[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 149 (Thursday, September 15, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H7874-H7879]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                        DEVASTATION IN PAKISTAN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, this is a devastating time for the 
people of Pakistan.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to share this with my colleagues and to ensure 
that their story is in the public eye because it is a story that 
addresses devastation like you have never seen before. I guess the 
story that is so devastating is the 600,000 women who are on the verge 
of giving birth in conditions that are so devastating.
  The week of September 2, members of the Congressional Pakistan Caucus 
made their way as quickly as they could to the rain-torn, flood-torn 
region of Pakistan. We arrived on Sunday morning and immediately were 
able to secure a transport into the flooded areas.
  As the government indicated, this is not overflowing rivers, this is 
sheer rain that generated into flooding. In the Sindh region, 
Balochistan, the southwestern region--sheer rain turned into floods 
that were unspeakable.
  The water was unspeakable, it was of biblical proportion. The size 
and the width and the depth was unspeakable. It was a monstrosity. We 
took an aerial survey. You could not see land. It was only water as far 
as the eye could see.

  In fact, tragically and unfortunately, we could imagine that whole 
communities were covered with water, that bodies are yet unfound. Even 
though the death toll is upwards of 1200 to 1300, with one-third or 
more of those being children. Can you imagine seeing the video of the 
currents rushing and tearing children away from desperate parents' 
hands or families being caught in the current and children being pulled 
away by the rushing waters?
  We saw, as was displayed by the government, whole buildings and 
hotels coming down to the ground. There were 200 bridges destroyed and 
water going through those bridges. We could, of course, see that it was 
irreparable harm. Even as we were surveying we saw a bridge that was 
breached, which divided people that were on that one little line of 
bridge as their safety net because they were surrounded by water, and 
then they were separated because the bridge broke in half because the 
water was so powerful.
  In the midst of that, we got a report that military forces had to 
flood towns of 250,000 people. They had to flood towns so that a city 
of 1.1 million people could survive. We landed in the city of Dadu, and 
there are now 400,000 homeless people in Dadu. Overwhelmed. There are 
600,000-plus homeless people in Pakistan.
  I know that America is a Nation that has always extended its generous 
arm. If there is ever a moment--as we have done around the world in 
earthquakes--Pakistan's earthquake of 2005 and floods of 2010--as we 
have done around the world when the nations around the world have 
fallen upon disastrous times.
  As a Member of Congress, I went into that horrific tsunami that 
impacted Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, you could not recognize 
those nations. The tsunami had come and taken out all of the coastal 
land. People were drawn into the sea, and you never saw them again. 
Houses were destroyed. The United States joined with the United Nations 
and was there to help.
  The United States has helped when there have been issues of national 
health crisis, we have been there. We became the leading guardians of 
fighting HIV/AIDS, particularly on the continent of Africa.
  I do want to applaud the Biden administration on being the first 
donor of the United Nation's call for help for Pakistan, $30 million. 
Just as we were leaving--after we had petitioned the Federal 
Government--they came with an extra $20 million.
  More importantly, as I left to go to Pakistan, writing President 
Biden about the issue of shelter and tents, the United States military 
dropped or delivered 300,000 tents on Wednesday or Thursday of last 
week to be delivered to homeless and helpless persons.
  The Pakistani-American community have been outstanding, working with 
consul generals across America and the Ambassador. They are now raising 
funds, upwards of millions of dollars. But it is not enough.
  First, Pakistan probably has $10 billion in damages and destruction, 
but that number has been characterized as low because the water has not 
been able to drain because there is no drainage. That means that that 
water not being able to drain that damage will be caused and go on and 
on and on. I am afraid of dengue fever, waterborne diseases, hepatitis, 
malaria, with no medications.
  While we were there we met a family that had just been plucked out of 
the waters. Their dad had a kidney transplant, who had not yet received 
his medicine--everything lost. We were able to press upon the 
military's generosity and good heart to get him his medicine and get it 
to where he is--out in an area where I saw no medical facilities.
  I want the Record to know that even though this country is many miles 
away, we are connected by its democratic beginnings. This is the 75th 
anniversary of its independence. It has by and large had peaceful 
transfers of government, a frequent government, but a democratic 
government. The founding father, Dr. Jinnah, established this country--
as India was established by Gandhi in its independence--that it should 
have as its form of government democracy.
  I am fearful of the loss of life and children and disease will set 
this country back for many, many, many years.
  Let me share with you this story.
  The hospital has nothing. Pakistani floods put pregnant women in 
danger. Just 2 days ago this article from the Guardian came out. A 
third of the country is under water, and a U.N. fund says almost 
650,000 women in affected areas need maternity services. That should 
give you an amazing level of fear--650,000.

                              {time}  1800

  I visit hospitals because I am an advocate for hospitals, 
particularly in rural areas. And they tell me, well, we have delivered 
3,000 births in a month, and I applaud that. That is a high number here 
in the United States.
  But I want to say this again. The U.N. says almost 650,000 women in 
affected areas need maternity services to have healthy babies.
  Crying, vomiting, and 8 months pregnant--I know that wives and 
Members of Congress, women Members of Congress, women across America, 
can understand the fragility of a woman during her pregnancy. The young 
woman walked in labor pains for an hour in search of an ambulance. She 
wasn't driven. She wasn't on a bicycle. She wasn't on a cart. She 
wasn't on any form of scooter, any form of transportation.
  When Naseeba, 23, eventually found one, she had to beg the driver to 
take her. Pakistan floods had left the roads damaged and gridlocked, 
making what is usually a 2-hour journey to the provincial capital of 
Quetta a punishing 12-hour drive; 2 hours to 12 hours.
  She left her flood-ravaged home in Nasirabad district in Balochistan 
province in the morning and reached Quetta at night.
  During this time, I didn't know what has happening around me; 
struggling to speak. When I finally reached the hospital, the doctors 
said I would not survive if they didn't operate immediately. 
Complications with labor, including severe high blood pressure, meant 
doctors had to rush to deliver the baby.
  I would venture to say that this was a circumstance of life and 
death.
  Complications with the labor continued. And Naseeba said she gave 
birth to a baby boy 2 days ago, but the doctors told her that the baby 
requires to be incubated, but there were no incubators available, so we 
had to take her baby to my mother's place, she said. I haven't seen my 
baby yet.
  We can only hope that that baby survived, and that the help at home 
might have helped that baby breathe.
  Naseeba is one of the thousands of pregnant women, according to the 
United Nations Population Fund, who will bear the brunt of the worst 
floods in Pakistan and are in desperate need of maternal health 
services.
  And so I will be asking USAID and the head of that agency, who I am 
very gratified, was visiting Pakistan as we were visiting--as we were 
leaving, USAID was coming on the ground. As

[[Page H7875]]

we were there, we received a briefing from USAID, and the very schools 
that USAID, our humanitarian arm of the State Department, built in that 
region, became the shelters for people. But that means the children are 
not in school.
  More than a dozen women who were interviewed in this story, were 
pregnant, or had already given birth in the worst flood-affected 
provinces of Balochistan and Sindh, women who said they have been 
abandoned without healthcare, food, and clean drinking water to meet 
their nutritional needs.
  We should be very clear. A third of Pakistan is under water, with 
1,400 dead, most children, and 33 million people affected, as the 
country has been ravaged by monsoon-triggered floods, coming at a 
totally unique time. In our briefings, they said, we have dealt with 
monsoons. These are like we have never seen.
  The impact on climate change should not be lost. This is clear 
evidence of how stark it is. UNFPA said 73,000 women were expected to 
give birth this month--that is this month of September--who need 
skilled birth attendants, newborn care, and support. It estimates, as I 
said, that 650,000 pregnant women in flood-affected areas require 
maternal health.
  Again, people living in plastic tents or camps on roadsides, near 
flood waters, and the homes of millions of people have been swept away.
  It is well-known that the health facilities across Pakistan are 
affected; 432 are fully damaged; 1,228 are partially damaged.
  Another woman, Rubina, who is 8 months pregnant, in this Guardian 
story, and currently lives in a tent on a roadside, said she had 
pregnancy-related complications that included body aches and anemia. 
She said medications prescribed by doctors were not available, and she 
could not afford to buy them from a private hospital. They did whatever 
they could for her, her husband and brother.
  They have lost their source of earnings and cannot provide us with 
anything else; and the government hospital has nothing.
  This is the story of thousands. This is not a story that is going to 
end. It is a story that is going to continue.
  Another woman had delivered on her way as she was walking to the 
hospital, and the infant was brought into the hospital via ambulance, 
but the woman couldn't come because of the high level of water.
  Many women could not even come to the hospital, and midwives had to 
be called.
  We are doing all that we can.
  And this is a call out to our American humanitarian agencies, as I 
indicated. Healthcare is the most crucial, along with food, and it is 
clearly an urgent emergency condition.
  One young woman left her home after it was submerged in flood water 
in the Sindh province. And as I said, many people are living in schools 
built by the United States. This young woman gave birth to a baby girl 
named Shamma, which means light. We get food sometimes, but not at 
other times. I am unable to feed my infant because I am so weak. And 
so, baby formula is needed because women are not able to breastfeed.
  Roshan, another displaced woman who had given birth a month ago: 
Everyone is falling sick here. I feel faint. I have constant headaches. 
Our children do not have clothes. There is only one piece of cloth for 
my newborn that I wash every day to use again.
  And UNFPA has warned that many women and girls are at increased risk 
of gender-based violence as almost one million houses were damaged in 
the catastrophic floods. I am convinced that that is another crisis.
  As Samina, who took refuge, along with thousands of other pregnant 
women, in Larkana said, there can be no greater pain than having to 
leave your home. I cannot tell you how difficult it was to leave. I am 
expecting a baby soon, but in a state of homelessness.
  The government is working very hard to try and reach these persons 
but, in the midst, they face a financial crisis which they are working 
very hard to try to cure with work with the World Bank and, of course, 
with the International Monetary Fund. But it is not going to be enough.
  And so, our visit, we are grateful, highlighted the crisis which is 
being faced. It was a visit covered with a desire to be as quick on 
humanitarian aid as we could, and to bring the story forward as to what 
is transpiring.
  In addition, we wanted to make sure that those who could not get back 
to their province and are here in the United States could secure a 
temporary protected status because of the devastation of their country. 
We hope, joined with Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, that our request will 
be given reasonable consideration.
  As I indicated, as I started, we are dealing with an extreme climate 
change, horrible exhibition of the devastation that could come about. 
It is extreme. The reasons for the flooding are linked to climate 
change and the resulting extreme weather.
  It is important to note that Pakistan produces only about 1 percent 
of the pollution, the carbon footprint linked to global warming; while 
we, in the United States, produce 11 percent; China, 27 percent; India 
produces 6.6 percent, and the EU, 6.4 percent.
  But researchers say the catastrophe probably started with 
unprecedented heat waves because, in April and May, temperatures 
reached above 104 degrees in Pakistan for sustained periods in many 
places in the region.
  In fact, when we were briefed by the head of the climate agency, they 
said that temperatures went up as high as 127 degrees Fahrenheit. Those 
are killing temperatures. On one sweltering day in May, the city, 
Jacobabad, topped 123.8 degrees. This is not normal. This area is not 
accustomed to heat like this. And recorded as the hottest place on 
Earth was in Pakistan.
  The intense heat also melted glaciers in the northern mountainous 
regions. And now many would wonder, glaciers? Yes.
  One of the other places in the world where glaciers are are the 
mountains in Pakistan. And so when those glaciers, those northern 
mountainous regions, increasing the amount of water flowing into 
tributaries that eventually made their way into the Indus River, 
compounded by the rain--the Indus is Pakistan's largest river and runs 
the country's length, from north to south, feeding towns, cities, and 
large swatches of agricultural land along the way.
  But let me add something else because Pakistan is an agricultural 
country, and the largest percentage of work in Pakistan is agriculture. 
The region where the flooding took place was where they grew one of 
their most bountiful products, and that is wheat.
  The farmers managed to gather their wheat and to store them in their 
homes, preparing for the market, or preparing for next year. But the 
floods came and wiped away their homes and their food source and the 
moneys that they would get from selling. But even more devastating, 
this may go on for years because they lost their seeds.
  So imagine that: Mighty waters flowing down from the glaciers, 
melting because of this unusual heat, this out-of-the-world heat; then 
rivers overflow, but then add to the monsoon or monsoons, and then, of 
course, the flooding that has taken away millions of homes, impacted 33 
million people, and taken away their food.
  We, as Americans, have faced our levels of disaster. Our heart goes 
out to the people in Eastern Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; Eastern 
Kentucky; Central Mississippi; Dallas, Texas; Death Valley, California; 
and this does not include the thousand-year flood events that impacted, 
in recent years, New York and New Jersey.
  We should be well-aware of the impact of climate change. And I am 
very gratified that I have seen my constituents in the energy industry 
face up to this and realize that the carbon footprint must come down, 
down, down. I want to continue to work with them as they recognize that 
it will be a disaster if we do not work, both nationally and 
internationally, on stopping the carbon footprint and addressing the 
question internationally and nationally of the question of climate 
change.
  The rains in Pakistan have resulted in unimaginable changes in the 
landscape. Reports are backed up by new images taken by NASA's MODIS. 
Satellite sensors show the result of heavy rain and an overflowing 
Indus River that has formed a 62-mile lake in the Sindh province where 
there was farmland. In this region, the monsoon rainfall has been 500 
percent over average.

[[Page H7876]]

  Let me try to lay this out for you. I indicated the Indus River is 
the natural river. But the leaders of government explained, it was not 
the Indus River that overflowed its banks and caused the damage miles 
away from its banks; though there are many Pakistanis who live on the 
bank because it is the source of their food, source of their income, 
source of their livelihood.
  But what the NASA's MODIS showed us is that an unnatural lake was 
created by the huge monsoons, the glaciers melting, and created an 
unnatural lake that formed a 62-mile lake in the Sindh province where 
there was farmland, so where there had not been any water before.

                              {time}  1815

  They also told us that the area that we were in, the Sindh province, 
did not receive a lot of rain, which speaks to the reason why they had 
no drainage. They did not have a lot of rain.
  The issues of the day caused the Indus River to be an ocean. You 
could see no start and stop. Then, it caused a man-made lake to occur 
that would, in fact, be there enough of a time to, in fact, continue to 
be devastating.
  Let me give you some facts that have not been gone over. This began 
in mid-June 2022, at the beginning of the monsoon season, which, as I 
said, there have been monsoons, but these were a monstrosity, 
unbelievable proportions.
  Heavy rains began flooding areas of Pakistan. Estimates range from 
double to several times the normal monsoon rain. They were just sitting 
and waiting. Is it going to end? Is it going to end? Mr. Speaker, 6.4 
million estimated people requiring humanitarian assistance--again, 33 
million people affected: 44 percent Sindh province, 28 percent 
Balochistan, 13 percent in Khyber, 50 percent in Punjab.
  As of September 13, just shortly after we came and left, 1,396 people 
have been killed, and, of course, 12,278 people have been injured as a 
result of the flooding. We don't know if people will die of their 
injuries.
  More than 900,000 livestock have been killed, and there are people 
today, right as we stand here, who are refusing to leave because they 
have their livestock, and there is no place for them to go.
  Mr. Speaker, 3.1 million people have been displaced. I have already 
indicated that there are hundreds of thousands that are homeless--
650,000 people, women needing maternal services, on the verge of giving 
birth, but 70,000 are giving birth this month. This is, without 
question, a challenge that far surpasses the capacity of the Pakistan 
Government, although willing, to be able to do this on their own.
  The climate minister told a public radio interview that an area the 
size of Colorado is now submerged, that 66 districts, equivalent to a 
county, are underwater. According to satellite imagery, the flooding 
has created, as I indicated already, this huge lake.
  Pakistan is equipped with water pumps to respond to monsoons and 
helicopters for rescue purposes, but there is no place to send the 
resources.
  Again, I do want to note that the Pakistani Government has been 
working with the resources they have--147 camps for populations 
displaced by the floods. Cash assistance was being organized to give to 
the families.
  The Pakistani Government has allocated $173 million to aid flood-
affected people. On August 30, the United Nations and the Government of 
Pakistan launched a joint flood response plan, and the United States, 
as I said, was the first to give the funding from all other countries.
  They gathered $160 million for food security assistance, agriculture, 
livestock, shelter, nonfood items, non-nutrition programs, primary 
health services, water and sanitation, and shelter for displaced 
persons. It is not enough, and there are people that cannot be reached.
  Money is also coming from the various elected officials, like the 
Prime Minister, the Central Emergency Response Fund, the World Bank, 
the Asian Development Bank, the European Commission's department for 
European Civil Protection, and UNICEF. Governments from around the 
world have made an effort to help, but I believe it is going to be 
important for the United States to raise its voice again.
  As I said, the United States has always been there, and I am very 
glad to say that 1.4 million pounds of USAID relief commodities were 
airlifted to Pakistan by CENTCOM, $4 million in dedicated aid from the 
U.S. Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance.
  As I indicated, 300,000 tents--30 million had already been given on 
the very day, August 30, that the United Nations asked for. CENTCOM has 
operated nine flights transporting USAID items, including approximately 
30,000 kitchen sets, 10,000 plastic tarps, 1,400 rolls of plastic 
sheeting from USAID's warehouse.
  Again, 300,000 tents after the Pakistan Caucus had engaged and worked 
with the administration that I am very glad to say came forward. Then 
an additional $20 million in humanitarian assistance in response to the 
flooding was announced on September 9.
  I do thank, again, USAID Administrator Samantha Power, who announced 
this effort, and we hope that this will continue.
  As noted in The Washington Post, the ``U.S. ramps up aid for Pakistan 
floods with military airlift.''
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the Washington Post article of 
September 9, 2022, and the article from the Guardian dealing with the 
plight of a pregnant woman.

               [From the Washington Post, Sept. 9, 2022]

      U.S. Ramps Up Aid for Pakistan Floods With Military Airlift

       Dadu, Pakistan.--The United States is ramping up support 
     for Pakistan and beginning a days-long military airlift into 
     the country as it struggles to battle devastating floods that 
     are expected to take years to recover from.
       The military began airlifting supplies into Pakistan this 
     week as part of the additional $20 million the Biden 
     administration is providing for humanitarian aid here, 
     Samantha Power, the head of the U.S. Agency for International 
     Development, announced on Friday.
       The announcement comes as it is increasingly clear that 
     Pakistan is incapable of providing even the most basic relief 
     to the more than 33 million people affected by the crisis. 
     The majority of those who have fled their homes are living in 
     makeshift shelters, and many report they are not receiving 
     food, clean drinking water or medical attention.
       The airlift will establish a ``beachhead'' inside 
     Pakistan's flood zone, Power said during a visit to affected 
     areas Thursday. She said the plan is to begin staging 
     operations closer to those in need so humanitarian supplies 
     can be distributed more efficiently.
       ``It may go beyond this, but for now we are looking at 
     shelter supplies to accommodate 300,000 people,'' she said. 
     She admitted the number is a small fraction of those 
     affected, but hoped other countries would follow suit and 
     move operations inside Sindh province, one of the worst hit 
     areas.
       The airlift is expected to last just over a week with two 
     to three U.S. C-17s--massive cargo planes--landing daily in 
     Sukkur, a town in Sindh province nearly encircled by 
     floodwaters. The planes will bring tens of thousands of 
     pounds of tents, field rations and kitchen sets into the 
     country.
       While a number of countries have pledged millions of 
     dollars in humanitarian aid money to Pakistan, aid groups on 
     the ground are struggling to source the materials they need 
     and reach the worst-affected parts of the country.
       Floodwaters moving south are cutting off key roads and 
     highways, turning towns into islands and blocking the 
     delivery of aid.
       Power said she hopes the assistance will also help reset 
     perceptions of the United States in Pakistan.
       ``I think during the war in Afghanistan, there was an 
     impression among some Pakistanis that the U.S. saw Pakistan 
     only through the prism of Afghanistan,'' she said. 
     ``Hopefully this is a chance through this cooperation [with 
     the Pakistani government] to strengthen the relationship 
     between the two countries.''
       U.S.-Pakistan relations have gone through periods of 
     intense strain, despite decades-long humanitarian and 
     military ties that predate the U.S. presence in Afghanistan. 
     The enmity that many Pakistanis feel toward the United States 
     was clearly visible earlier this year when former Pakistani 
     leader Imran Khan began to strengthen his base of support by 
     claiming his ouster was part of a U.S.-backed conspiracy.
       Although anti-Americanism remains a popular rallying cry in 
     Pakistan, the government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz 
     Sharif, who replaced Khan, has moved to improve relations 
     with the United States.
       The U.S. military's top commander, Army Gen. Michael Erik 
     Kurilla, visited Pakistan in August and acknowledged the 
     country's ``commendable efforts in fight against terrorism'' 
     and its ``efforts [to promote] regional peace and 
     stability,'' according to a Pakistani military statement.
       The visit came shortly after the killing of Ayman al-
     Zawahiri, the leader of alQaeda, in a U.S. drone attack on 
     his Kabul residence. The Taliban condemned the attack and 
     accused Pakistan of allowing the United States to use its 
     airspace to fly drones over Afghanistan. Pakistani 
     authorities refuted the Taliban's allegations.
       ``The partnership that we continue to deepen builds on 
     years of cooperation between

[[Page H7877]]

     our two peoples and between our two countries,'' Power said 
     at a news conference in Islamabad Friday.
       During Power's visit to the heart of Pakistan's flood zone, 
     she asked local officials and families affected by the floods 
     to estimate the disaster's long-term economic effects, in 
     particular those linked to the loss of crops, livestock and 
     infrastructure.
       It is clear that recovery from these historic floods will 
     require a concerted effort by the donor community and 
     international financial institutions for the coming years,'' 
     Power said. The support announced Friday, she continued, ``is 
     another mark of our long-standing commitment to the Pakistani 
     people.''
                                  ____


                  [From the Guardian, Sept. 13, 2022]

  `The Hospital has Nothing': Pakistan's Floods Put Pregnant Women in 
                                 Danger

       A third of the country is under water and a UN fund says 
     almost 650,000 women in affected areas need maternity 
     services.
       Crying, vomiting and eight months pregnant, the young woman 
     walked in labour pains for an hour in search of an ambulance.
       When Naseeba Ameerullah, 23, eventually found one, she had 
     to beg the driver to take her. Pakistan's floods had left the 
     roads damaged and gridlocked, making what is usually a two-
     hour journey to the provincial capital of Quetta a punishing, 
     12-hour drive.
       She left her flood-ravaged home in the Naseerabad district 
     in Balochistan province in the morning and reached Quetta at 
     night.
       ``During this time, I didn't know what was happening around 
     me,'' said Ameerullah, struggling to speak. ``When I finally 
     reached the hospital, the doctors said I would not survive if 
     they didn't operate immediately.''
       Complications with the labour, including severe high blood 
     pressure, meant doctors had to rush to deliver the baby.
       ``I gave birth to a baby boy two days ago but the doctors 
     told us that the baby requires to be incubated but there were 
     no incubators available so we had to take my baby to my 
     mother's place. I haven't seen my baby yet,'' she said.
       Ameerullah is one of the thousands of pregnant women, 
     according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), who 
     will bear the brunt of the worst floods in Pakistan and are 
     in desperate need of maternal health services.
       The Guardian interviewed more than a dozen women who were 
     either pregnant or had already given birth in the worst 
     flood-affected provinces of Balochistan and Sindh; women who 
     said they have been abandoned without healthcare, food and 
     clean drinking water to meet their nutritional needs.
       A third of Pakistan is under water, with at least 1,400 
     dead and more than 33 million people affected, as the country 
     has been ravaged by monsoon-triggered floods washing away 
     bridges, roads, livestock and people.
       UNFPA said 73,000 women were expected to give birth this 
     month who would need skilled birth attendants, newborn care, 
     and support. It estimates that almost 650,000 pregnant women 
     in flood-affected areas require maternal health services to 
     ensure a safe pregnancy and childbirth.
       The floods have brought other health dangers as well, such 
     as a rise in diseases that affect young children.
       On a drive from Larkana to Dadu districts in Sindh province 
     to Jaffarabad and Naseerabad districts in Balochistan, people 
     could be seen living in plastic tents or camps on roadsides 
     near the flood waters because the homes of millions of people 
     had been swept away.
       Across Pakistan, more than 1,460 health facilities are 
     affected, of which 432 are fully damaged and 1,028 are 
     partially damaged and access to health facilities, healthcare 
     workers, and essential medicines and medical supplies is 
     limited, according to the World Health Organization.
       Rubina, a woman who is eight months pregnant and currently 
     lives in a tent on a roadside in Jaffarabad, said she had 
     pregnancy-related complications that included body aches and 
     anaemia.
       She said medications prescribed by doctors were not 
     available and she could not afford to buy them from a private 
     hospital.
       ``My husband and brother did whatever was possible in their 
     capacity. They have lost their source of earnings and cannot 
     provide us with anything else and the government hospital in 
     Jaffarabad has nothing,'' said Rubina.
       Dr Sultan Ahmed Lehri, the medical superintendent of Bolan 
     medical complex hospital in Quetta, said there had always 
     been nutritional deficiencies in pregnant women in many 
     districts in Balochistan, and the existing situation would 
     get worse because of the floods.
       ``If steps are not taken by the government this can turn 
     into a huge crisis. The government needs to work on this 
     issue on a war footing and reach out to women and the broader 
     population,'' said Lehri
       He added: ``We are witnessing heavy mental toll and trauma 
     of the floods on women as well. We need to treat that as 
     well.''
       Haseena, another pregnant woman who lives in a tent close 
     to Rubina, said she required blood because she was anaemic 
     and that there were many others like her.
       ``We don't get any medicine here and food so how can we 
     expect to get blood transfusions? We drink water from the 
     rivers where animals are dead,'' she said.
       And while thousands of men and women live in tents on the 
     roadside, there are no toilets.
       ``This a tragedy which we can't even talk about,'' Haseena 
     said.
       Dr Imran Baloch, a medical superintendent in Jaffarabad, 
     said a lot of women gave birth in cars and on roads, and some 
     on the way to the hospital because the roads were broken, 
     making the journey much longer. There were also cases of 
     premature deliveries.
       ``A woman had delivered on the way as she was walking to 
     the hospital and the infant was brought to the hospital via 
     ambulance but the woman couldn't come because of the high 
     level of water. Many women could not even come to the 
     hospital and midwives had to be called. We are doing what we 
     can.''
       An official in Balochistan, requesting anonymity, said: 
     ``We have seen a shortage of medicines in many flood-affected 
     regions, but I fear it may get worse if not tackled soon and 
     it will affect women, children and the entire population.''
       The situation is almost the same in Sindh as in 
     Balochistan. Durnaz Soz Ali, 22, left her house after it was 
     submerged in floodwater in Qambar Shahdadkot in Sindh 
     province.
       Ali, who now lives in Larkana in a school with hundreds of 
     displaced people, said: ``I was nine months pregnant and even 
     in my pregnant state, I carried some of the belongings and 
     walked for hours.''
       Ali gave birth to a baby girl and named her Shamma, which 
     means light. ``We get food sometimes but not at other times. 
     I am unable to feed my infant because I am weak.''
       Roshan, another displaced woman from Qambar Shahdadkot who 
     had given birth a month ago in Larkana, said: ``Everyone is 
     falling sick here. I feel faint and have constant headaches. 
     Our children do not have clothes. There is only one piece of 
     cloth for my newborn that I wash every day to use again.''
       UNFP A has warned that many women and girls are at 
     increased risk of gender-based violence as almost 1 million 
     houses were damaged in the catastrophic floods.
       Samina, in Sindh province, who took refuge along with 
     thousands of other pregnant women in Larkana, said: ``There 
     can be no greater pain than having to leave your home. I can 
     not tell you how difficult it was to leave. I am expecting a 
     baby soon but in a state of homelessness.''

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Let me show you what people are facing and how 
people are struggling, and this is, as someone would say, with your own 
eyes.
  These little, small pieces here, those are human beings. This was 
their refuge. This is water. This is water as far as the eye can see. 
They were making a life, barely, on a bridge. That was the only dry 
land.
  I can see they were on both sides, but they were able to get notice 
to run on this side so that they could be together, but they are 
stranded as this water breaks the bridge. It breaks the bridge. Water 
as far as the eye can see.
  This is what we saw. These are not little bushes in a lake. These are 
the tops of trees, the green that you see. Most of the land is covered. 
Some people are stranded on these little patches of land. It looks like 
a beautiful, blue ocean, no land, and the fear of what is under this 
massive ocean.
  As I said earlier, there are pumps in normal times because there is 
no normal draining, but there is absolutely no ability to deal with 
something as massive as this. It is speculated that it will not come 
down for another 6 months--stagnant water, disease, raging across 
Pakistan.
  This is just to let us look at a little bit of dry land in Dadu, 
working with the military, giving out food items to an elderly woman 
without food resources and a little child looking up, babies in hands 
who are obviously in need of resources.
  It was an emotional time for the Pakistan Caucus and the Members who 
were there showing our love and affection because we want people to see 
the leadership that has worked to establish dry land and to try and 
work without resources for their community.
  The face of this little one tells it all. There are no schools. There 
is not much food, and there is not much housing. You could not have a 
dry eye in watching the conditions of our fellow human beings.
  We gave out food, but we gave out little lollipops to the children. I 
will tell you, they were clamoring for that more than anything else. 
But that is what I think is our biggest concern, between mothers having 
provisions for giving birth and feeding these little ones.
  I asked one little boy, does he want to go to school. There are no 
schools in that region. The schools that, as I said, were built by 
USAID were, in fact, used to ensure that there is shelter. We need more 
tents. We need more healthcare. It was interesting. The heat was 
extensive and intensive while we were there.
  In my conversations, it was so good to be able to maybe not speak 
with language that we both understood but

[[Page H7878]]

with the gesture of welcoming and appreciating their plight as we were 
giving out food gifts to people who had nothing.
  It is a moment in history that I did not want our colleagues to miss, 
and it is a recognition that we have work to do. I wanted our 
colleagues to help me and to help us find a way to be constructive, so 
I used a number of $10 billion.
  We have gone way beyond that, as I indicated. The economic impact of 
the floods is now estimated to be at least $30 billion as of September 
13, 2022--just the difference from when we went at the beginning of 
September of $10 billion and even as we were in meetings, all the 
government officials were surmising that it had to be more. You can't 
displace 33 million and it is only $10 billion. An estimated 2 billion 
of crops and livestock could be lost due to flooding.

                              {time}  1830

  Remember what I said. The region is a lifeline for Pakistan and for 
their product that they might be able to provide to other destinations. 
They lost 30 percent of their rice crop and 70 percent of their cotton 
crop, the country's third largest export, making up 11.8 percent of the 
country's total export. That is income; that is opportunity. Ten 
percent of the sugarcane, lost. Estimates show that 800 million in 
textile exports would be lost, 3.6 million acres of crops have been 
affected, according to Pakistan authorities, and 735,000 livestock have 
perished. These are numbers coming from Pakistan.
  Food is still needed. This is going to be a long, long journey. It is 
difficult to see this, but let me try and bring this to the attention 
of my colleagues.
  The red area says 4 million children are under 5 years old, and this 
red that you can see shows that these are severely impacted areas. This 
takes up a very large part of the country. Seven hundred thousand 
people 65 and older are impacted. Five hundred thousand women are 
currently pregnant. Those numbers have gone up, I know.
  Mr. Speaker, I also include in the Record the Pakistan Floods Report 
from September 2022.

                     [From SKT Welfare, Sept. 2022]

                         Pakistan Floods Report

       According to the government of Pakistan, a third of the 
     country--equivalent to an area the size of the UK--is under 
     water, in what the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has 
     called a ``climate catastrophe''. Whole villages have been 
     cut off, with rescuers struggling to reach them. At least 
     1,300 people have been killed and 12,703 injured.
       The people of Pakistan are in dire need of food, clean 
     water, makeshift shelter and non-food items such as hygiene 
     kits. SKT Welfare is on the ground, trying its best to reach 
     those affected by the floods.
       More than half a million more houses in Pakistan were 
     reported damaged or destroyed in the past week, with the 
     National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reporting more 
     than 1.17 million damaged houses and nearly 566,000 destroyed 
     houses as of 8 September. By nearly all available metrics, 
     Sindh has been most affected by the heavy rains and flooding 
     that have swept the country this monsoon season--particularly 
     notable given that Sindh and Balochistan are historically 
     drought prone areas. Nearly 88 per cent of all damaged or 
     destroyed houses--over 1.52 million houses--are in Sindh, and 
     the province has also recorded the highest number of human 
     casualties: 577 people killed and 8,321 people injured, out 
     of a total of nearly 1,400 deaths and more than 12,700 
     injuries, including at least 496 children killed and nearly 
     4,000 children injured across Pakistan. Gender-based violence 
     (GBV) as well as child protection and other protection 
     concerns have reportedly more than doubled since the pre-
     monsoon period, according to the Protection Sector.

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, let me draw upon these final efforts 
and words so that you can know that now, after we have come back, the 
clarion call of crisis is out.
  ``U.N. chief calls for massive help as Pakistan puts flood losses at 
$30 billion.''
  The U.N. Secretary General called for massive help as he visited the 
country last Friday. Record monsoon rains and glacier melt created this 
catastrophe. He is now calling on the international community, and we 
do need it. The country is enormously dependent on our help. It has 
been, in many instances, helpful during the Afghan evacuation of recent 
time, and most people are unaware of the military lives lost of the 
Pakistani military in fighting terrorism.
  The very fact that this dam has been seen by NASA, this lake, shows 
that this damage is going to be far reaching. Pakistan must reach out 
to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, to be able to 
address this tragedy.
  My friends, this is not normal. If I can leave you with anything 
here, it is that we are, in fact, our brothers' and sisters' keeper and 
that as we see the clear evidence of a climate catastrophe, a mountain 
of horror, unspeakable devastation, it brings your mind back to the 
floods of the Biblical times.
  As we stand here today, children are not rescued, and 33 million 
people are in the eye of the disaster. Again, we are waiting, 
tragically, for the potential of massive disease that will shut 
Pakistan down.
  I cannot conclude without acknowledging my great appreciation to the 
Pakistani-American community diaspora, some of whom traveled to 
Pakistan. The doctors, businesspersons, and people preparing now to 
take huge amounts of goods or dollars to be able to help.
  But as I speak about that, let me tell you what UNICEF has said. With 
1.1 million houses washed away and vital infrastructure destroyed, such 
as schools, UNICEF's representative in Pakistan, Mr. Fadil, explained 
that 18,000 schools have been destroyed and thousands of schools are 
now fully shuttered. That means children who have lost education for 2 
years are also losing learning opportunities.
  These are the things that cannot be fixed immediately, nor can they 
be fixed with only emergency help.
  That is why I ask for the following: One, a major focus and research 
on dissecting the climate catastrophe that occurred that would generate 
the kinds of monsoons that caused 33 million people to be displaced. 
The State of Texas is about 29 million. That would mean the wiping out 
of an entire State, 33 million displaced. There are towns that are not 
as large as 650,000. Equal that to the women that are pregnant without 
medical care.
  We can all imagine and know what 1,300 dead are and more possibly 
being found. And we can also understand when the Army Chief of Staff 
reminds us in his story of the mother who came holding the infant that 
was hungry and said: ``Here, I cannot feed my baby.''
  The government is fearful of a food security crisis. I have already 
said to you that cotton is gone, wheat is gone, income is gone, and 
therefore what is next.
  This is what we need. International funding that will be complemented 
by Pakistani funding from the Pakistani diaspora. I believe we need a 
massive infusion of tents, the quality of which the United States has 
begun to bring and drop into Karachi. More need to come. I also believe 
that food goods are going to have to be airlifted into hard-to-reach 
areas and into the camps that have been established.
  Then, of course, I am begging for the international medical 
community, the World Health Organization, to airlift medical facilities 
into the region. They have got to set them up on levels of dry land, 
with the ability to treat waterborne diseases and the separate 
abilities to help deliver babies and take care of the elderly.
  My friends, I have tried to provide a reason for us to come together. 
Pakistan is still in danger. Flooding may take up to 6 months, and we 
were even told that there may be more rains coming.
  We know what happened to the people of Kentucky. We watched the 
devastation of their story. We don't take lightly what can happen in 
difficult times. We realize that people have suffered all over the 
world.
  With my own eyes and those of my colleagues, I documented that 
Pakistan is suffering. Oh, it is a country far away, but I know the 
capacity and the heart of the American people. I know the effectiveness 
of the United States military and the effectiveness of our own 
humanitarian aid and the State Department, USAID, and I know the 
compassion of President Biden and the administration. Let us work 
together with the United States Congress.
  I thank the chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the chair 
of the Committee on Homeland Security for their contributing efforts, 
and, of course, the Committee on Foreign Affairs as we look at 
collaborative ways to be of help.

[[Page H7879]]

  I thank my colleagues, the bipartisan Pakistan Caucus and the Members 
of the Senate who likewise have been advocates for the region. This is 
Southeast Asia, a very important region. Pakistan has to be able to be 
stood up. The death toll cannot increase, and the agony of the people 
just cannot continue.
  Join me in my efforts to provide more resources, healthcare, food, 
housing, tents, and the care of yet-born babies and the restoration of 
the land. That is being a good neighbor, a good Samaritan. As a Nation, 
the United States has always been a problem-solver.
  I thank my colleagues for listening, and I thank the Pakistani 
diaspora for their heart. Yes, we went because our hearts were torn 
with grief.
  With everything we gave to the people, we also wanted to give them 
hope that America was there to be a friend. As I spoke and my words 
were interpreted, I said: We are here from the United States Congress, 
but we are Americans. When the word ``America'' was said, the people 
applauded and smiled. Maybe the only words that they grasped was: 
America was here to help.
  Again, I thank my colleagues for listening, and I know and feel that 
we will gather together and provide the comfort and resources needed by 
the people of Pakistan.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  September 15, 2022, on page H7879, in the first column, the 
following appeared: will gather together and provide the comfort 
and resources needed by the people of Pakistan. Mr. Speaker, I 
yield back the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, on September 6, 
2022, I returned from a congressional fact finding mis-
  
  The online version has been corrected to read: will gather 
together and provide the comfort and resources needed by the 
people of Pakistan. Mr. Speaker, on September 6, 2022, I returned 
from a congressional fact finding mis-


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 


  Mr. Speaker, on September 6, 2022, I returned from a congressional 
fact finding mission to the areas most impacted by the devastating 
floods in Pakistan.
  I have seen the devastation and human suffering firsthand, and I want 
to clarify that Congress must act and be proactive in matters related 
to climate change, including both in the United States and abroad.
  The Jackson Lee CODEL conducted a survey of the impacted area by air 
and visited food aid stations and victims.
  The support provided by the United States will be essential to the 
recovery effort, which will likely take many years. An important form 
of assistance to Pakistan today is the awarding of Temporary Protected 
Status to Pakistanis in the United States, which is a temporary 
immigration status provided to nationals of specifically designated 
countries that are confronting an ongoing armed conflict, environmental 
disaster, or extraordinary and temporary conditions.
  This is why I lead a letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security 
requesting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Pakistanis in the 
United States, allowing them to remain while the nation and the region 
recover from this tragedy.
  Congress created Temporary Protected Status (TPS) in the Immigration 
Act of 1990. It is a temporary immigration status provided to nationals 
of specifically designated countries that are confronting an ongoing 
armed conflict, environmental disaster, or extraordinary and temporary 
conditions.
  The events in Pakistan are the very definition of why TPS was 
created. As the world finds its footing to learn to adapt to the rapid 
and extreme changes in climate, we must not look abroad and say that 
would not happen in the United States--we should never forget 
Hurricanes Katrina, Ike, Harvey, or Maria.
  The reasons for the flooding are linked to climate change and the 
resulting extreme weather. It is important to note that Pakistan 
produces only about one percent of the pollution linked to global 
warming, while the United States produces 11 percent, China 27 percent, 
India produces 6.6 percent, and the EU 6.4 percent of total emissions.
  Researchers say the catastrophe probably started with unprecedented 
heatwaves. In April and May, temperatures reached above 104 degrees for 
sustained periods in many places in the region. On one sweltering day 
in May, the city of Jacobabad topped 123.8 degrees. This is not normal. 
This area is not accustomed to heat like this, and the recorded as the 
hottest place on Earth was in Pakistan.
  The intense heat also melted glaciers in the northern mountainous 
regions, increasing the amount of water flowing into tributaries that 
eventually make their way into the Indus River. The Indus is Pakistan's 
largest river and runs the country's length from north to south, 
feeding towns, cities, and large swathes of agricultural land along the 
way.
  It is not clear exactly how much excess glacial melt has flowed into 
rivers this year, but scientists visited some high-altitude glaciated 
regions in July and noticed high flows and muddy water in the Hunza 
River, which feeds into the Indus.
  People across the United States are deeply saddened by the 
devastating loss of life, livelihoods, and homes throughout Pakistan. 
In the United States, over the last five weeks, we have experienced 
five 1,000-year flood events impacting communities in every region of 
the nation.
  Unfortunately, many Americans can relate to the pain and loss the 
people of Pakistan are experiencing. There have been six 1,000-year 
occurrences in the United States over five weeks, causing flood events 
in Eastern Illinois, St. Louis, Missouri, Eastern Kentucky, Central 
Mississippi, Dallas, Texas, and Death Valley, California, and this does 
not include the 1,000-year flood events that impacted New York and New 
Jersey last year.
  The United States responded that the Pakistani government's request 
for assistance was the right thing to do and for the right reasons. 
Climate change is not a one-nation issue--it is a global threat that 
will touch every life with pain if we do not remain steadfast to change 
and adapt to the new normal of extreme weather.
  The consistency of extreme weather demonstrates these changes over 
the last several years should not be seen as temporary. Weather is not 
just what happens right in front of you; it is also about what is 
happening hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles away from where we 
are standing.
  The rains in Pakistan have resulted in unimaginable changes in the 
landscape. Reports backup by new images taken by NASA's MODIS satellite 
sensor shows the results of heavy rain and an overflowing Indus River 
that has formed a 62-mile lake in the Sindh Province where there was 
farmland. In this region, the monsoon rainfall has been five hundred 
percent above average amounts.
  The United States remains steadfast in its support for affected 
communities throughout Pakistan. In addition to the $30 million in 
urgently needed humanitarian assistance announced today, the United 
States also provided over $1.1 million in grants and project support 
earlier this month to ensure direct service reaches those communities 
most impacted and to help mitigate and prevent the effects of future 
floods. The massive loss of crops and displacement of people puts the 
region at risk of famine if we do not act.
  My trip to Pakistan was an opportunity to convey our nation's resolve 
to stand by the people of Pakistan as they recover from the flooding 
and to gather knowledge that will inform the Committee on Homeland 
Security on the factors related to this extreme weather event that is 
most relevant to the flooding events we are seeing occurring across the 
nation with greater frequency.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________