[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 167 (Wednesday, November 13, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6543-S6544]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Hurricane Helene

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, with last week's election results, 
the American people have given Republicans an incredible mandate: 
Secure the border, strengthen the economy, restore law and order, and 
do so much more that is going to put this country back on the right 
track.
  It is pretty amazing--70 percent of the American people feel like 
this country is on the wrong track, and we are going to need to wait 
until the new year to start fully enacting the strong, conservative 
agenda; and we are still going to have a lot to do here in this 
Congress before we are sworn in.
  Now, I have got something to put at the top of that to-do list, and 
that is ensuring that our hurricane survivors in Tennessee and across 
the southeast receive the disaster assistance that they desperately 
need.
  No one ever thought that such a storm would end up in the mountains 
of North Carolina and Tennessee, but it did. And the damage assessments 
show what Tennessee is facing in our affected counties to restore our 
communities so that people are able to live; to work; to rear their 
families; so that the kids are able to go to school.
  And we know that it is going to have quite a cost to it. The estimate 
for repairing roads, bridges, and infrastructure from Hurricane Helene 
tops $510 million. Think about that. You have got an area in upper East 
Tennessee--7 counties--and you are looking at over a half billion 
dollars to repair the infrastructure.
  Now, on top of this, we have got more than 1,500 homes that are not 
livable--503 of those homes were completely destroyed. And being on the 
ground in Tennessee, you have heard stories of how people saw their 
homes just being washed away.
  And we know that this is going to take a while. Our Tennessee 
Emergency Management Agency has been on the ground from day one; and 
they are working with these homes, with these communities, and with the 
209 businesses that have been impacted--and 36 of those companies were 
completely destroyed.
  The total economic losses to Tennessee's agriculture and forest 
industries, meanwhile, have been estimated at $1.3 billion, and that is 
according to the UT Institute of Agriculture.
  So you can see devastating loss--devastating loss--from one area of 
Tennessee in these counties that border North Carolina and sit there 
along the Nolichucky River and the Doe River and the devastation that 
has been unprecedented.
  I have found it really quite amazing that when you look at what 
happened in Southwest Virginia and North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, 
that the estimates are about $50 billion in damages.
  Now, as I mentioned, being on the ground really tells a story that is 
much more pointed and explicit than what you see in pictures or in 
video. And once you are on the ground, you can truly understand the 
devastation and the depth and breadth of this devastation.
  I have been in upper East Tennessee and in every one of these 
affected counties five times, and I have visited communities that have 
been isolated because of road closures, because bridges have been 
completely washed out. I have talked with business owners that have 
lost it all, just have lost everything that they have worked for, and I 
have met with families whose entire homes have been washed away.
  One family that I was visiting with in Johnson County, they were 
staying right there at the disaster relief agency because that is where 
they could find a place to lay their head, get a hot meal. The 
devastation is just unprecedented.
  And in the middle of all of this, I have seen what makes Tennessee so 
unique. We are known as the Volunteer State. And, indeed, we do have 
that volunteer spirit. And seeing the way that neighbors have stood up 
and helped their neighbors and have come to their aid--food, shelter, 
clothing, cleaning supplies--indeed, if you were to go to the Bristol 
Motor Speedway--somewhere that people go to watch the races--what you 
would see is an entire building that has been turned into a command 
center and also a disaster relief center with pallets of water and food 
and cleaning supplies and linens and furniture and clothing, everything 
that is needed to get people back on the right track.

  Now, I will say this: Our Governor--Governor Bill Lee--our State 
emergency management agency, and our local mayors deserve a lot of 
credit. These local elected officials are the first ones on the ground, 
and they were on the ground immediately--all of our

[[Page S6544]]

local law enforcement, our first responders, our county emergency 
management agencies--and they stepped up. They went into action, and 
they moved forward immediately to start to come around individuals who 
were losing it all, who were fighting to find people that they feared 
had lost their lives.
  But we know that Federal support is going to prove vital to these 
communities being able to stand up. They are not asking for handouts. 
They are asking for help and a hand up so that they can rebuild.
  And, unfortunately, what we are seeing is Tennesseans are struggling 
to get access to these Federal programs. Just 2 weeks after Hurricane 
Helene struck, we had the Small Business Administration announce that 
it had run out of funds for its disaster loan program. Now, the fiscal 
year started October 1; this storm happened on September 27, and you 
have the SBA saying 2 weeks into the fiscal year they have used every 
penny of their disaster loan program. And we know this is an essential 
lifeline for businesses to help them to stay in operation and to keep 
employees on the payroll.
  And after spending almost half of its disaster budget in the first 
week of October, FEMA also warned that it may have to restrict funding 
for rebuilding efforts--that includes repairs for infrastructure and 
water treatment facilities.
  This shortfall is absolutely inexcusable. The mismanagement is 
inexcusable.
  Just days after Hurricane Helene struck Tennessee, I joined my Senate 
colleagues who represent the States impacted by the storm in calling 
for a Federal disaster relief package to aid rescue, recovery, and 
rebuilding efforts. We need to address the needs of our farmers whose 
crop fields face devastating flooding. I have joined the entire 
Tennessee delegation in urging House and Senate leadership to pass 
agricultural disaster assistance.
  So with Congress back in session, we should waste no time. And before 
we get to next year's agenda, we should put at the top of the to-do 
list: addressing the needs of those who have been so devastated--their 
lives, their businesses, their homes--everything devastated by these 
floods.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Montana.