[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 19644-19645]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              DEALING WITH NATURAL DISASTERS IN THE FUTURE

  (Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, as we all reel from the devastation of 
Katrina, what is surprising is that so many claim to have been 
surprised by

[[Page 19645]]

an event both predictable and inevitable.
  This is the moment when the Nation's attention is trained upon not 
just this tragedy but what we must do to prevent future unnecessary 
suffering and loss. Today with a majority of Americans at risk from 
natural disasters, this is more important than ever for us to get the 
job done right.
  Four years ago, we got it wrong as FEMA lost its focus in the vast 
Homeland Security bureaucracy. We need to listen to each other this 
time and to the consensus of independent experts. We need to deal with 
the long term and to find an appropriate Federal role. We need to use 
the forces of nature to protect against the power of nature. We must 
assure that each step along the way that we take as a Congress leaves 
our communities more liveable and our families safer, healthier, and 
more economically secure.

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