[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 4 (Thursday, January 7, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H153]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     MOMENT OF SILENCE TO MOURN THE 11 LIVES LOST IN MISSISSIPPI'S 
                        DISASTROUS WINTER STORM

  (Mr. KELLY of Mississippi asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KELLY of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I am joined today by 
Congressmen Thompson, Harper, and Palazzo, all from Mississippi.
  We rise to mourn the 11 lives that were lost in Mississippi due to 
severe weather over the Christmas holiday. We had 11 deaths and 57 
injuries reported in Benton, Coahoma, Marshall, and Tippah Counties, 
which are two of our four districts.
  On Governor Bryant's request, President Obama issued a major disaster 
declaration for the State of Mississippi. The Presidential disaster 
declaration makes Federal assistance available to eligible individuals 
and business owners in designated areas.
  As I visited the impacted areas, I was saddened by the amount of 
destruction, of the loss of property, and, most importantly, of the 
loss of life; but I was uplifted by neighbors helping neighbors, by 
friends helping friends, and by strangers helping strangers. That is 
the strength of Mississippi: The people who come together to help each 
other in times of need.
  I cannot begin to imagine the sense of loss felt by the families who 
were affected. We ask our colleagues to join us in continuing to lift 
them up in prayer.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask for a moment of silence.

                          ____________________