[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 20230-20231]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   PUT OUR FEDERAL POLICIES IN ORDER

  (Mr. BLUMENAUER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, for several years I have come to the 
floor of the House using the perilous situation that faced New Orleans 
as a rallying cry for us to get our policies right dealing with water 
resources, floods, and disaster mitigation.
  We now have a wide variety of plans and proposals that are flying 
about, which is encouraging. But it is important that we do it right, 
that any plan that we undertake is comprehensive and harnesses the 
forces of nature to solve problems rather than create them.

[[Page 20231]]

  It is important that we start now with the vast sums of Federal money 
that is flowing into the gulf region, and it is critical that we 
involve the local people in shaping their own destiny.
  Last but not least, we must implement long overdue reform to the way 
the Corps of Engineers operates, and even more important, how Congress 
treats the Corps of Engineers. This will go a long way towards not just 
helping New Orleans and the Katrina damaged area; but it will make all 
our families safer, healthier, and more economically secure.

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