[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 18478]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              FEDERAL DISASTER HELP FOR HURRICANE VICTIMS

  (Ms. HARRIS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, as we meet this afternoon, our friends and 
neighbors on the Gulf Coast face yet another threat of a devastating 
hurricane. As we keep them in our thoughts and prayers, let us reassure 
them that this body will do everything possible to help recover and 
rebuild.
  Let us also remind the victims of Hurricane Charley and Hurricane 
Frances that we will not forget their continued suffering. Thanks to 
the leadership of the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young), we acted 
swiftly and decisively in appropriating an initial $2 billion for 
hurricane relief last week; a good start, but a small fraction of the 
assistance that the victims so desperately need right now.
  The President has submitted a request for an additional $3.1 billion 
which the gentleman from Florida (Chairman Young) introduced in the 
form of H.R. 5072. Predictably, the temptation exists to address the 
other disasters that have recently occurred across our Nation as part 
of this bill.
  I believe we should consider amendments that add relief for 
hurricanes Charley and Frances caused outside of Florida and also 
provide assistance for all of Ivan's victims, whether they reside at 
the point of landfall or far inland.
  We cannot, however, afford to get bogged down in considering measures 
that do not specifically relate to hurricane relief. Hurricane victims 
facing an emergency cannot afford to wait while we evaluate unrelated 
disaster assistance proposals, as worthy as they might be.

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