[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 119 (Thursday, September 21, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H6900-H6901]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         COMMEMORATING THE 1-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF HURRICANE RITA

  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to speak out of 
turn.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from 
Louisiana is recognized for 5 minutes.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, this week southwest Louisiana will pause 
to commemorate the 1-year anniversary of Hurricane Rita, the third most 
expensive natural disaster in U.S. history.
  Rita was as equally devastating as Hurricane Katrina, causing 
widespread destruction to our communities and our Nation's critical 
energy infrastructure. Since then there has been a palpable view among 
many of my constituents that their story has been forgotten and their 
needs unknown.
  Throughout the past year, I have worked hard to ensure that Rita does 
not become ``the forgotten storm'' among Members of this body, and to 
date Congress has approved unprecedented Federal funding for our 
recovery. And for this the people of southwest Louisiana are grateful.
  But not until you visit the coastal parishes of southwest Louisiana, 
Vermilion Parish, Calcasieu Parish, and Cameron Parish, can you 
understand the scope and magnitude of the destruction of Rita and the 
long road we have to protect our coast and our energy infrastructure 
from future disaster.
  In the year since Rita, I have brought 19 House Members, including 
Speaker Hastert, to southwest Louisiana to see these towns and 
communities and to meet the great residents of my district who were 
able to ensure a safe and thorough evacuation that did not result in 
the loss of life as we saw in New Orleans.
  All of my colleagues who have joined me in visiting the communities 
hit hardest by Rita have come away with an increased awareness of the 
importance of southwest Louisiana to the energy infrastructure of the 
United States, as well as the need to protect our coastal wetlands and 
provide a continuous stream of funding to protect our communities.
  The eye of Hurricane Rita made landfall in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, 
bringing with it a storm surge over 15 feet. In the coastal parishes of 
Vermilion, Cameron, and Calcasieu, the destruction was undescribable, 
but no lives were lost. Local officials in southwest Louisiana were 
commended for managing an orderly evacuation of residents and offering 
a detailed plan for recovery and rebuilding. In short, the people of 
southwest Louisiana did, and are doing, everything right.
  Amidst the ruin, the one constant was the spirit and determination of 
the people of southwest Louisiana. The common question from local 
residents was not, ``Where do we go from here?'' but rather, ``When can 
we rebuild our homes, our businesses, and our way of life?''
  More than any other storm, Rita exposed the critical state of our 
coastal wetlands and the role they play in supporting the energy 
infrastructure of the United States. These wetlands serve as a critical 
buffer against ocean storms as well as protect industries and cities 
further inland. Before Rita, the projected land loss in Louisiana was 
approximately 24 square miles per year, the equivalent of two football 
fields an hour. After Rita, our coast is even more vulnerable, and some 
worry a modest category one hurricane could deal an even more 
destructive blow to our coastal parishes and the energy infrastructure 
that they support.
  During Rita, oil platforms and drilling rigs in the storm's path were 
forced to shut down and evacuate their workers. This led to the halting 
of 98 percent of oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico.
  And when the Nation's 12th largest port in Lake Charles was forced to 
shut down, energy production and distribution were brought a virtual 
standstill.
  Protecting and strengthening our coasts is not only a Louisiana 
problem, it is an American problem. And it is one that affects American 
families and businesses that rely on energy we produce in Louisiana and 
transport throughout this country.
  Thousands of oil and gas facilities are concentrated throughout the 
gulf coast and in southwest Louisiana, meaning that any future storm 
could have a crippling effect on our Nation's domestic energy 
production. Over one-third of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve is 
stockpiled in Cameron Parish in my district, and soon over 25 percent 
of our Nation's natural gas supply will run through that parish as 
well.
  Mr. Speaker, often in the past year I am stopped by my colleagues 
here in the body who ask, how can I help? My answer to them now is very 
clear. Help us to protect ourselves. This year the House and Senate 
have already responded to this request by approving legislation that 
would give Louisiana its fair share of oil and gas revenues produced 
off our shores. This solution will provide our State with the necessary 
funding to protect our coastal wetlands and, in turn, the critical 
energy infrastructure that is so important to our U.S. economy.
  The Louisiana congressional delegation is working to ensure a final 
compromise is presented to President Bush before the end of the this 
year. Now, it is up to the leadership in this body and in the Senate to 
bring the bill to conference and to get a compromise to President Bush. 
The sooner Congress acts, the sooner southwest Louisiana can protect 
itself from the devastation we saw from Hurricane Rita 1 year ago.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing, the people of southwest Louisiana never 
asked for a Federal handout, but rather for a helping hand. For many 
Americans last year's hurricane season will be remembered by the images 
of chaos and confusion. For those of us who were there to witness the 
devastation in southwest Louisiana, the recovery of the people whose 
lives it forever changed, we come away with a much different story, one 
that gives us hope, one that shows the resiliency of the people of 
southwest Louisiana.

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