[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 26264]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       PRIVATE SUPPORT FOR LOUISIANA FOLLOWING RECENT HURRICANES

  (Mr. JINDAL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. JINDAL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the private 
support that has been delivered to my home State of Louisiana following 
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Ford and Dodge motor companies donated 
dozens of vehicles to first responders in my State.
  In addition, one of the greatest examples of support, though not the 
only example, came from Wal-Mart. I want to take a moment to tell you 
about it. It is easy to tell you of their generosity. Wal-Mart donated 
over $17 million to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, the Salvation Army 
and the Red Cross. They donated $3.5 million worth of merchandise to 
shelters and command centers throughout the Gulf Coast region. They 
provided $20,000 in cash donations to animal shelters across the 
region. They provided 150 Internet-ready computers to shelters across 
the region to help loved ones stay in contact. They donated use of 25 
vacant facilities for use by relief agencies. Their customers have 
donated more than $8.5 million in stores across the country.
  The best thing I can do is share a brief story that was told to me by 
the men and women on the ground. Wal-Mart told officials and first 
responders, We don't have staff on the ground, they have all evacuated, 
but come in, take what you need, just shut the door after you leave.
  It took our government days to provide what Wal-Mart and other 
private companies did in those first few hours.

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