq and Afghanistan, yet this Republican Congress 
doesn't have a concrete plan to rebuild New Orleans, or the budget 
blueprint to do it. We are investing billions of American taxpayer 
dollars for bridges, levees and infrastructure in Baghdad, yet we can't 
get a commitment from our leaders to rebuild the levees in New Orleans 
for Americans. We have enacted tax cut after tax cut--most recently a 
$95 billion cut for the wealthiest Americans--yet 78,000 American 
families displaced by the hurricane are still waiting for FEMA trailers 
in Louisiana.
  And what about West Virginia? Parts of southern West Virginia are 
still recovering from the major floods of the past five years. Many 
families displaced by those floods have yet to be able to move back to 
their homes. And we are still unable to secure the necessary investment 
from the Corps of Engineers to prevent this kind of flood from ever 
happening again.
  It is long past time to look inward and focus on the many issues 
confronting Americans in America. The flooding of New Orleans exposed 
more concerns than just the failure of the levee system. Investment in 
our schools, health care system, infrastructure and homeland security 
needs to be high on our list of priorities going forward.
  This Administration and this Congress have decisions to make. For the 
sake of all of us who have been--and will be again--affected by severe 
flooding, it is my sincere hope that they choose to stand with the 
American people and invest in the rebuilding of New Orleans and the 
Gulf Coast.

                          ____________________