[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 116 (Wednesday, July 29, 2009)]
[House]
[Pages H9038-H9039]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            STRUGGLES AND HARDSHIPS FACING KEY WEST, FLORIDA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the host of ``The Today 
Show'' profiled Key West, a city in my congressional district. It is a 
city of natural beauty, coupled with a history that is quite unique. 
And while viewers were able to see the TV host ride rickshaws and tour 
many sites, such as Ernest Hemingway's home, and I am glad they 
featured my good friend from Key West, Tom Oosterhoudt, there is 
another side of Key West off of Duval Street that warrants attention.
  While Key West is a great place to get a slice of key lime pie, it is 
also a city with high unemployment, high insurance rates, and one of 
the largest homeless populations for its size. According to recent 
numbers, the Florida Keys has over 1,000 individuals who are homeless. 
The reality is that off of Duval Street, there are struggling 
individuals and struggling families.
  Thankfully, there are several noteworthy organizations which serve 
the Keys community with a selfless dedication to those at-risk 
individuals. One example is Samuel's House. This is a beacon of hope 
for those who need help.
  Founded in 1985, Samuel's House provides a nurturing environment for 
homeless women and women with children. It also affords them resources 
that are beneficial to their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual 
well-being.
  I had the privilege to meet with several staffers from Samuel's House 
this week here in D.C., and I heard the firsthand account from a mother 
whose daughter was saved due to the assistance and care provided to her 
by Samuel's House.
  Samuel's House also runs Kathy's Hope, another Key West facility, 
which provides permanent housing for women who are chronically homeless 
and in recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. It is a safe haven 
where women can go through recovery while also remaining self-
sufficient and pursuing their life goals to better themselves.
  Key West is also blessed to have the Southernmost Homeless Assistance 
League, SHAL. Under the direction of Reverend Steven Braddock, SHAL is 
a community coalition dedicated to the special needs of people who are 
homeless or at risk of homelessness.
  SHAL provides grants to shelters and organizations like Samuel's 
House so that they can continue their good work for all of us in the 
community. SHAL also provides housing assistance, medical assistance, 
substance abuse programs, and job training resources to at-risk 
individuals and their families.

[[Page H9039]]

  I am grateful for the dedication and caring exhibited by their staff, 
and they deserve our recognition.
  Another problem unique to the Florida Keys is one of housing. We have 
a problem with nonconforming downstairs enclosures. Through years of 
mismanagement and lax oversight by Monroe County and FEMA, many Keys 
homeowners built what they considered legal downstairs enclosures.
  Residents with nonconforming disclosures are denied the ability to 
acquire flood insurance. In an area with a long history of hurricanes 
and other severe weather events, this is intolerable. Florida Keys 
homeowners are required to bear the price of mistakes made by the 
county and FEMA for structures that were issued permits and were 
legally constructed.

                              {time}  1800

  This is a community which cannot afford the expense of renovating 
existing structures while they struggle to make ends meet week in and 
week out. While homeowners continue to struggle with onerous 
regulations, the issue of water quality is also a major concern for Key 
West and the entire Keys. The Florida Keys serve as the entry point to 
Everglades National Park. It's surrounded by the National Marine 
Sanctuary as well as one of the largest and most vibrant coral reef 
systems in the world. This is an area of national treasure; and as 
such, ensuring the cleanliness of the waters surrounding these 
important ecosystems should be a national concern. Since being elected 
to represent the Florida Keys in 2002, I have fought hard to bring 
Federal funding from Washington to the Florida Keys for its wastewater 
project. To date, the area has received more than $35 million in 
congressionally appropriated dollars. I am pleased to note that 
construction has already started throughout the Florida Keys. And yes, 
while more Federal funding is needed, I am thankful for the commitment 
made by Florida Keys residents and the elected officials to utilize 
existing Federal funds in the near term. The Florida Keys is an area of 
great beauty, but we must be aware that even in paradise, people go 
through struggles and through hard times. These hardships take many 
faces: an individual on the brink of homelessness, a homeowner who is 
unable to obtain flood insurance due to a downstairs enclosure, or a 
community worrying about the cleanliness of their water supply. These 
are some of the daily trials and tribulations that Keys residents 
sometimes face off of Duval Street.
  Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the time.

                          ____________________