[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 167 (Wednesday, December 21, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14292-S14293]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            HURRICANE RELIEF

  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, while we did leave a lot of work to be 
done, I do want to thank my colleagues, particularly Chairman Cochran 
and Senator Byrd, for shepherding through a tremendous direct relief 
bill. That would not have happened without these two leaders. It was 
initially sent to us at $17 billion, with an anemic funding level for 
our levees. It was basically a bill that fixed Federal buildings and 
sent money to Federal bureaucracies and didn't reach the people 
directly or our cities or counties or parishes or churches or schools 
or hospitals. Senator Cochran took that bill and he stood it up and 
added some extraordinary pieces to it and fought like a tiger to keep 
that money flexible but accountable so our Governors could start 
rebuilding our States again, with help from the Federal Government; not 
just promises but real help. If it had not been for Senators Cochran 
and Byrd and the appropriators who helped to stand this bill up, we 
would be leaving here tonight in a much less hopeful situation.
  We passed that bill out of here a little while ago. It is headed to 
the House of Representatives. That part is not controversial, but the 
process is controversial. I hope the House Members will pass that 
tomorrow so the people of the gulf coast, who have been waiting not for 
a week, not for 2 weeks, but for 4 months for this Congress to send 
some package of hope, other than money to FEMA, but a package of hope 
to our elected officials so they can get their parishes stood up, 
people back home, the lights turned on, the hospitals working again, 
the universities functioning again, and stop firing and start hiring 
people so we can stand up this economy.
  I am hoping that tomorrow the House will act, and we will at least 
send this $29 billion home. Just today the President signed an $8 
billion tax relief package that is full of targeted and specific tax 
credits and tax relief for businesses and individuals that will help as 
well. I thank the administration for their support of that bill.
  Particularly I thank Senators Baucus and Grassley. Senator Blanche 
Lincoln worked very hard on many portions of this bill as a member of 
the Finance Committee. I could not leave tonight to go home for the 
holidays without thanking Senators Grassley and Baucus. Without them, 
that bill never would have made it through the process. On the House 
side, Congressman Jim McCrery and my own Congressman from New Orleans, 
Bill Jefferson, had a great deal to do with the success of that bill.
  As we get ready to celebrate Christmas and we remember members of our 
own family, my parents, my siblings, cousins, very good friends who 
have lost their homes and their businesses, as we remember the 250,000 
homes that have been destroyed and the millions of people impacted 
negatively, at least this Congress can say we passed an $8 billion tax 
bill that will help many directly and give them immediate relief as it 
was signed today, and this $29 billion direct package reallocating FEMA 
money that is sitting in a bank account and give it to people for this 
Christmas holiday, and then to resolve when we get back to take up and 
design some new tools for reconstruction that can help in the area 
particularly of housing, which is such a desperate need, and 
reorganization of our neighborhoods and communities.
  I can rest assured that the leadership in Louisiana, with the 
Louisiana Recovery District, led by the Governor, who appointed Norman 
Francis and Walter Isaacson, the two leaders of the LRA, is prepared, 
with our local officials, to come up with new and innovative strategies 
to build a great city of New Orleans again, the great parishes of 
Jefferson, St. Bernard, and Plaquemine, then to move over to the 
southwest and give the small parishes, such as Cameron, which was 
totally destroyed, the help they need to stand back up, so we can stand 
up our farms, hospitals, petrochemical industry, keep our ports open, 
start hiring teachers and doctors back, and start building up the 
18,000 businesses that were lost. Forty-one percent of the businesses 
in Louisiana were destroyed by this hurricane. Our income fell 25 
percent, our personal income, in a report released today.
  I know everybody is tired. It has been a long day. I am ready to go 
home myself and have a few Christmas gifts wrapped before the weekend. 
But I can say that last night in New Orleans, there was the first party 
thrown in a long time at Gallier Hall, the old city hall. Although 
Senator Vitter and I couldn't be there, 500 people showed up. While 
there were a lot of stories about the heartache that had occurred, 
there was a lot of hope in the hearts of the people who came. There 
were former mayors and former council members and leaders of the 
community, Black and White, Hispanic and Asian. And despite the fact 
that still this Congress doesn't understand in every way why New 
Orleans matters, I can promise you that the spirit of the people who 
live in this city will not let it die, will not let south Louisiana 
die.
  We are going to come back and work even harder to add to the package 
we passed tonight to get the job done and to be a model for the 
country, should this catastrophe ever strike another area again.
  I thank my colleagues for getting through at least tonight the $29 
billion of direct relief and the $8 billion tax package. When we come 
back, we have work to do on coastal, work to do on housing. I look 
forward to working with Members on both sides of the aisle to get the 
job done for the people of Louisiana and the gulf coast.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.

[[Page S14293]]

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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