[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 19784-19785]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           HURRICANE KATRINA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Black-
burn) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Speaker, America has really seen a lot, we have 
been through a lot, in the past week. We have watched Hurricane Katrina 
from start to finish. We have seen it form in the Atlantic, sweep 
across Florida, and enter the gulf. And we have watched in horror as it 
has devastated the southern portions of Louisiana and Mississippi and 
Alabama. We have seen some horrific images. We have seen government 
make some mistakes. We have seen government rescue some folks. And we 
have watched everyday people perform extraordinary feats.
  Like most people, I have been impressed and sometimes sorely 
disappointed. For me there is a personal element. I grew up 60 miles 
inland from Gulfport, Mississippi. My family still lives there. I 
remember Hurricane Camille and the devastation that that storm caused. 
I was a senior in high school. I remember watching a lot of it play 
out, and I can tell the Members Hurricane Katrina is worse.
  Last week my husband, my children, and I all traveled to Laurel, 
Mississippi from Tennessee's 7th Congressional District. We took our 
turns. We took supplies, and we helped with the cleanup. My parents 
have been long-time volunteers with the American Red Cross, and Laurel 
is an area where many coastal residents flee when they are trying to 
outrun the storm.
  We knew that those volunteers could use the reinforcements, and 
absolutely they could. A lot them had no running water, no electricity, 
no gas, no gasoline available, no roof over their homes; but they were 
there at the shelter feeding those that were in need.
  That is America, Madam Speaker. That is the America that I grew up 
in, and that is the country that still today exists.
  As incredible as the damage is, what is more amazing to me was the 
way the local communities were all pulling together, the way Americans 
were traveling from all over, the way many of our colleagues in this 
Chamber were traveling from all over to get to the region and to lend a 
hand. And for all those who could not physically get there, we know 
they are home sending donations to charities, and they are aiding 
organizations. They might not be there physically; they are there in 
spirit.
  There is no measuring the generosity and compassion of the American 
people when they see need. The hurricane has told us that. So I want to 
thank every town, city, and State for sending help.

[[Page 19785]]

  As representative for Tennessee's 7th district, I want to take a 
moment and recognize the work of some of our Memphis and Shelby County 
organizations that have made it their mission to help any way that they 
possibly could.
  Our Memphis Corps of Engineers is already working to help rebuild the 
New Orleans levees. We are also thankful that the Bellevue Baptist 
Church, the Cathedral of Faith Ministries, Christ United Methodist 
Church, Cornerstone Institutional Baptist Church, the Cummings Street 
Baptist Church, the Greater Harvest Church of God in Christ and the 
Greater Praise Church of God in Christ, the Independent Presbyterian 
Church Grove, the Memphis Union Mission, Mid-South Baptist Association 
Retreat Center, and the Baptist Children's Home are all working to 
provide shelter for some of the 15,000 evacuees that are in Shelby 
County; and that the Friendship Baptist Church, the Germantown 
Presbyterian Church, the Oakland First Baptist Church are providing 
shelter and meals; and that the Breath of Life Seventh Day Adventist, 
the Calvary Episcopal Church, Holy Rosary Catholic Church and School, 
the Hope Presbyterian Church, Hutchison School, and the Impact 
Ministries of Memphis are all providing meals.
  Madam Speaker, I know there are other organizations that are out 
there working, and we will be talking about them as we help these 
evacuees find a place and rebuild their lives.

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