[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 21317-21318]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1230
 ACKNOWLEDGING PROGRESS TO REBUILD GULF COAST REGION AFTER HURRICANES 
                            KATRINA AND RITA

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform be discharged from further 
consideration of the resolution (H. Res. 551) acknowledging the 
progress made and yet to be made to rebuild the Gulf Coast region after 
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and ask for its immediate consideration in 
the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Illinois?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows

                              H. Res. 551

       Whereas Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the lives of 
     4.5 million people through loss of life and personal injury; 
     destroyed homes, businesses, and public property; displaced 
     people; and damaged cultural assets and economies across the 
     Gulf Coast of the United States;
       Whereas Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed nearly every 
     home and business in Orleans Parish, St. Bernard Parish, 
     Plaquemines Parish, and Cameron Parish; and thousands of 
     homes in Calcasieu Parish and other coastal parishes also 
     suffered flood damage;
       Whereas Hurricane Katrina displayed winds peaking at 175 
     miles per hour;
       Whereas Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the Gulf Coast 
     region on August 29, 2005, as a powerful category 3 storm and 
     the third strongest land-falling hurricane ever recorded in 
     the United States;
       Whereas Hurricane Katrina destroyed 275,000 homes, 18,750 
     businesses, and 875 schools in Louisiana, and is blamed for 
     the deaths of 1,577 residents in Louisiana;
       Whereas Hurricane Katrina caused four levees to breach, 
     including the 17th Avenue Canal, the Industrial Canal, and 
     the London Avenue Canal, resulting in flooding of the city of 
     New Orleans and the parishes of St. Bernard and Plaquemines; 
     and nearly two years later, work on those levees is still 
     unfinished;
       Whereas, because of an insufficient levee protection 
     system, approximately 80 percent of New Orleans was submerged 
     for nearly one month in deadly flood waters;
       Whereas Hurricane Katrina devastated institutions of higher 
     education, including Delgado Community College, Dillard 
     University, Loyola University New Orleans, Southern 
     University at New Orleans, Tulane University, the University 
     of New Orleans, and Xavier University of Louisiana;
       Whereas nearly two years later, all colleges and 
     universities in New Orleans have reopened, but enrollment is 
     lagging, major infrastructure has not yet been rebuilt, many 
     public schools remain closed, and private and public schools 
     that have reopened are struggling to recover;
       Whereas prior to Hurricane Katrina, the population of New 
     Orleans was 484,674; but nearly two years after Hurricane 
     Katrina, little more than half of New Orleans residents have 
     been able to return to their homes;
       Whereas Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed the capabilities of 
     State and local governments and Congress appropriated 
     billions of dollars for emergency response needs, such as 
     evacuations, repairs, deployment of personnel, and other 
     immediate relief efforts;
       Whereas nearly two years after Hurricane Katrina, disaster 
     relief efforts continue to be needed, especially for hundreds 
     of thousands of displaced citizens;
       Whereas Hurricane Rita made landfall along the border of 
     Louisiana and Texas on September 24, 2005, as the fourth most 
     intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, causing $9.4 
     billion in property damage;
       Whereas Hurricane Rita completely destroyed several towns 
     in Southwest Louisiana along the border of Texas and washed 
     tons of potentially hazardous debris into the area's marshes, 
     causing severe economic loss, detrimental health effects, and 
     deaths;
       Whereas Congress has responded to the devastation of the 
     Gulf Coast region by providing billions of dollars in 
     assistance, including tax relief efforts such as the Gulf 
     Opportunity Zone, student aid, and disability services to 
     victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and nearly two years 
     later, Congress continues to provide assistance to expedite 
     economic recovery in the region; and
       Whereas the people of the United States have been extremely 
     generous in their support for the Gulf Coast region, in 
     addition to the outpouring of assistance from the 
     international community, which continues to support the 
     recovery efforts in the region: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved,  That the House of Representatives--
       (1) recognizes the importance of the Gulf Coast region to 
     the economy of the United States;
       (2) recognizes the importance of the cultural contributions 
     of the people of the Gulf Coast to the United States; and
       (3) expresses its support for all individuals still 
     affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita two years after these 
     terrible natural disasters struck.

  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, Hurricane Katrina made a 
devastating impact on Florida and the Gulf Coast states in the last 
days of August 2005, followed within weeks by Hurricanes Rita and 
Wilma. These disasters will long be remembered for disrupting families, 
changing and ending lives, and forcing Americans to rethink about our 
preparedness and ability to respond effectively to disasters. 
Unfortunately, these hurricanes served as a catalyst for changes in 
federal policy and government management within the Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency management Agency 
(FEMA).
  Most of those changes were included in Title VI of the DHS 
appropriations legislation for FY2007. It established new leadership 
positions and requirements within FEMA. Additionally, it brought new 
missions into FEMA and enhanced the agency's authority by directing the 
FEMA Administrator to undertake a broad range of activities before and 
after disasters.
  Although, Congress has responded to the devastation of the Gulf Coast 
region by providing billions of dollars in assistance, more resources 
are needed to expedite the economic recovery in this region.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague Representative William Jefferson 
for introducing this legislation and urge the swift passage of this 
bill.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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