[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 10734]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    IMMEDIATE NEEDS FUNDING FOR FEMA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring the voices of my 
constituents in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, to the floor of the 
people's House.
  In 2008, homes along the northern shore of Lake Koshkonong and within 
the surrounding community were absolutely devastated by a record-
setting flood. This was a 500-year flood event. It is the same one that 
ravaged much of the upper Midwest and, in particular, Wisconsin and 
Iowa.
  During that storm, I knew that the damage was going to be devastating 
and that many of the houses in our community would be beyond repair. 
What I didn't know was that, almost 2 years after the floods, the 
agency upon which they relied would be leaving these hardworking 
Americans behind. You see, in February of this year, FEMA instituted 
what it calls ``immediate needs funding.'' Basically, they are freezing 
already approved funds to folks in Wisconsin and in other disaster 
areas across the country.
  A couple of weekends ago, I had the chance to visit with property 
owners from my district, of whom I have the privilege of representing, 
who have been affected. They are survivors of the 2008 floods. I wanted 
to hear their stories. Many brought photos and letters. They brought 
their own unique stories. They brought their anger and their 
frustrations.
  I met with Gene and Marie Harris at their home on Lamp Road, one of 
the most extensively damaged neighborhoods in this flood. The damage 
was so extensive that their house was absolutely uninhabitable and has 
been since the flood. They showed me photos of before, during, and 
after, and we talked about the tangle of bureaucratic red tape that 
they waded through in order to get approved for the FEMA dollars. They 
were approved for the FEMA money, but they haven't received a penny 
because of the funding freeze. When I asked Marie to recall what they 
had gone through back in June of 2008, not surprisingly, she welled up 
with tears.
  Mr. Speaker, our hearts go out to the victims of the recent floods 
and of natural disasters. Yet I fear we suffer from that old adage, 
``Out of sight, out of mind.'' Once the cameras are packed away and the 
news crews leave for the next breaking story, what happens to the 
victims and survivors of these natural disasters? Will the families in 
Tennessee or in Arkansas suffer the same fate as Wisconsinites and 
Iowans? Will they see their funding from FEMA freeze even after it has 
been approved?
  One would hope that the system of emergency response would keep on 
plugging away, assisting the families in need across this country, but 
we have seen that system completely break down. This is unacceptable.
  It has been 2 years since their homes were devastated, and my 
neighbors are still living in temporary housing, and they are enduring 
financial chaos. One man is homeless. Another family is on the verge of 
bankruptcy because of the situation that FEMA has left them in.
  I know this is wrong. My constituents know this is wrong. The Federal 
Government has to do better.

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