[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 37 (Monday, February 27, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H900]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  LOS ANGELES URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE AID TURKIYE EARTHQUAKE RESPONSE

  (Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 
132 to respond to the devastating earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria.
  Three weeks ago, the world watched in horror as one of the deadliest 
earthquakes of the century hit southern Turkiye and northern Syria, 
causing destruction of epic proportions. The damage affected 20 million 
people in Turkiye and 8 million in Syria.
  Amidst the tragedy, I recognize the heroism and courage of the nearly 
240,000 rescue and aid workers who have responded to this disaster. I 
am deeply proud that an urban search and rescue team from my district 
in Los Angeles was deployed to Turkiye to assist in USAID's relief 
efforts just 18 hours after the earthquake first hit. Eighty personnel 
from the L.A. County Fire Department and eight members of the L.A. 
Sheriff's Department led the search for survivors and assessed over 
6,000 buildings to determine their safety for residents.
  As is always the case when disaster strikes, those who suffer most 
are the vulnerable and marginalized among us: civilians in rebel-led 
Syria who have endured the horror of Russian airstrikes and Assad's 
weaponization of aid; Syrian refugees seeking safety in Turkiye; and 
pregnant women, children, the elderly, and disabled people.

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