[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 150 (Wednesday, November 17, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H7521-H7524]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SOCIAL SERVICES BLOCK GRANT
Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (S. 3774) to extend the deadline for Social Services Block Grant
expenditures of supplemental funds appropriated following disasters
occurring in 2008.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 3774
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF EXPENDITURE DEADLINE OF SOCIAL
SERVICES BLOCK GRANT DISASTER FUNDING.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, amounts made
available to the Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families, under the heading
``Social Services Block Grant'' under chapter 7 of division B
of Public Law 110-329, shall remain available for expenditure
through September 30, 2011.
SEC. 2. BUDGETARY PROVISIONS.
(a) Statutory PAYGO.--The budgetary effects of this Act,
for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go
Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest
statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation''
for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional
Record by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee,
provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the
vote on passage.
(b) Emergency Designations.--This Act--
(1) is designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to
section 4(g) of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010
(Public Law 111-139; 2 U.S.C. 933(g));
(2) in the House of Representatives, is designated as an
emergency for purposes of pay-as-you-go principles; and
(3) in the Senate, is designated as an emergency
requirement and necessary to meet emergency needs pursuant to
section 403(a) of S. Con. Res. 13 (111th Congress), the
concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2010.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. McDermott) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ginny
Brown-Waite) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.
General Leave
Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on S. 3774.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Washington?
There was no objection.
Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of S. 3774,
which extends the deadline for the use of supplemental social service
block grant funds, also known as SSBG, that were made available
following the disasters that occurred in 2008.
This extension would provide a 1-year extension for the use of
supplemental SSBG grant funds that were appropriated in the Disaster
Assistance and Continuing Appropriation Act of 2009 in response to the
natural disasters that occurred in 2008. The legislation provided $600
million for disaster recovery for States affected by hurricane, floods,
and other natural disasters that occurred in the year 2008.
Over 60 percent of the money that was appropriated has been spent,
leaving a great deal of funding available to address the ongoing needs
in States that have been adversely affected by natural disasters. While
a number of States have been successful in quickly drawing down the
funds that were available to support disaster cleanup, many others need
additional time to utilize the resources effectively.
The legislation follows a precedent that was established by the
Congress in recent years when we acted to extend the availability of
supplemental SSBG funds that were appropriated for the recovery efforts
following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. These funds were extended for a
2-year period to allow additional time for affected States to make use
of these resources.
Additionally, the legislation is PAYGO compliant and will not add one
dime to the Federal deficit. The funding has already been allocated.
The bill simply makes the appropriation available for an additional
year.
The legislation, which passed the Senate in late September by
unanimous consent, is very similar to a bill
[[Page H7522]]
that was introduced in the House by Representative Pete Olson that has
bipartisan support. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting S.
3774.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman on the
other side very aptly summarized what this bill does so I will not
repeat that.
In my home State of Florida, according to State officials, more time
for this appropriation is absolutely vital but we're not alone. The
latest HHS data suggests another 15 States had unexpended funds. Just
like in Florida, residents of those States affected by the 2008 natural
disasters stand to benefit from the additional flexibility resulting
from this legislation.
Significantly, the Congressional Budget Office says that the bill
will not add to the deficit. It would simply change the timing for the
spending already approved of these funds. It is also important to note
that this same sort of flexibility had previously been granted for
recovery funds in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. So it makes
sense to provide similar treatment for funds provided in the wake of
the 2008 natural disasters, and I'm very pleased to support this
legislation that will accomplish that.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. I thank the distinguished gentleman, and
particularly, I thank the Ways and Means Committee, both the managers
on the floor today, Mr. McDermott and Ms. Brown-Waite, for their
leadership, and I thank the entire Texas delegation and as well my good
friend Mr. Olson, who I know will be appearing on the floor, for his
leadership, along with Mr. Cornyn.
We worked together. This is a bipartisan effort and I am glad to be
on the floor because we tried to do this on September 29, and I don't
think we made our story clear. This is not a Texas issue. In fact, this
issue impacts all of the disasters that occurred in 2008, and I would
like to, Mr. Speaker, simply call some of the names: The State of
Colorado, the State of Florida, Georgia, Illinois, the State of Iowa,
the State of Mississippi, the State of Missouri, the States of Nevada,
Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia, among the many that did not get a
chance to help the desperate.
And so I'd like to particularly thank today, in addition to the
members of the Texas delegation, Majority Leader Hoyer, who continued
to work with us and to ensure that we can move this as quickly as
possible; and his staff, Terry Lierman and Austin Burnes, who also
worked closely with my staff, Yohannes Tsehai and Shashrina Thomas, to
bring this to the floor along with my colleagues.
{time} 1910
Thousands of families who were victims of Hurricane Ike stopped
receiving SSBG funds September 30, 2010, because the legislatively
mandated deadline for these funds expired. We made and I made concerted
efforts with the Department of Health and Human Services, and I would
like to introduce into the Record a letter written by my office on
September 21, 2010, as well as a letter written back from the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, October 1, 2010, from which I read this
sentence: ``As soon as Congress restores the availability of Hurricane
Ike SSBG funding, we will work expeditiously to implement the
legislation and make the funds available to those doing the important
work of assisting victims rebuild their lives.''
There lies the story, Mr. Speaker. Rebuilding lives. For those of us
who walked the streets after Hurricane Ike and for the many Members of
Congress who walked the streets of their respective disasters, we know
what disasters are all about. Not bricks and mortar. Disasters are
about the human devastation that faces individuals, lost and lonely,
not knowing where to go.
Hurricane Ike was the third-costliest hurricane ever to make landfall
in the United States. Ike made its final landfall near Galveston,
Texas, a strong Category 2 hurricane with a Category 5 equivalent storm
surge. It devastated the island, but it also impacted Houston and my
congressional district. It was a huge hurricane, some 500 miles across,
making it nearly as big as Texas itself, and its hurricane-force winds
extended 120 miles from the center. It was blamed for at least 195
deaths overall, with substantial death and injury in Texas.
The hurricane also resulted in the largest evacuation of Texas in the
State's history. An estimated 100,000 homes were flooded in Texas,
numerous boats washed away, smashing and flooding homes, knocking out
windows, cutting electricity to an estimated 2.8 million to 4.5
million. Most of the people were devastated because the electricity
went out for almost 8 weeks. And they were individuals without the
ability to go to work and their jobs were cut off. So these dollars
will not be misused.
The important point of this legislation is, there is a PAYGO
provision in it. It will not spend more money. It will only have the
opportunity to use the dollars that are already there. For those of us
who have faced disaster, whether it is Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane
Rita, the floods in the Midwest, or the various tornadoes that occur
throughout our area, or the hurricanes that seem to come every year to
the gulf region, I can assure you that these dollars are coming none
too soon.
I want to thank the administration's Secretary Sebelius who has
indicated that they will move quickly. As this bill passes, we hope
that this will move quickly to the President's desk, the bill is
signed, and these moneys will come forward.
Let me acknowledge the groups that we have worked with: Angela
Blanchard of the Neighborhood Centers; Harold Fattig of Catholic
Charities; Mr. Raimer of the University of Texas Medical Branch; Mark
Minick of Lutheran Social Services; Kristi Allen, Bay Area Council;
Stephanie Carmona, Sunshine Center; United Way, Anna Babin; Kenna Bush,
United Way of Galveston; Carolyn Rose of the Gulf Coast Center; Joe
Compian, Gulf Coast Interfaith; Galveston County Food Bank, Mark Davis;
Cindy Schulz; and a very strong worker in Ruama Camp, who worked
throughout the area with people who could find no way themselves.
So this money will come and help those who are in need of these
dollars posthaste. It extends the deadline until September 30, 2011.
The bill does not appropriate new funds, as I indicated; and as you
well know, they've extended this in years past with Katrina and Rita.
It's a terrible shame to say that people who need help are those who
are costing us money. Today, Mr. Speaker, they're not costing us money.
We're helping those who are hardworking Americans. I'm delighted to be
able to support this legislation. I ask my colleagues to do it. Never
forget, we have a role of being a good Samaritan. If you were in need,
you would want help. I ask my colleagues to support this legislation.
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC, September 21, 2010.
Hon. Kathleen Sebelius,
Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services,
Washington, DC.
Dear Secretary Sebelius: In early 2009, in the aftermath of
Hurricane Ike, the State of Texas received $219 million in
recovery funds under the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG)
program from the Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS). As you know under federal law, if these grant funds
are not spent by September 30, 2010, these funds will be
permanently returned to the federal treasury.
Hurricane Ike has wreaked havoc on Texas, particularly in
Galveston and Houston. As we move forward with recovery
efforts, it is clear that the impact of this storm has been
widespread and many people are still in need of assistance.
Unfortunately, Texans are still in need of help, especially
the neglected residents of North Galveston. More than 60
Americans and over 26 Texans have died as a result of
Hurricane Ike. In addition, the hurricane has caused millions
of dollars in damage throughout Houston and Galveston. The
local agencies processing the people impacted by Hurricane
Ike for which these funds were utilized, received these funds
from the state and federal agencies six months late, and
therefore have not been able to complete the process of
serving the families impacted by Hurricane Ike. Losing these
funds on September 30, 2010 will result in the terrible
tragedy for the many people that are still suffering from the
effect of one of the most costliest hurricanes in our region.
Therefore, I am requesting an extension of an additional six
months from September 30, 2010, for social services agencies
throughout the State of Texas to utilize these grant funds.
[[Page H7523]]
Once again, I ask that you strongly consider extending the
deadline for the $219 million in recovery funds under SSBG
for an additional six months from September 30, 2010. I have
the support of my Congressional colleagues from Texas in my
efforts to ensure that Houston and Texas receive the funds we
so desperately need on the road to recovery. Thank you for
your consideration to this urgent matter.
Very truly yours,
Sheila Jackson Lee,
Member of Congress.
____
The Secretary of Health
and Human Services,
Washington, DC, October 1, 2010.
Hon. Sheila Jackson Lee,
House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
Dear Representative Jackson Lee: I write in response to
your letter of September 21, 2010, concerning the expiration
of Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) funds that Texas
received to assist in the recovery from Hurricane Ike. I
asked our General Counsel to review this issue further to see
if there were any possible avenues to extend the availability
of these funds. Unfortunately, the original statutory
language providing the funds does not give me the authority
to extend their availability.
Ike was one of the most devastating storms to ever hit the
Gulf Coast. The work of recovery has been arduous, and I
thank the individuals and organizations who have been helping
those who have suffered because of the hurricane. Their
efforts should be commended. We want to support them as much
as we can.
I recognize that the Senate has passed legislation making
these funds available for another fiscal year and that
Majority Leader Hoyer has affirmed plans for the House of
Representatives to consider the matter when Congress returns
in November. As soon as Congress restores the availability of
Hurricane Ike SSBG funding, we will work expeditiously to
implement the legislation and make the funds available to
those doing the important work of assisting victims rebuild
their lives.
I thank you for your leadership in helping these families
and organizations.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Sebelius.
I rise today in strong support of S. 3774, to extend the deadline for
Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) expenditures of supplemental funds
appropriated following the disasters that occurred in 2008,
particularly Hurricane Ike. I would like to thank all the Members and
their staffs who worked in a collaborative and bi-partisan manner to
bring this essential legislation to the House floor today. I would like
to especially thank Majority Leader Hoyer and Terry Lierman and Austin
Burnes of his staff, who worked closely with Yohannes Tsehai and
Shashrina Thomas of my staff, to bring this important legislation to
the House floor today.
Thousands of families who were victims of Hurricane Ike stopped
receiving SSBG funds on September 30, 2010, because the legislatively
mandated deadline for these funds expired. I made concerted efforts
with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to extend this
deadline administratively, but they determined that they needed
legislative authority to extend these funds. I would like to thank
Secretary Sebelius and the Department of Health and Human Services for
responding favorably to my request to expeditiously implement this
legislation as soon as it passes and make the funds available to those
organizations assisting victims on the road to recovery. I would also
like to thank HHS Regional Director Marge Petty who accepted my
invitation to come down to Houston and meet with the organizations in
Houston and Galveston who are assisting thousands of families with home
repairs and other unmet needs.
Some of the organizations who have been instrumental in these efforts
include Neighborhood Centers Inc., Catholic Charities, the United Way,
Gulf Coast Interfaith, and the University of Texas Medical Branch, to
name a few. Moreover, I think it is crucial that we are providing this
legislative authority today before the Thanksgiving holiday so that
these families can continue on their road to recovery from the
devastation of Hurricane Ike.
Hurricane Ike was the third costliest hurricane ever to make landfall
in the United States, behind Hurricane Andrew of 1992 and Hurricane
Katrina of 2005. Ike made its final landfall near Galveston, Texas as a
strong Category 2 hurricane, with a Category 5 equivalent storm surge.
Ike was a huge hurricane--some 500 miles across, making it nearly as
big as Texas itself, and its hurricane-force winds extended 120 miles
from the center.
Ike was blamed for at least 195 deaths overall, with substantial
death and injury in Texas. The hurricane also resulted in the largest
evacuation of Texans in this State's history; subsequently it became
the largest search and rescue operation in U.S. history. The effects of
Hurricane Ike in Texas have been crippling and long-lasting. An
estimated 100,000 homes were flooded in Texas, and numerous boats
washed ashore, smashing and flooding thousands of homes, knocking out
windows in Houston's skyscrapers, uprooting trees, and cutting
electricity to an estimated 2.8 million to 4.5 million customers for
weeks and months. Galveston was declared uninhabitable, and Houston
imposed a week-long nighttime curfew due to limited electric power.
When Hurricane Ike devastated Texas in September 2008, I immediately
began to work with the Members of the Texas Congressional delegation to
ensure Texas was appropriated recovery funds it so desperately needed.
In early 2009, the State of Texas received part of these recovery
funds, almost $219 million under the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG)
program from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Although more than $174 million of this have been drawn down, there
remains over $44 million to Texas that cannot be utilized without
today's extension. Furthermore, of the total $600 million in SSBG
funding appropriated in 2009, there also remains more than $152 million
for 14 States that can be used with the passage of S. 3774.
What has now taken place until today's legislation passes is that
SSBG funds which were not utilized by September 30, 2010, were made
permanently unavailable for the thousands of Hurricane Ike victims who
have been waiting for the completion of social services and their homes
to be restored. It would be devastating to Hurricane Ike victims to
lose these funds, especially when many of their homes are in the middle
of repairs. Furthermore, the numerous local agencies assisting and
processing the cases of families impacted by Hurricane Ike, received
these funds from the state and federal agencies many months late due to
administrative delays. These delays have caused the agencies to not be
able to complete the process of serving everyone impacted by Hurricane
Ike since they did not get the benefit of the two years that Congress
had intended.
The effects of Hurricane Ike on Texas were drastic and far reaching,
affecting hundreds of thousands of people. According to FEMA, within
the first week following the disaster, nearly 438,000 individuals or
families had registered for individual assistance. By the end of the
registration period in February 2009, a total of 734,000 Texans had
registered with FEMA for individual assistance. Hurricane Ike destroyed
17,000 homes in Harris County alone.
Due to the lapse in the reimbursement of SSBG funds, many victims are
unable to access services critical to their recovery such as unfinished
home repairs, unmet needs, mental and physical healthcare, employment
services, transportation and legal services. All of these issues are
currently being aggravated until these funds to these victims' resumes.
Once this extension is granted, not only will these families resume
services, this extension will not require any additional funding.
According to the Congressional Budget Office who have scored this
legislation, this bill will not have a budget authority (BA) effect,
but rather only an outlay effect on the timing of payments. Finally,
there is also recent precedence for extending these types of disaster
funds. Congress routinely extended the deadline for similar funds given
to Hurricane Katrina and Rita victims.
Once this legislation passes, I will continue to work with the
Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that funding for
social services agencies throughout the State of Texas is provided as
expeditiously as possible so that the victims of Hurricane Ike receive
the assistance they so desperately need on their road to recovery.
I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this essential
legislation.
Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson) who was forward-thinking enough to
introduce this legislation to begin with.
Mr. OLSON. I thank my colleague from Florida.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Senate bill 3774. I
introduced companion legislation, H.R. 5790, which would do the same
thing as this good bill. Two years ago, Hurricane Ike tore through the
Gulf of Mexico and made landfall in Galveston, Texas. It was the
largest hurricane ever, ever to make landfall in the United States. Ike
slammed into Galveston as a Category 2 hurricane but with a storm surge
equivalent to that of a Category 4 storm, causing damages estimated at
$18 billion. Over 200 people lost their lives.
Two years later, what Ike destroyed in 12 hours continues to be
rebuilt. In response to the storm, an emergency appropriations bill was
passed for the purpose of assisting the victims of Ike. The funding
came with a deadline that the State of Texas and the local communities
now need extended. This is
[[Page H7524]]
not without precedent. A similar extension was granted for victims of
Hurricane Katrina.
In the process of recovering from Ike, please consider that Catholic
Charities reports that there are over 3,500 families in Galveston who
are in the process of getting their homes repaired or replaced who
still need rent assistance. The Gulf Coast Center in Galveston and
Brazoria Counties is working with 19 agencies to provide mental health
support and counseling to 3,000 clients each month who are still
suffering from the impact of Hurricane Ike on their lives. The
University of Texas Medical Branch reports that they are providing food
assistance, medical care, and case management to 20,000 households each
month. This will end without an extension.
In the words of one leader at the United Way, ``We are not asking to
access more funding, only to finish what we started.'' Do I wish this
extension was not needed? Of course. We all do. But it is needed, and I
ask that this Chamber join me in doing what is right and fair for a
community that lost so much 2 years ago. I urge my colleagues to vote
for Senate bill 3774, so the people of southeast Texas can finally put
Hurricane Ike in their past.
Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S.
3774, which would extend the deadline for Social Services Block Grant
expenditures of supplemental funds appropriated following disasters
occurring in 2008.
The FY2009 Supplemental Appropriation included funding for disasters
that occurred in 2008. This included $600 million in Social Services
Block Grant (SSBG) funding eligible to be used for a wide variety of
social services to assist in disaster recovery.
In the wake of Hurricane Ike, a total of 734,000 Texans had
registered with FEMA for individual assistance and 17,000 homes in
Harris County were destroyed.
Due to the magnitude of Ike, the State of Texas received $219 million
in recovery funds under the Social Services Block Grant program from
the Department of Health and Human Services.
Under federal law, these SSBG funds must be spent by September 30,
2010. Any money not spent by that time must be returned to the federal
Treasury. Texas currently has $44 million in funding that will revert
back to the federal government.
Many entities and local governments in Texas have expressed
difficulty in meeting the September 30, 2010 deadline and are
requesting a one year extension to September 30, 2011.
Although there have been significant successes through the recovery
process, significant needs remain. In the Greater Houston area, more
than 2,500 families in case management still cite needs in the area of
home repair and/or unmet needs.
It is important to note that Texas is not the only state that would
lose access to these funds--16 other states have remaining funds and an
extension would assist those states as well.
A similar extension was granted by Congress for Hurricane Katrina
SSBG disaster recovery funds. It is also important to note that this
bill involves no new spending. The SSBG grant funds were released and
dispersed to the states over a year ago. This bill will only give those
who need it, extra time to expend these needed funds as they continue
to recover from Hurricane Ike.
Senator Cornyn's legislation, S. 3774, passed out of the Senate on a
unanimous consent. It would extend the deadline for Social Services
Block Grant expenditures of supplemental funds appropriated following
disasters occurring in 2008 for one year from September 30, 2010 to
September 30, 2011.
Before the House recessed on September 29 we tried to bring up this
legislation, but it came over from the Senate very late and we were
unable to come to an agreement to bring up the legislation.
I urge my colleagues to support this legislation to allow the states
impacted by disasters that occurred in 2008.
Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I have no further
requests for time. And with that, I would ask for support of this bill,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this bill, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, S. 3774.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the
yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
____________________