[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 60 (Tuesday, May 16, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H2624-H2625]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1630
                RELIEF FOR SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA FROM RITA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Price of Georgia). Under a previous 
order of the House, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Boustany) is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, next month the Gulf Coast will prepare for 
yet another Hurricane season. As we prepare for this year's storm 
season, it is important to remember that two category 3 storms hit the 
gulf coast last year.
  In late September, the eye of Hurricane Rita made landfall in Cameron 
Parish in the southwest corner of Louisiana. The storm inflicted 
devastating damage to my district in southwest Louisiana as well as to 
the districts of my colleagues from southeast Texas.
  In the coming weeks, House and Senate conferees will meet to 
determine a final bill to provide important relief to residents on the 
gulf coast. Today we are not here to compete with one another, but to 
together ask our colleagues to consider our needs and to remember Rita.
  Unfortunately, more than 6 months after Hurricane Rita hit the coast 
of southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas, our road to recovery is not 
yet complete. Hurricane Katrina is off the front pages. Hurricane Rita 
is off the back pages.
  Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that the people of southwest 
Louisiana, and our friends in southeast Texas are not asking for a 
Federal handout. We do, however, need the Nation's support and the 
support of this body to recover and protect ourselves from future 
disasters.
  This Hurricane supplemental is especially critical to my constituents 
in southwest Louisiana. Homes are destroyed or uninhabitable. In 
Cameron Parish, 90 percent of the homes were reduced to slabs of 
concrete. Students and teachers in southwest Louisiana are still 
waiting on Federal education disaster assistance to rebuild.
  Our farmers are also hurting. Last year, farmers in Vermilion Parish 
planted 75,000 acres of rice. This year that number has been reduced to 
only 25,000. And this is why. This is why, right here. This is a 
picture just 4 weeks ago in my district, some 7 or 8 miles inland from 
the coast. These were rice fields that have been virtually destroyed 
due to tremendous saltwater damage that Hurricane Rita has left in its 
wake. Before Rita, this field was a thriving rice crop.
  And you can see, this is another field. Same thing. All this white in 
here is salt deposition. This just 4 weeks ago, over 6 months from 
Rita. And we are still coping with this.
  We owe it to these farmers to work as hard for them as they do for 
their families and neighbors in southwest Louisiana.
  Mr. Speaker, our industries are hurting as well. The Lake Area 
Industry Alliance, home of a vast petrochemical complex which serves 
the entire U.S., reports damages to its facility of nearly $50 million. 
This picture here was taken in the immediate aftermath of the storm.
  They show the Henry Hub, just one of the many energy facilities in my 
district that supply much of our Nation's energy industry. This 
facility alone

[[Page H2625]]

supplies close to 40 percent of the natural gas for our country, and 
was off line for a considerable amount of time following Hurricane 
Rita. It highlights the strategic interest that southwest Louisiana 
plays to our energy industry and why we must ensure that this 
infrastructure will be protected from storms.
  This is another photo of the same area, more close up, showing the 
tanks. We had about 7 or 8 feet of water in this area. One way we can 
protect our energy infrastructure is to expand drilling in the Outer 
Continental Shelf. This can provide a long-term oil and gas supply that 
would serve the bridge to renewable energy sources.
  Most importantly, it would also provide States with critical revenue 
sharing from any oil or gas leasing off their coast, allowing States 
like Louisiana to fund our own protection from future disasters.
  Mr. Speaker, despite our many challenges, the people of southwest 
Louisiana remain determined to rebuild their communities and 
businesses. Parents look forward to the day when their children can 
once again attend schools and churches in a safe and comfortable 
environment.
  Travelers look forward to a day when they can escape the summer heat 
with a trip to Holly Beach in Cameron Parish. Farmers look forward to 
the day when they can once again tend to their fields.
  Mr. Speaker, southwest Louisiana has already begun to plan for our 
future. It is up to us as Members of Congress to help them realize it.

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