[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 152 (Tuesday, October 20, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2574-E2575]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 2892, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY 
                        APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. DAVID LOEBSACK

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 15, 2009

  Mr. LOEBSACK. Madam Speaker, in 2008, the State of Iowa experienced 
the worst natural disaster in our state's history which left 85

[[Page E2575]]

of 99 total counties presidentially declared disaster areas. This 
flooding particularly devastated the City of Cedar Rapids. In addition 
to having nearly all of their critical government and public facilities 
damaged, the flooding also severely damaged the city's main public 
library.
  The Cedar Rapids Library was an 83,961 square foot facility, owned by 
the city which also housed city staff. The main Library contained 
150,000 volumes in the Adult Collection and 100,000 volumes in the 
Children's Collections, all of which are currently displaced.
  After two appeals from the city, FEMA continues to state that the 
city's library is not eligible for temporary relocation assistance 
despite the fact that the Stafford Act provides for ``provision of 
temporary facilities for schools and other essential community 
services.'' The Stafford Act also includes libraries in the definition 
of private nonprofit facilities and states that they provide essential 
services of a governmental nature to the general public.
  As a former educator myself, I know the critical role libraries play 
in education. Since the floods of 2008, I have also seen the essential 
public services they provide to nearly all aspects of severely damaged 
communities.
  In fact, FEMA itself directs disaster victims to their local library 
to use the internet to apply for federal disaster assistance. Public 
libraries also allow citizens to look for jobs, or seek other support 
services needed in the aftermath of disasters such as the flooding in 
Iowa. Libraries have certainly evolved to become more than collections 
of books and periodicals.
  In modern-day communities, they are a vital communication hub, 
providing access to computers and the internet for individuals that may 
not be able to afford their own, and in a disaster, to those whose own 
property was damaged or destroyed. Further, the library is a partner 
with our school systems, providing research materials to students and 
supporting class instructional programs.
  Many libraries also become a disaster recovery center for their 
community, and a point of distribution for meals and supplies needed 
during a disaster.
  I urge FEMA to reconsider their internal policies and reexamine how 
libraries are defined in the Stafford Act in order to assist not only 
the Cedar Rapids Library, but other libraries that may be damaged and 
displaced by natural disasters in the future.

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