[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 20118]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        FOCUSING ON THE CHILDREN

  (Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I know we will not forget, but 
I believe that as we make our way through confronting and addressing 
the pain of those who survived Hurricane Katrina, we should know all of 
the facts. Coming from Houston, let me say that one of the glaring 
tragedies that we will face are the large numbers of children that will 
be traumatically impacted by this disaster. In addition, we know that 
300,000 to 400,000 of those children will remain homeless, and there 
are still lost children in Houston at the George R. Brown Convention 
Center and the Astrodome.
  This week I will be convening advocates for children from around the 
Nation to sit down and craft a strategy that can address these large 
numbers of children, not only today in their lives but long-term. These 
victims will be with us for a long time. We are grateful for the 
generosity of Americans; but even in their hope and their optimism, we 
must confront the long-term solutions to bring about a better quality 
of life and for them, the joy of life.
  Let us focus on the children. I welcome the thoughts of Americans and 
those who advocate for children to craft an agenda, a long-term 
strategy to help the children of the terrible Hurricane Katrina and 
terrible tragedy that has occurred for them and their families.

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