[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18005]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  2045
                    AMERICA, MISSISSIPPI THANKS YOU

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hall of New York). Under a previous 
order of the House, the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Taylor) is 
recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues for yielding 
me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, as you know, about 22 months ago the Mississippi Gulf 
Coast was hit with the worst hurricane in our Nation's history. It was 
followed up by a disaster made by man, which was the insurance industry 
almost uniformly denying the claims of people who had paid their 
premiums for decades. So people who thought they were covered woke up 
the next day or the next week to discover that their house was gone, 
and that their insurance company that said they were in ``good hands'' 
or that might have been their ``good neighbor'' or were ``on their 
side'' weren't going to pay.
  It has led to several problems, one of which will be addressed, we 
hope, in July with a promise by the Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Frank, 
Chairwoman Waters for a hearing in the Financial Services Committee to 
amend the National Flood Insurance Program to allow people to buy all-
perils insurance through their Nation, something that will prevent the 
fight in the future in other areas of America where 52 percent of 
Americans live. So if they go through the same sort of tragedy that the 
people of Mississippi went through, that they will be paid. Because the 
only people who did pay their claims last time, uniformly, was our 
Nation through the National Flood Insurance Program.
  One of the ways that the American people responded to that, Mr. 
Speaker, is that by the thousands, all the way from kindergartners to 
grandparents, volunteers that have come to south Mississippi, they 
volunteered their time, they have given of their own personal treasure 
to help the people of south Mississippi rebuild who should have been 
paid by the insurance industry but won't. We've had so many groups. And 
I wish I could name them all and I wish I could have thanked them all.
  But one of the groups I did get a chance to visit with just recently 
was the St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church of Naperville, Illinois, 
again, one of the thousands of groups that have been to south 
Mississippi and continue to go to south Mississippi to help people 
rebuild their lives.
  We want to thank them and all the groups, but I also want to 
recognize a letter that they sent to my office. And it's strange that 
they should even be thanking someone from my office, it is my office 
that should be thanking them. But I want to read their letter in 
gratitude for them, and thank them as a way of thanking all the people 
that helped.
  ``We are eternally grateful to you for sharing with us one of 
Mississippi's finest natural resources, Chris LaGarde.'' Chris is an 
employee in my office.
  Since we first met Chris a year ago, we've come to know him as a dear 
friend, a counselor, a leader, a chef, a mentor and a pack rat. He is a 
great big energizer bunny in a bright orange jumpsuit, not only because 
he never stops, but because his presence energizes all of us. Chris is 
a man of compassion and passion. He is caring, loving, generous and the 
most humble man you could ever meet. He's an excellent chef and host.
  Through all of the trials and tribulations of finding work for our 60 
volunteers all week and feeding us twice this week, he always kept his 
composure, his sense of humor and his love for all of us. He is a role 
model not only for young adults, but for us older adults as well. He 
lends perspective to what is really important in all of our lives, not 
our iPods, TVs, cell phones, cars and homes, but our friends, family 
and fellow human beings.
  Chris is the epitome of the face of Christ, of service, of love for 
his fellow man.
  To the folks of St. Elizabeth Seton, know what you've said is really 
about yourselves and about the other people who've come to south 
Mississippi to help us out. And on behalf of the people of south 
Mississippi, I want to thank all of those volunteers for what they have 
done and what they continue to do. And on behalf of not only the people 
of south Mississippi, but all of our fellow Americans, I think our 
fellow Americans have truly risen to the occasion. And I, for one, am 
eternally grateful for their help.

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