[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 61 (Tuesday, April 9, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H3187-H3193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CALLING FOR VOTE ON DISASTER FUNDING

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Torres Small of New Mexico). Under the 
Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2019, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Dunn) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the 
minority leader.
  Mr. DUNN. Madam Speaker, today, I join my colleagues in calling for 
an immediate vote on disaster funding.
  In 2018 and so far in 2019, we have witnessed devastating disasters 
with hurricanes hitting Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and the Carolinas; 
wildfires in California; flooding in the Midwest; an earthquake in 
Alaska; and several other widespread weather events that have harmed 
communities across our country and our territories.
  The people in our districts and States need our help, and it is our 
duty to fight for them.
  I thank my colleagues for joining me today, and I yield to the 
gentlewoman from Alabama (Mrs. Roby), whose district adjoins my 
district.
  Mrs. ROBY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for 
leading this very important conversation here tonight, and I thank all 
my colleagues from our neighboring States and across this country for 
keeping this issue in the forefront of the American people's minds.
  Over the last several months, Americans in many corners of this 
country have experienced a devastating loss of life, property, and 
livelihood because of wildfires, flooding, and severe storms. I am here 
tonight to express my strong support for the many Alabamians, both in 
the Second District and in neighboring Lee County, who have been badly 
impacted by severe weather.
  Last October, areas of the Wiregrass region in Alabama's Second 
Congressional District were ravaged when Hurricane Michael made 
landfall. Barbour, Dale, Henry, Geneva, and Houston Counties were the 
most severely impacted.
  Throughout the Southeast, people lost their loved ones and their 
homes, and our farmers were dealt a devastating blow during the middle 
of harvest.

                              {time}  1730

  This unprecedented disaster resulted in a tremendous economic setback 
for our agriculture community and our State. Last month, our neighbors 
in Lee County faced extreme devastation when tornadoes touched down. 
Many were killed, and many homes were lost and destroyed.
  Madam Speaker, we are here tonight because these people need help. 
Here in Congress, it is our responsibility to make disaster recovery 
funds available now. I implore my colleagues on both sides of the aisle 
to stop playing political games with disaster funding. By politicizing 
this humanitarian issue, we are playing politics with people's lives.
  We must immediately advance commonsense, nonpartisan disaster 
assistance for the people who have been hit hardest and are struggling 
to recover. I am hopeful that alongside my colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle that a solution will be reached soon. Many Alabamians--many 
Americans--are depending on it.
  Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida for leading this 
discussion.
  Mr. DUNN. Madam Speaker, I wish to express my gratitude to Martha 
Roby for her speech and for her sentiments on her people in Alabama.
  Next, Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. 
Austin Scott), who is my good friend and who has been one of the 
champions for the disaster supplemental. He has worked tirelessly for 
the last 7 months to advance this effort.
  Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my 
colleague, Mr. Dunn, for leading this effort. I know his district was 
hit probably harder than any other district in the United States.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today alongside many of my fellow colleagues to 
again stress the hardships many of our fellow Americans faced following 
these devastating natural disasters of 2018.
  On October 10, 2018, Hurricane Michael entered my home State of 
Georgia as a Category 3 storm. With it, we saw widespread damage from 
dangerous winds, flooding, and torrential rains. Hurricane Michael 
traced a path of destruction through south and middle Georgia, 
straddling both mine and Congressman Sanford Bishop's districts.
  Our districts are largely rural areas that have also been hit hard by 
tornadoes and flooding in recent years. These areas are key to the 
State's agriculture sector, which is Georgia's number one industry.
  Madam Speaker, the American farmer is the backbone of agriculture, 
and agriculture is Georgia's number one industry.
  Fearing the worst of this storm, many farmers began harvesting what 
they could as Hurricane Michael crept closer and closer to Georgia. It 
was the best yield we had seen in years for what was gathered before 
the storm hit. After years of low commodity prices, unfair trade 
practices, labor shortages, and consecutive years of devastating 
storms, we needed it. Once Hurricane Michael hit, it was all gone. Not 
only did we lose billions of dollars in commodity crops, like cotton 
and peanuts, but we also lost orchards and forests that will take 
decades to regrow.
  Since the day after the storm, I have worked side by side with my 
friend and colleague, Congressman Bishop, in an effort to bring our 
communities impacted by Hurricane Michael tools they need to recover 
and rebuild. At every turn, we have worked together to bring attention 
to the crisis and to bring relief to these farmers alongside our other 
colleagues who have been impacted.
  The President and Vice President personally came down and promised 
help. I was there. For months, we have stressed the magnitude of the 
damage to our colleagues, and for months we were promised this was a 
priority for the White House and congressional leadership from both 
sides of the aisle.
  ``Any bill to fund the Government has disaster relief.'' I don't know 
how many times I have heard it. I can't name all the people I have 
heard it from. As we stand here today 6 months later, these can only be 
called empty promises.
  Never before have we seen American communities that were wrecked with 
catastrophes neglected like this. To this day, OMB has not even 
submitted a request for disaster assistance, calls to White House staff 
have gone unheeded, and but for one tweet on April 1, it seems the 
President has moved on.
  For months I have received calls from farmers and the lenders they 
rely on that the financial impacts from Hurricane Michael were becoming 
increasingly more difficult to bear. Then last week, the Senate showed 
how truly ugly and partisan politics have become, voting down a measure 
that would have brought billions in Federal relief that communities in 
my home State of Georgia and around the country desperately need to get 
back on their feet again, money to restore infrastructure and restore 
services, as well as farm aid.
  Certainly, no one would have stood in the way of disaster relief for 
States like Vermont or New York. Rural Americans, we have been 
forgotten. We were forgotten again last week in the Senate's failure to 
pass disaster assistance.
  Rural Americans are Americans, too, whether the press likes it or 
not, and whether certain Members of the Senate like it or not. They 
need our help to rebuild. If the Senate cannot pass a bill to provide 
this Federal disaster assistance, the bottom line is farm bankruptcies 
will continue, and I fear that the community banks and businesses that 
support the farm sector will too.
  The truth is if Hurricane Michael had hit Americans who aren't 
farmers or farmers who aren't Americans, the stories of Washington's 
apathy to get things done would be the front page of every paper.

[[Page H3188]]

  Mr. Speaker, the American farmers work day in and day out to feed and 
clothe America and the world. I urge the White House and the Congress 
to reverse their course of abandoning our farmers and keep the promises 
that were made to them.
  Mr. DUNN. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend, Austin Scott, for 
his words. He has truly been at the forefront on the fight for this 
disaster supplemental since day one.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Omaha, Nebraska, (Mr. 
Bacon). General Don Bacon is my good friend and classmate.
  Mr. BACON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to advocate in support of a 
disaster assistance package for recent floods, storms, fires, and 
others. Last month, my district and home State of Nebraska was hit by 
devastating flooding, destroying more than 2,000 homes, 340 businesses, 
and taking several lives, making it the worst natural disaster to hit 
the State in our 152-year history.
  Many families and communities in my district have been severely 
impacted. For several days in March, the only way in and out of Valley 
and Waterloo, two towns in our district, was either by boat or 
helicopter. Next door to our district, one-third of Offutt Air Force 
Base was under water to include 60 structures.
  The economic impact has also been severe and will hurt the State of 
Nebraska for years to come. Current estimates reveal that the cost of 
the damage will surpass $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion. This includes 
$449 million in damaged roads, levees, and other infrastructure.
  Currently, 200 miles of Nebraska roads are in need of repair. What 
once was a short drive of minutes, in some cases may take hours, 
disrupting everyday commerce and travel.
  The Nebraska Department of Agriculture estimates that the March 
floods will have $400 million in losses for livestock, $36 million in 
livestock feed loss, and $440 million worth of potential crop loss from 
delayed and prevented planting. Nebraskans are a strong and resilient 
people, but they need to know that we are with them and will help them 
through these difficult times.
  While Nebraska has been experiencing these horrible floods, I take 
solace in our first responders and National Guard. I cannot thank these 
brave men and women enough for helping so many in our community. In 
many small communities across Nebraska, first responders are only 
volunteer, often rushing out to help others while their own homes were 
in peril. These heroes selflessly saved countless lives and property.
  I want to give a shout-out to the Waterloo Fire Department 
volunteers; they rescued nearly 200 people as volunteers over the 
course of a week. I think of the Salvation Army leader who ran the 
collection center, working countless hours while his own home was 
underwater.
  In these trying times, I urge my colleagues to put politics aside and 
come together to help Nebraskans and other Americans hurting from these 
natural disasters that have occurred over the past year. We are 
Nebraska strong. We do need that Federal support.
  Mr. DUNN. Madam Speaker, I thank General Bacon for his words.
  Madam Speaker, from Nebraska we have a true leader of the House and a 
good friend.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. 
Fortenberry).
  Mr. FORTENBERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank Dr. Dunn for hosting this 
very important discussion. As we have visited on several different 
occasions, I want to publicly commend the gentleman for his dedication 
for fighting for the right thing to do, for his deep compassion for the 
people he represents and the tireless effort that he is making to 
explain the consequences of Hurricane Michael as it hit him, the floods 
that have hit us, and the wildfires that have hit others. I thank the 
gentleman so much for the time and for his leadership.
  Madam Speaker, when spring approaches in Nebraska, we expect our 
rivers and streams to peacefully rise as snow from the nearby Rockies 
gently melts. We are the Cornhusker State, but we actually could be 
called the River State. Here is why: We have more miles of rivers than 
any other State in the Union. The Missouri, the Platte, the Republican, 
the Elkhorn, and the Niobrara are our most famous rivers, but we really 
don't think of them as threatening--until they are.
  So as General Bacon just said, this was the most destructive storm in 
most Nebraskans' lifetimes. A perfect storm of factors caused the pain 
and destruction now all around us. Lands that were soaked from earlier 
autumn rains were frozen solid and then covered in snow. When the bomb 
cyclone's lethal mix of blizzard and rain did hit our State, an 
enormous quantity of water, ice, and collected topsoil sped down the 
hard land like a furious slurry, into rivers, creeks, and reservoirs 
bursting through dams, levees, and other structures that normally would 
hold this back.
  Madam Speaker, it is pretty hard to get the mind around what a 500-
year event actually means. But as I was standing at the ridge on Offutt 
Air Force Base, which is located right south of Omaha near the 
confluence of the Platte and Missouri Rivers, I could see how the 
unprecedented force of water covered one-third of that entire base and 
many communities in eastern Nebraska. As the rushing water hit the bank 
on the other side of the river, on the Iowa side, it blew it out and 
created a 62-foot deep hole.
  As a member of the Appropriations Committee here in Congress, I 
turned to the commander of the Corps of Engineers who was with me.
  I looked at him, and I said: What is the number?
  He immediately shot back without hesitation and said: It is going to 
be a lot.
  Now, a little bit down the road to the west is the town of Fremont. 
Mayor Scotty Getzschman is a dedicated local public servant who is in 
the heating and air-conditioning business as his main job. He brought 
out a 1940 map of the old river channel of the Platte River. The 
problem for this town of Fremont began when the river got a bit 
nostalgic and sought to go back to its old ways. In a place now named 
ground zero near the Rod and Gun Club west of town, massive chunks of 
ice and the pressure of the Platte blew the levee. Water began to find 
its own channels in multiple breaches, and the southern part of the 
town of Fremont endured serious flooding.
  We surveyed the damage from a freshly patched hole made from remnants 
of an old hog confinement lot and riprap from the old Scribner Air 
Base.
  An initial call for help in the community brought 250 people out. 
Shortly thereafter, 1,000 people showed up to sandbag. One man moved 
his car to higher ground because he could see what was coming, but then 
it was later swept away by the raging river, and he spent the next few 
days at the intersection directing traffic as a volunteer.
  Madam Speaker, a bit west of the town of Fremont is the small town of 
North Bend, and that is where a ditch dike could not contain itself and 
made its own channel, creating fingers of water flowing throughout the 
city, and the vast majority of homes in this small community were hit. 
The paved streets looked like mud streets by the time I got there, but 
even with 6 inches of water inside of it, the North Bend Eagle, the 
local newspaper, figured out a way to get that edition out.
  Realizing that he was in a critical spot, the North Bend school 
superintendent transformed the entire school, really one of the newer 
buildings, into a center of gravity for emergency operations. Though 
school was canceled, it didn't mean the kids weren't busy. Initially 
they sandbagged, then they began to volunteer for days on end with the 
cleanup effort.
  The people of North Bend organized themselves, and word spread. Goods 
poured in from all over the country. And as the superintendent told me, 
he said that what was happening there could make a good country song, 
they would have so much more appreciation for Nebraska.
  Areas south of the town of Columbus, a little bit further to the west 
also were particularly hard hit with very large and mounting ag losses, 
the most visible sign of which were dead cattle. In fact, this past 
Saturday I went to a high school fundraiser in Columbus, and along 
Highway 81 the speed signs were still bent over with grass attached to 
them showing the magnitude and the volume of water that rushed over 
that area.

[[Page H3189]]

  There is a truck stop there named T-Bone, Madam Speaker. It greets 
passersby with two enormous cowboy boots on poles embedded in concrete. 
One was found 300 yards away at Matulka's garage. The other one was 
across the highway about a half mile away. They will probably be put 
back up to greet passersby once again. By the time I got there, the 4 
feet of mud and water had receded, and a lot had been cleaned up.
  I looked at Fred, and I said: How did this happen?
  He said:

       At T-Bone's, we don't mess around. We are Nebraskans. We 
     get it done.

  On a more positive note, Madam Speaker, a Federal project initiated 
after the last flood of 2011 saved the little town of Schuyler, 
Nebraska, and a couple of other things positively have happened. 
Nebraska's congressional delegation asked for expedited federal 
disaster assistance, and the President granted it.

                              {time}  1745

  Even in the midst of this trauma, Nebraskans found a way to get a few 
laughs. Along the fence across from that truck stop of T-Bone's, there 
was a hand-painted sign that said, ``Mud Wrestling Tomorrow.''
  Back at Offutt Air Force Base, it is a pretty jarring scene when you 
see a large fuel tank lifted up and turned on its side. It shows you 
the powerful force of this water.
  As many of the Members of Congress who have experienced this have had 
the same outpouring of support from family and friends around the 
country, I want to tell you just a quick few things that happened to 
me.
  A nun from Rome wrote to me and offered her prayers. A Congressman 
from another area of the country texted me and said: ``I'll send my 
staff. Whatever you need.'' The Jordanian Ambassador to the United 
States contacted me with her concerns.
  Madam Speaker, as you and I have seen firsthand, a natural disaster 
can create certain blessings in disguise. It is a time when we can come 
together and put aside any political differences and lend a helping 
hand to our fellow citizens.
  I think that is exactly what America wants Congress to do right now: 
put our differences aside, find consensus, quickly pass a supplemental 
to simply help my constituents and the others who have been so 
devastated by these unpredictable, unforeseen events. Many have waited 
and waited, and I think this is the time.
  Mr. DUNN. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Fortenberry for his 
compelling description of the damages that were suffered in Nebraska 
and also of the response of those brave people.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Riggleman). Representative Denver Riggleman is my good friend and one 
of the most outstanding members of the new class here in Congress.
  Mr. RIGGLEMAN. Madam Speaker, to my colleagues, I rise in support of 
them and the incredible work they have done for disaster relief, and I 
also rise today to speak about my district, the Fifth District of 
Virginia, which borders North Carolina, which was devastated last year 
by two hurricanes, first Florence and then Michael. The damage was 
immense, and the impact on families was tragic, including the loss of 
lives.
  This is not an issue I take lightly. In fact, I pledged to make a 
donation to Drakes Branch Volunteer Fire Department in Charlotte 
County, which was an area the hurricanes hit particularly hard, 
actually, with the collapse of the volunteer fire station back into the 
river--and the fact is they had nowhere to actually do fire emergency 
work.
  Applications for FEMA aid were filed in Charlotte County, Danville 
City, Franklin County, Halifax County, Lunenburg County, Mecklenburg 
County, and Prince Edward County. And many additional counties in my 
district were affected by these hurricanes.
  Unfortunately, the effects were not limited to my district, and the 
lasting damage done by these storms lingers in these communities today. 
Yes, they are rebuilding and recovering, but we cannot ignore the 
opportunity to prevent this from happening again.
  There are other things we can do not only with disaster relief and 
supplementals, but also working on issues like I am in the Financial 
Services Committee by addressing issues in the National Flood Insurance 
Program.
  The NFIP is a necessary Federal backstop for flood insurance, but 
substantially increasing private participation will help Americans 
better prepare for potential future flood emergencies.
  I would also like to take this time to commend the great work done by 
so many emergency responders and volunteers who helped the communities 
of the Fifth District and throughout the other States and in my 
colleagues' districts, helped them dig out and move forward after these 
hurricanes.
  I have visited with many of these brave men and women who put 
themselves at risk to help their communities. I commend the strong 
folks who make up all of these communities, linked not only by 
hurricanes but by their ability to move on with great resilience.
  Mr. DUNN. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Riggleman for his 
words, and I know that his constituents are fortunate to have a man of 
his rare abilities serving them at all times.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. 
Johnson). Representative Dusty Johnson is another outstanding member of 
the freshman class.
  Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Madam Speaker, I am honored to be a part 
of this Special Order tonight.
  I want to highlight the dire situation in my home State of South 
Dakota. Our State is just barely beginning to recover from dramatic 
flooding while, simultaneously, we are trying to prepare for the 
disaster to get worse as a blizzard this week will dump freezing rain 
and more than a foot of snow onto already saturated ground.
  Now, I have heard colleagues talk about similar and, in some cases, 
even more dramatic damage to their homes, and we have seen, in their 
States and in mine, commerce interrupted; we have seen livelihoods 
devastated; we have seen cattle killed; and, worse yet, we have seen 
human life lost.
  Now, within South Dakota, there have been many impacted communities, 
although perhaps none more dramatically than Indian Country. When I 
have talked to President Bear Runner, Pine Ridge; President Bordeaux, 
Rosebud; or Chairman Frazier from Cheyenne River, their texts, their 
phone calls, our face-to-face meetings, they are heavy with the 
frustration and the exhaustion, the irritation, the concern about what 
is going on for their people. Madam Speaker, put more appropriately, 
they are concerned for what is going on with our people.
  Right before I walked onto the floor here, I came from a meeting with 
Chairman Harold Frazier, and he had picture after picture after 
picture, Madam Speaker, of the devastation there at Cheyenne River: 
cemeteries under water, roads under water, cattle under water, cars 
under water.
  I know South Dakota is not the only community that is impacted. Many 
of us need a helping hand. Many of the people in our States are too 
proud to ask for a helping hand, but tonight I would just ask my 
colleagues in this body and my colleagues in the Senate to do 
everything they can to put politics aside and to pass a disaster relief 
bill that can do much-needed work for our country.
  Mr. DUNN. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Johnson for his 
description, his words, and also for his granular knowledge of his 
district. I know that that is a benefit to everybody there.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Rutherford). Sheriff   John Rutherford is my good friend whose district 
of Jacksonville, Florida, abuts mine on the east side.
  Mr. RUTHERFORD. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding 
and giving me the opportunity to speak about this very important topic 
impacting our State and our constituents.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today to strongly urge House and, particularly, 
Senate leadership to stop turning their backs on hurricane survivors in 
my home State of Florida and pass a disaster supplemental bill before 
Congress leaves for the next 2 weeks.
  Last October, Hurricane Michael ravaged our State, hitting the 
panhandle with speeds of up to 155 miles an hour and killing 49 people. 
Six months later--6 months later--families, farmers, and businesses are 
still waiting for the assistance that they deserve.

[[Page H3190]]

  Families lost homes, precious belongings, things that can never be 
replaced.
  Florida's timber industry was decimated. The total timber damage is 
an estimated 2.8 million acres of timber that is now lying rotting on 
the ground--2.8 million acres.
  This is, unquestionably, one of the worst storms to hit Florida in 
our long history.
  But not only are Florida agriculture and other industries desperately 
awaiting our help, our national security is also being impacted. 
Tyndall Air Force Base, one of the Nation's premier military 
installations, was completely demolished by this storm.
  Since Congress has not passed emergency funding, the Air Force has 
been forced to move money from other accounts to help pay for the 
recovery. The Air Force is now facing even tougher choices, like 
limiting flying time and construction projects from other 
installations.
  Madam Speaker, this is simply unacceptable. Maybe if the Senate 
Democrats would spend less time focused on running for President and 
more time doing the job that they were elected to do, folks back home 
would already have the disaster relief that they are due.
  I voted, along with my House colleagues, to pass a supplemental back 
in December. In December, we passed that. The Senate Democrats have 
just obstructed that effort.
  Entire small communities that were wiped away still have no 
assistance coming from the Federal Government. I hope the hardworking 
taxpayers of Florida remember this lack of concern when they go to the 
polls in 2020.
  Our Senate is broken by a 60-vote cloture rule that has to be 
removed, and I hope the folks back home will remember this in November 
of 2020.
  Mr. DUNN. Madam Speaker, I thank Sheriff Rutherford for his words. He 
has been a stalwart ally and a great friend ever since we arrived here 
on day one. He is a true friend to all of Florida.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
LaMalfa), one of the true leaders of our Conference.
  Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Dunn 
from Florida, for leading us in this Special Order tonight and 
providing this opportunity to talk about a very important aspect of our 
job together as it affects our different regions and our States across 
the country.
  This is an important opportunity to highlight, in my own district, 
our critical need for disaster funding in California, as well as the 
success stories we have had in the past, but, also, the needs of my 
colleagues in the Southern States and now, unfortunately, too, in the 
Midwest, my colleagues from Nebraska.
  Unfortunately, it appears that we will head into a 2-week recess now 
without the Senate doing their half of the job in this Congress and 
sending a relief package to the House that is so desperately needed--a 
real shame.
  This comes after the Senate Democrats rejected the latest attempts by 
Republicans to reach a compromise. It highlights one common trend I 
have seen so far in this Congress that Democrats are not interested in 
good faith negotiations with Republicans. They say all or nothing; take 
it or leave it.
  We have got two different Houses. One has a majority of one and the 
other has a majority of the other. We are going to have to come 
together a lot if we are going to get anything done in this Congress. 
What we have right now is no way to govern.
  Disasters take a substantial toll on many areas of the country. In my 
own district, 2 years ago was the spillway disaster at Oroville on the 
Oroville Dam. Now, with 2 years of good work, that spillway is now back 
functioning once again, rebuilt with a heck of a lot of money and a lot 
of people coordinating to get it done quickly.
  We just saw, in the last few days, 25,000 cfs of water is coming over 
that spillway in order for the lake to be regulated safely and 
accurately for flood control as well as storing water that we need 
through the year.
  Unfortunately, that isn't the last disaster in northern California. 
We had two more on top of that: near Redding, California, what is known 
as the Carr fire--a firenado, they labeled it--doing so much 
devastation on the west side there; then, ultimately, in November, 2 
days after the election, in Paradise, California--we have all heard 
about that--a whole town basically has disappeared in that fire, in 
that conflagration, destroying, again, thousands of homes and 
buildings, and dozens of people were lost in that.
  The Camp fire and the areas around it--Concow, Magalia--they will be 
recovering for quite some time. Thankfully, we have had help, and we 
are thankful for that. We are thankful for the funding for the Oroville 
Dam spillway. We are thankful for the help initially here for the Carr 
fire in Redding and for the Camp fire in Paradise.

  But, for all the combined diasters we are looking at--Mr. Scott in 
Georgia, who still needs help, and my other colleagues--we have to have 
a stable flow into the coffers for our disaster relief that is so 
desperately needed all over the country.
  Why isn't the Senate doing its job? With all that has happened in our 
home State of California, why is the junior Senator from California 
more worried about, 2 years ahead of the election, spending all the 
time in the other 49 States campaigning instead of showing up to vote 
on the relief measure when the Senate considered it last week and the 
House passed a version of it back in December?
  It appears that Senator has more important things to do. I hope 
Californians will remember that for a lot of reasons.
  The Camp fire in Paradise was the deadliest and most destructive 
wildfire in California's history, the deadliest in our country for over 
100 years.
  It is time for the Senate Democrats to quit fooling around with 
political games and get this disaster assistance in place, not just for 
me but for all my colleagues around the country who have people they 
are responsible for and need to get the work done.
  We have done our job in the House. D.C. must do its job overall, the 
Senate included.

                              {time}  1800

  Mr. DUNN. Madam Speaker, I want to thank Representative LaMalfa for 
his sincere words and his seasoned judgment and insights. Let us hope 
that those words fall on fertile ground.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida's First District 
(Mr. Gaetz), one of my dearest friends in the House. We were friends 
for many years before we came to this House, and his talents are known 
to all of us. He is an Olympian among his class.
  Mr. GAETZ. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I 
thank Dr. Dunn for the work, not only in ripening this issue, but also 
in crafting disaster response legislation that would work for the 
people impacted by Hurricane Michael.
  I also want to thank the gentleman from Georgia, Austin Scott. Well 
before others were speaking out on this issue, Dr. Dunn and Mr. Scott 
were working very hard to ensure that the needs of our constituents 
were adequately represented.
  Madam Speaker, disasters give us time to rise to the occasion as 
leaders in our community. They give us the chance to inspire people on 
their worst day, and to ensure that those who carry the 
disproportionate burden of challenge will be assisted and helped by 
their fellow countrymen and women in the United States of America.
  But sadly, following Hurricane Michael, we have not, as a Congress, 
risen to the occasion, particularly in the Senate, where there is no 
movement now on legislation, before a two-week recess, to address the 
terrible tragedy of Hurricane Michael.
  It is unfathomable to me that every other major storm that has hit 
our country, named, has received a disaster supplemental. And I guess 
the constituents that I serve, that Dr. Dunn, that Mr. Scott serve 
wonder, What is so special about us? What is so different about the 
people of South Georgia, South Alabama, North Florida, that we would be 
left out?
  Is it that Hurricane Michael blew at less of a rate of wind? No. Is 
it that it dumped less rain?
  I guess it's just that the people impacted by Michael are unique 
victims of a broken system in Washington that careens from disaster to 
disaster itself, rather than focusing on the disasters impacting our 
constituents.
  And, Madam Speaker, what is so deeply tragic about this is that as 
folks

[[Page H3191]]

are trying to put their lives, and their schools, and their families, 
and their churches back together, we are moving into the summer 
lightning storm season in my community, and they are going to be 
victimized all over again, because we have got 72 million cubic tons of 
fuel on the ground in North Florida and South Georgia, and South 
Alabama, and with the first lightning storm that is going to ignite.
  And so, as my Democrat colleagues, in a matter of a day or so, 
prepare for their retreat, my constituents prepare, not for a retreat, 
but for the advance of fires that will take their homes, their lives, 
their farms, their livelihoods, and their hope for a brighter future.
  So I beg, I plead, I implore my colleagues, let's look past the 
politics of this moment. Let's realize that it could be any of our 
districts uniquely impacted by a storm, or a fire, or an earthquake or 
some other terrible disaster; and that, while on most days, we wear our 
jerseys and suit up and compete against one another in the marketplace 
of ideas, let's come together as one team, as one country, and do right 
by those who are suffering from these terrible tragedies.
  Again, I thank my colleague from Florida for yielding time, and I 
thank him for his leadership.
  Mr. DUNN. Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to introduce 
Representative Gaetz and hear his oratory. I thank him for his 
brilliant words.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Rouzer). Representative Rouzer is a friend. He has visited my home. I 
have visited his district. He truly knows what it is like to see other 
districts and empathize with them and to reach out; and I am deeply 
gratified to have him here speaking today.
  Mr. ROUZER. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from Florida, 
Representative Neal Dunn, who is not only a great colleague but a great 
friend.
  Madam Speaker, it is not just Hurricane Matthew--pardon me, Hurricane 
Michael. In my district we had Hurricane Matthew in 2016--but it is 
also Hurricane Florence that devastated southeastern North Carolina and 
many other areas this past fall as well.
  A lot of the previous speakers, colleagues who have come before me 
here today have talked about the need for disaster assistance, and they 
are exactly right. I want to complement what they have said, supplement 
what they have said, and paint a little bit of a broader picture here.
  You have got to understand that agriculture, in particular, has faced 
5 years of really, really low prices; so farmers, whether they are in 
North Carolina and have suffered from the flood of Hurricane Florence, 
or whether they are in Georgia or Florida or anywhere else and have 
suffered from Hurricane Michael, or the floods in Nebraska, for 
example, they have no equity left.
  They have suffered 5 years of really, really low prices. We had a 
farm bill in place that, quite honestly, was not adequate in terms of 
the safety net that was in place and, as a result, they have no equity.
  And think about this: Think about all those out there--and for those 
who are not involved in agriculture, think about it this way--assume 
that you have invested millions and millions and millions of dollars 
that are plowed, literally plowed into the ground, but have no 
opportunity to produce a crop.
  You have no equity left. You just took a loan out from the bank. You 
are highly leveraged because of 5 years of low commodity prices. You 
have taken that loan out. This is the one year that you had available 
to you to make up the difference, to begin to turn it around 
financially.
  And lo and behold, you get hit by Hurricane Florence, totally flooded 
early September, no opportunity to harvest your crop, and there you 
are.
  That is the scenario. That is the picture. That is what so many farm 
families all across Eastern North Carolina, all across the Southeast 
are facing today.
  Meanwhile, you have got Members of the House and the Senate who care 
very deeply about their constituency, who have been working very, very 
hard to get an ag disaster package, and find it incredibly frustrating 
that here, in April, months after these storms have hit, we have made 
no progress. And there are a variety of reasons for that.
  But the fact of the matter is, this Chamber and the Senate Chamber 
need to come together with the White House to get this ag disaster 
package done just as quickly as possible.
  In North Carolina, agriculture is an $87 billion industry, the 
largest industry, by far.
  And let me make one final point. When these farm families are gone, 
when these farms are gone, they are not coming back; they are growing 
houses instead. They are not coming back.
  This agriculture disaster package is so critically important. We have 
got to get it done. I thank the leadership and the spirit of my good 
friend from Florida, Neal Dunn, and I really, really commend him and my 
other colleagues for putting forward the effort tonight to raise 
awareness of this issue. It is so critically important, not only for my 
home State of North Carolina, but for America.
  Mr. DUNN. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative   David Rouzer for 
those words. It is a sad story that the gentleman told, but it is a 
story that needed to be heard and is one that is being lived out 
through many of our districts; the end of generations of farming in 
some families. It is a very sad story.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen), a 
good friend of mine from our class. He is a great Congressman. We have 
visited in his district. And let me say that it has been a pleasure to 
work with him and his wife.
  Mr. ALLEN. Madam Speaker, I thank Dr. Dunn for his work here this 
evening to bring attention to something that is critical for not only 
our great citizens in Florida, North Florida, but of course we heard 
about North Carolina, Nebraska; and, of course, we have been waiting 
since last October in Georgia.
  You have heard about devastation from Hurricane Michael. It left a 
tremendous trail of destruction. It was a Category 3 storm that reached 
my district with winds over 100 miles per hour. We lost trees, power 
lines, crops, poultry houses, and much more.
  While traveling the district, I was able to see firsthand the heart-
wrenching wreckage that Hurricane Michael left behind, and it is still 
there to this day, nearly 6 months later.
  Many of our farmers in my district are struggling to survive. I mean, 
we had cotton on the ground, probably the best harvest we were going to 
have in a long time. Gone.
  In addition to Hurricane Michael, it is also important to highlight 
the need for the assistance we have been working to secure for our 
blueberry and peach producers in the State who still suffer from losses 
and damaged bushes and trees resulting from late season freezes.
  Not a day goes by that I don't hear from a Georgia-12 farmer about 
the urgency of providing disaster relief funding immediately.
  And just last week, Senate Democrats chose to block a desperately-
needed bipartisan disaster relief package that would have provided 
critical funding to our communities, not only in Georgia, but across 
the Nation that have been affected by these disasters.
  Let me just say this: Holding farmers who feed and clothe our Nation 
hostage over partisan politics is downright shameful.
  I cannot stress enough that local farmers must obtain bank loans 
ahead of the upcoming planting season. So the urgency of getting a bill 
passed in both Chambers and sent to the President cannot be overstated. 
We do not have time for political games aimed at undermining our 
President.
  Madam Speaker, agriculture is the number 1 industry in Georgia and in 
the 12th District of Georgia. I know this process has been more 
challenging than many of our farmers could have imagined, and I just 
want to reiterate that I will always stand with rural America 100 
percent.
  I will not stop working until the farmers of the 12th District of 
Georgia and across our great State get this disaster relief that they 
need and deserve.
  I would like to thank Senators Perdue and Isakson for leading the 
effort in the Senate, my colleagues Austin Scott, Sanford Bishop, and 
Neal Dunn, and others that you will hear from here tonight in the 
House, and all of my colleagues here this evening for

[[Page H3192]]

the commitment to getting this done. It cannot wait any longer.
  Mr. DUNN. Madam Speaker, I wish to thank Representative Allen for his 
words and his support.
  Next, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis), one of 
the most senior and experienced representatives in the delegation from 
Florida, a man who has been a personal mentor to me and a great model.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Madam Speaker, I will tell the gentleman this: He has 
been a great model for me serving on the Energy and Commerce Committee. 
It is always good to go to the physician to hear firsthand what the 
patients need and want. So I thank the gentleman for healing his 
constituents over the years, and now serving them in the United States 
Congress.
  Madam Speaker, I cannot stress enough the devastation that hurricanes 
over the last few years have inflicted not only on the State of 
Florida, but all over the country, as you can see, Georgia, North 
Carolina, Texas, what have you. And folks, we need to get--come 
together. We need to come together and get this done for the American 
people.
  This should be a no-brainer. We have waited too long for this to 
happen, and it needs to be a bipartisan bill out of the Senate. Get it 
on the floor of the House as soon as possible so we can help our 
constituents.
  One particular case, in the city of Tarpon Springs alone, Hurricane 
Irma exacerbated shallowing problems at its port. This puts at risk the 
livelihood of our marine and tourism business owners and impacts $250 
million in yearly commerce a year.

  A remedy known as the Anclote River Dredge Project was set to be 
funded under the previously-passed emergency supplemental bill. We were 
given assurances--I understand we have a lot of disasters that need to 
be taken care of--but we need to take care of our constituents, and 
this is a good example.
  And we did this right. We have county matching funds, State matching 
funds that are at risk right now. The city has put up money. We have 
got to get this project through.
  The seafood industry is suffering. Again, commerce, the sponge 
industry is suffering because of the lack of dredging of this beautiful 
Anclote River.
  Unfortunately, the sheer number of areas in need of repair from 
disasters force the already-allocated funding to be moved to other 
projects, and I understand that. But these projects are important as 
well.
  We need to ensure projects like Anclote are quickly and adequately 
fixed after a hurricane or other disaster; and, therefore, I support 
the immediate consideration of a disaster supplemental bill.
  I thank my colleague, Neal Dunn, for this Special Order. He is doing 
an outstanding job.
  We have got to get this done quickly for our constituents.

                              {time}  1815

  Mr. DUNN. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Bilirakis for his 
leadership and for the personal generosity of his time spent with me 
tonight.
  Madam Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman has 11 minutes remaining.
  Mr. DUNN. Madam Speaker, next, I would like to introduce the third 
and final Representative from Nebraska, a good friend and a good friend 
of Nebraska. Thank you so much very much for being here.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith).
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I thank Congressman Dunn for 
yielding. I appreciate his taking the initiative to bring folks 
together to discuss, unfortunately, the need to address the disasters 
across America.
  Madam Speaker, representing one of the most rural districts in 
America, we have a lot of natural resources, among them, a lot of 
rivers, a lot of miles of river in Nebraska.
  Not so long ago, conditions were such that the rivers flooded in the 
central and eastern part of Nebraska. In the west, a blizzard hit with 
the bomb cyclone, and it created massive damage. The chunks of ice 
flowing down rivers took out a dam, probably the first dam to break due 
to ice floes and the chunks of ice.
  It has been tragic. There has been loss of human life, certainly the 
loss of livestock.
  The initial estimates are about $400 million in infrastructure damage 
and another roughly $1 billion in damage to crops and livestock.
  I appreciate the fact that President Trump moved quickly on Governor 
Ricketts' request for the disaster declaration.
  We are working together among the Nebraska delegation, both Senators 
and all three House Members, to make sure that we articulate the needs 
of not only Nebraskans, but when you remove agriculture products, as is 
the case, ultimately, consumers will likely be impacted.
  This is something we should always keep in mind because everyone 
needs to eat. When we lose the channels of supply for agriculture 
products, that is bound to increase the cost of food.
  When you look at the storm, the bomb cyclone that hit, it probably 
couldn't have happened at a worse time of year, right in the middle of 
calving season.
  It is a devastating condition here.
  I do appreciate the fact that so many producers--I talked to one 
today. Instead of a 30-minute commute for a drive to work, they have to 
go 95 miles one way to work, because the bridge is out. When one bridge 
is out in rural Nebraska, that takes a few miles to make up for that.
  I think we are resilient. Ag operators are resilient, so they are 
looking up. But we are concerned that, here in the next few weeks, in 
fact, there is another storm forecasted for later this week where folks 
are bracing for perhaps even more damage. Hopefully, we can get through 
this.
  Again, I appreciate this opportunity to share what the needs are in 
Nebraska. I will be introducing legislation to extend a number of tax 
provisions often provided to disaster areas to cover this year's 
disasters. I hope we can offer that support to disasters from last year 
as well, since we are discussing this evening multiple disasters from 
last year and this year.
  Madam Speaker, again, I appreciate this opportunity.
  Mr. DUNN. Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Smith for his words. 
It speaks to the disaster, what happened in Nebraska, that all three 
Representatives showed up.
  Madam Speaker, next, I would like to introduce and yield to the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho), my good friend.
  We share more in common than most Representatives. Because of the 
vagaries of redistricting, we ran in 2016 in the same 12 counties. He 
was a great support, a great example, and cleared the way for me. I 
want to say that I am deeply grateful for having Dr. Ted Yoho here 
tonight.
  Mr. YOHO. Madam Speaker, I want to compliment Dr. Dunn for doing an 
awesome job. His leadership on this is well noticed and well taken by 
the people of his district and all north central Florida, working 
together with the Georgia delegation and other States.
  Florida is no stranger to hurricanes. The year before, we had 
Hurricane Irma that went through the whole State, bypassed the 
panhandle. In 2018, we had Michael that hit the panhandle with 
virtually a Category 5. It was 2 miles short of Category 5.
  The estimated impact for Hurricane Michael--in fact, it was so 
severe, before I get into the impact, we couldn't get ahold of Dr. 
Dunn, so our office was very concerned about that. We took a load, with 
the Gilchrist County Sheriff, to take supplies up there, looking for 
Dr. Dunn. We didn't know if he had survived, because nobody had heard. 
So we are thankful that Dr. Dunn is here, and I know his constituents 
are.
  The impact of this went from timber, cotton, cattle, peanuts, 
nursery, poultry, vegetables, other field crops, dairy, aquaculture, 
fruit crops, tree nuts, beekeepers, to mention a few. That is no 
structures.
  The estimated cost just in the panhandle of Florida is $1.5 billion.
  We heard these other States talking about agriculture as their 
largest economic driver in that State, their largest industry. Florida 
is the third largest State in the Union, with 22 million people. 
Agriculture is our second largest industry. It is vital.
  We look at the past--this is my fourth term in Congress--and I 
remember Hurricane Sandy came, hit the

[[Page H3193]]

Northeast. Relief was put out. It was sent out.
  This is something that we need to come together as Americans. We send 
billions of dollars in foreign aid around the world. It is time for us 
to look internally, fix our problems here, because the expense of these 
storms, they accumulate. They don't go away from one year to the next, 
and we are going into the next season, the next fire season. This is 
something we need to work now, to correct these things.

  Madam Speaker, I appreciate the leadership of Dr. Dunn.
  Mr. DUNN. Madam Speaker, let me say that I am deeply indebted to Dr. 
Yoho. Our channel of communications went down after the storm in a way 
that America has never seen. We lost cellphones, landlines. We lost 
police radios. We were talking to each other by ham radios and runners.
  When Dr. Yoho could not raise me or my office staff, he mounted a 
rescue operation complete with food and supplies and took care of the 
east end of my district. I will always be grateful to Dr. Yoho for 
that, and I thank him so much.
  Madam Speaker, for my final guest, I would like to introduce the 
Representative from south Georgia, another good friend and a neighbor. 
We don't quite abut districts, but we come pretty close. I spend a lot 
of time in his neighborhood. He needs to spend more time down on my 
beaches.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).
  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding.
  Madam Speaker, I thank Dr. Dunn for the work that he has done, as 
well as my other colleagues, Representative Austin Scott, 
Representative Sanford Bishop, and Representative Martha Roby. All of 
these fine legislators have worked diligently on this, and I thank them 
for their efforts, as well as others.
  Madam Speaker, I have the honor and the privilege of representing the 
First Congressional District of Georgia. The First Congressional 
District of Georgia includes the entire coast of Georgia, over 100 
miles of coastline. We have a lot to be thankful for, a lot to be proud 
of. We have two major seaports and four military installations, Moody 
Air Force Base, Kings Bay Naval Base, Fort Stewart, and Hunter Army 
Airfield. We have the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. We have 
two Coast Guard stations, one in Savannah and one in Brunswick.
  We have so much to be thankful for, but we also have a very strong 
agriculture community, particularly in the western portion of our 
district. It is very, very important.
  Madam Speaker, much of the State of Georgia is in need right now, and 
they can't wait any longer.
  In the First Congressional District of Georgia over the past few 
years, we have had hurricanes. We had Hurricane Matthew, Hurricane 
Irma, and Hurricane Michael. We have had fires. We had the West Mims 
Fire. We have had freezes and harsh freezing conditions that impacted 
our agriculture community.
  These disasters have been detrimental to agriculture in Georgia. By 
the way, agriculture in Georgia is our largest industry. That is very 
important and very important for the First District.
  In fact, just to be specific, blueberries, which are the leading 
fruit now in the State of Georgia, blueberries alone make up a $1 
billion industry. That is ``billion'' with a B, a $1 billion industry. 
Those farmers are the backbones of their communities.
  Blueberry farmers, in some areas, their crops make up 30 percent of 
the portfolios of banks. That is significant to these communities, and 
we simply cannot allow these farmers to continue going without this 
assistance.
  The banks are waiting for many of these farmers to repay their loans. 
It is putting them in jeopardy of not being able to farm next year and 
putting entire rural economies at risk. When you put 30 percent of your 
portfolio at risk, you are putting your community at risk.
  Congressional inaction on this is absolutely unacceptable.
  The Senate's failure to pass disaster aid last week was one of the 
worst moments that I have experienced in Washington since I have come 
to Congress.
  These people need assistance, Madam Speaker. They need assistance. We 
need to help them. The American farmer feeds the world. Georgia farmers 
are an integral part of this. Blueberries are an important crop in our 
district. Agriculture is the number one industry in Georgia.
  It is time for us to respond to this. This is what we are to do as 
Members of Congress. We cannot simply ignore this. It will not go away.
  We need these farmers. They need our help, and we need to respond.
  Madam Speaker, I encourage all my colleagues to support disaster aid.
  Mr. DUNN. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend, Representative 
Carter, for his impassioned words. Obviously, he is echoing thoughts 
that we have heard from the other speakers.
  Seldom has a Special Order been so well subscribed. So many people 
came to speak, so many people moved and hurt by the disaster.
  It leaves me with very little time, but I want to say a couple 
things.
  I want to reiterate that this is an unprecedented event for timber. 
Nobody has ever seen this much timber on the ground, 3 million acres of 
timber. Think about what that does to the foresters, the loggers, and 
the sawmills.
  The military, we have lost an Air Force base, probably $4 billion to 
$6 billion worth of damage to that. We will rebuild it. We will rebuild 
it, and it will be great, but we need help from Congress to do that.
  I have a Navy base in my district, $288 million in damage.
  I have a Coast Guard base in my district that is particularly sad. 
They have a single building standing. They were victims of the storm; 
they were first responders to the storm. They were not paid, because 
they are with the Department of Homeland Security, for a month. It is 
shameful. These are fine people in the Coast Guard.

  We have housing problems right now. Thirty percent of the homes in my 
home county is uninhabitable. Fifty percent of the commercial real 
estate is not usable.
  We have special geography. We are 100 miles away from the next place 
where there is multifamily housing. We need housing on the ground in 
the affected areas.
  Madam Speaker, I thank all the people who took time to come and tell 
our story, which is a sad story, and I urge the Congress to come to our 
rescue.
  That picture, by the way, is not 6 months old. It is 2 weeks old.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________