[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10695]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1230
          SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEVASTATING FLOODS OF 2008

  (Mr. LOEBSACK asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. LOEBSACK. Mr. Speaker, 2 years ago, Iowa experienced the worst 
natural disaster in our State's history as a result of the great flood 
of 2008. We have made amazing progress, but 2 years later there is 
still damage in small and large communities like Oakville, Columbus 
Junction, Palo, Cedar Rapids, and Iowa City. Many homeowners are 
struggling to recover still, and many small businesses have been unable 
to access relief programs because of red tape, all this on top of an 
economic downturn. Government-wide, we need to cut down on red tape and 
approve efficiency. I think we can all agree with that. With disaster 
relief, this is even more important because effective assistance is 
absolutely critical to communities' ability to recover.
  Communities are also trying to mitigate future flooding through a 
variety of structural and nonstructural means. I will continue to work 
with city leaders, homeowners, and businesses to ensure that we reduce 
inefficiency and the chances of another devastating flood like the one 
we experienced in Iowa 2 years ago.

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