[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 38 (Monday, March 14, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1578-S1579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            JAPAN EARTHQUAKE

  Ms. LANDRIEU. What I really wish to talk about is to give my 
heartfelt condolences to the people of Japan. We have watched all 
weekend, my family and I, in horror, watching the scene unfold with the 
terrible catastrophe that struck Japan on Friday afternoon, following 
the earthquake, 9.0 on the Richter scale, followed by a terrible 
tsunami, a wave of water in some places 30 feet high that devastated 
coastal communities. Some of the pictures are reminiscent of what 
happened to us on the gulf coast about 5\1/2\ years ago when a 30-foot 
wave came ashore right into Gulfport and Biloxi and the catastrophe of 
manmade proportion, in our case, when the Federal levy system broke and 
1,800 people lost their lives. But this situation in Japan is the worst 
crisis, according to their Prime Minister, since the Second World War.
  It is going to take all of our best efforts, governments around the 
world, individuals, corporations, and businesses, to be generous. I 
hope the people of Louisiana and our cities and communities will be 
generous because we were so benefited by the warm generosity of the 
people of Japan and many volunteers who came from all over the country 
and the world.
  I hope, as this week of search and rescue comes to a close, there 
will be time for debris cleanup and rebuilding and mental health 
counseling--all of the things that go into helping an area of the 
country survive and grow back. I know the people of Japan were as 
prepared as any country could be for a situation such as this, but the 
events of that day have overwhelmed one of the best and most organized 
governments in the world.
  I am heartbroken to hear that thousands of people are yet unaccounted 
for. Our hearts go out to them. I hope our Nation will be generous in 
this time, not only from a charitable and

[[Page S1579]]

moral standpoint, but Japan is one of the strongest economies in the 
world.
  From the State I represent, Louisiana, we are their second largest 
trading partner as a State. The people of Louisiana and all of our 
States have a vested interest in Japan getting back on its feet, 
getting better and stronger. We are still in the process of rebuilding 
New Orleans and the Lower Ninth Ward. New Orleans East, Gulfport, and 
Waveland are still struggling to come back--an important economic 
center for the country. But most certainly this coastal and industrial 
community around Sendai and other coastal communities are very 
important, not just to Japan but to the world.
  I hope, with this 9.0 earthquake that hit, I hope people know this is 
1,000 times worse than an 8 point on the Richter scale. It is not 
slightly worse; it is 1,000 times worse. This is a huge earthquake and 
shift in the Earth's plates--and then the subsequent tsunami.
  On behalf of the people of Louisiana, we send special condolences and 
best wishes to the people of Japan as they recover and bury their dead, 
heal their injured, and begin to rebuild their cities and communities 
stronger than they were before. I hope we will all be as generous as we 
can.
  One final point. This is a wake-up call to our country. As chairman 
of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, this is a 
wake-up call because we have not funded adequately our disaster 
response fund, the DRF. We are actually about $1.6 billion below where 
we should be. This is not a wise policy given what happened over the 
weekend. Catastrophes can strike without warning at any time. If we 
leave just the amount of money that is in the DRF and something like 
Katrina or this event were to happen, that money would be used up in 3 
days. We have not replenished that fund.
  I have called on the President to send a supplemental emergency bill. 
We can't pay for current disasters out of future preparedness money. 
That is what the continuing resolution in the House basically does. I 
strongly object to taking money we have set aside in the event that 
catastrophes happen to pay for past disasters. That is another reason I 
voted against the House concurrent resolution.
  Now with the visual of this horrific tragedy unfolding in Japan, with 
the tsunami, the destruction of the cities, the two nuclear powerplants 
under extraordinary pressure, it does no good to take money out of 
paying for current disasters, paying for the past damage.
  I have sent a letter to the President asking him to send up an 
emergency bill. It would be wise for us to pay for past emergencies 
off-budget and then to use our homeland security bill to budget as 
effectively and as appropriately as we can for disasters that may 
occur.
  I am proud to say that the Democratic leadership has doubled the 
amount of money we are setting aside in case these things happen. It 
used to be only $800 million a year. Now we are budgeting close to 1.8 
or 1.9, thinking that in the event that something happens, we want to 
be prepared.
  In 48 States, disasters have been declared in the last 2 years, not 
just along the gulf coast. We have had flooding up in the Northeast. We 
have had flooding in the Midwest. We could potentially have--we had 
some flooding this weekend. I am not sure how widespread it was, but in 
New Jersey, there were scenes throughout the weekend about rivers 
overflowing as the spring approaches.

  So let us, as we mourn for Japan and are in solidarity with them 
through this crisis, use this as a reminder to get our business 
straight, to get our budget straight and not mess around with our 
disaster relief fund. Let's pay for past disasters we owe the 
communities--we have pledged to help them rebuild--and set aside the 
appropriate money in the regular budget to take care of things that 
might happen this year as we advance.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to proceed in 
morning business for 20 minutes instead of 10.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. McCAIN. And, Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that after my 
opening statement, my colleague from Connecticut be allowed to give his 
statement, and then I ask unanimous consent that the Senator from 
Connecticut and I be allowed to engage in a colloquy. And I understand 
the Senator from Connecticut may be using his 10 minutes. Is that 
correct?
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. McCAIN. Thank you, Mr. President.

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