[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2024]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         KATRINA ON THE GROUND

  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina tore 
through the gulf coast States leaving in its wake death and destruction 
that none of us will soon forget. In the immediate aftermath, graphic 
images of people struggling to escape the flooding in New Orleans and 
digging through the rubble of their homes in Mississippi and Alabama 
filled our television sets and newspapers. People were outraged at the 
Government's response. They volunteered their time to aid in rescues. 
They donated their money to help the victims. But many soon moved on.
  The problems faced by the residents of the gulf coast, however, have 
not gone away. Rebuilding is underway, but it will take years. We 
cannot forget the work that still needs to be done or the people who 
are still struggling.
  That is why I am so impressed with a new volunteer initiative called 
Katrina on the Ground. Katrina on the Ground, or KOTG, will bring 
together students from across the country to help rebuild the 
hurricane-ravaged cities of Mobile, AL, Biloxi, MS, and New Orleans, 
LA, during their spring break vacations. Each student will provide at 
least one week of assistance in the region after receiving a day of 
training in Selma, AL. This is a stunning commitment of time and energy 
given that many students spend their spring breaks at the beach or on 
vacation.
  Choosing the 21st Century Youth Leadership camp in Selma, AL, as a 
training site was not a coincidence. Selma, as we all know, is where 
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led his last great march in 1965--the march 
that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. KOTG's founders hope to 
build on the spirit of the civil rights movement, invigorating a new 
generation of leaders to effect change. As Kevin Powell, one of the 
founders points out, ``There has been nothing like this since the 
student-led anti-apartheid movement of the 1980s or . . . the student 
sit-ins and freedom rides of the 1960s.'' A student army, 500 to 700 
strong, sends a powerful message to residents of the gulf coast and the 
rest of the Nation that we care and we have not forgotten.
  I commend these students, KOTG's partner organizations, and its 
founders KOTG for their creativity, their compassion, and their 
commitment to public service. KOTG gives us hope for the future and 
demonstrates that the leaders of tomorrow are already here, ready, and 
willing to face the toughest challenges of our time.

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