[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 162 (Wednesday, October 24, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H11938]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           NATURAL DISASTERS

  (Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Our hearts go out to the almost million people forced 
to flee their homes from wildfires in Southern California. At the same 
time a drought has gripped North Carolina and Georgia which in the long 
run may be end up being as devastating.
  These disasters are almost unimaginable, except we've been there 
before, like in Southern California in 2003. And two-thirds of the new 
development in the last 10 years in Southern California has been in 
areas we know are subject to wildfire. What are we going to do about 
it?
  The administration's refusal to deal meaningfully with global warming 
is the most glaring example of behaviors that doom us to reruns for 
years to come. Georgia has no real plan to deal with its water and 
doesn't even know what supplies it can count upon. Here in Congress, we 
fail to prioritize the right infrastructure and give billions of 
dollars for relief after a disaster and won't spend millions to invest 
in programs to protect before it happens.
  I hope and pray that the message sinks in and that we use this 
disaster as a wake-up call to get our act together to help people 
before these things happen to save both lives and money in the future.

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