[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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