[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 2, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E389]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING THE AMERICAN RED CROSS NORTHWEST CHAPTER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 2, 2019

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today along with my colleague, 
Representative Mike Thompson, to recognize the important role of the 
American Red Cross Northwest Chapter which contributed to the 2019 
presidential declaration of March as Red Cross Month.
  Since its founding in 1881, the American Red Cross has become one of 
the nation's largest humanitarian organizations, providing disaster 
relief, emergency volunteer training, and support to military families 
across the country. Each year the Red Cross responds to an average of 
62,000 disasters across the country, operating emergency shelters, 
serving meals and distributing relief materials to millions of disaster 
victims. These efforts are largely completed by a resilient network of 
volunteers that the organization has trained throughout the country, 
who are estimated to respond to an emergency once every eight minutes. 
This scale of service and rate of response is truly unmatched by other 
humanitarian efforts nationwide.
  In the last few years, my colleague and I have both witnessed the 
importance of the American Red Cross Northwest Chapter in a time of 
crisis. During the 2017 and 2018 wildfires, the Northwest Chapter 
operated shelters, collected and distributed relief materials, and 
provided emotional and mental health support of fire victims throughout 
Northern California. In fact, the Northwest Chapter of the American Red 
Cross assisted 330 families with 123 local disasters and assisted 98 
military families with emergency assistance this past year alone. And 
as recently as last month, the Red Cross was engaged in flood relief 
efforts in parts of my district that were severely impacted by rain and 
flooding caused by atmospheric rivers.
  Since President Franklin D. Roosevelt first declared March as Red 
Cross Month in 1943, we have come together at this time, each year, to 
celebrate the accomplishments of the organization and raise awareness 
of its value to the American people. And as natural disasters continue 
to rise with each coming year, the humanitarian efforts of the American 
Red Cross and its many volunteers become that much more important.
  Madam Speaker, the American Red Cross performs a critical 
humanitarian role throughout our country. The success of their efforts 
is largely connected to the organization's ability to recruit and train 
volunteers who can be called to action in their local communities. The 
American Red Cross Northwest Chapter has provided invaluable assistance 
to our congressional districts in time of highest need. Therefore, 
please join my colleague and I in thanking them and in helping to raise 
awareness for the American Red Cross by supporting the annual 
declaration.

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