[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Pages 2862-2864]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             TORNADO DAMAGE

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, there are life experiences that come along 
with growing up depending on one's family and where they grew up. In my 
part of the world, part of the Midwest, there was a rite of passage 
that seemed so commonplace that we never questioned it. It was the air 
raid siren going off in the middle of the night and your dad would come 
into your room and say: We have to go down to the basement; there is a 
tornado warning.
  That was part of my life. I didn't think twice about it. It happened 
every year--sometimes not in the middle of the night, sometimes in the 
middle of the day, but we became accustomed to it because that is what 
happened where we lived.
  When I was elected to Congress and then to the Senate, I spent my 
time visiting locations all over my State where tornadoes had struck. 
So I have seen my fair share of tornado damage in the Midwest, but I 
have to tell you what I saw on Saturday was extraordinary. I went to 
southern Illinois to two towns, Harrisburg and Ridgway. They were hit 
the previous Wednesday by what is known as a stage 4 tornado. A stage 4 
tornado is a tornado with winds up to 175 miles per hour. That is a 
tornado so violent that the winds, from what I am told, were even 
greater than those of Hurricane Katrina. It hit this tiny little town 
in southern Illinois, and I looked at the devastation afterward. We 
expect obvious casualties in a tornado. We expect to see the trees 
blown down and the siding off the house and the shingles torn off the 
roof and occasionally a window blown in. One looked at the poor mobile 
homes, which don't have a chance in a tornado, and they are usually 
ripped and thrown. But in this tornado, houses that were built on a 
slab were lifted off and tossed in the air.
  I met a lady who was driving away from the devastation of her home--
incidentally, these photos are fairly indicative of what we saw in the 
devastation--and I asked her about her experience. It turned out she 
was very lucky because she had set the alarm for quarter of 5 to go to 
work that morning. She said she got up and started getting ready and 
heard the sirens outside. She said: I went to the bathroom, got down 
face first on the floor, and grabbed the sink to hang on to it. She 
said seconds passed before the ceiling caved in on top of her. Luckily, 
she said it didn't reach her; it pinned her underneath. She said she 
waited and waited and 15, 20 minutes later somebody started hollering: 
Is anybody in there? She said she hollered back and they told her: Keep 
talking. We are going to get you out of there. She escaped with a few 
scratches and bruises. She was one of the lucky ones. Two of the homes 
across the street had been blown on top of hers. It turned out across 
the street a 22-year-old nurse at the local hospital had been killed by 
the same tornado.
  I have never seen this kind of tornado and this kind of damage in my 
life. I am told it happened one time before in the history of our 
State. I also have to tell you the response of the people there makes 
me proud to be from that State and to be a part of this great Nation. 
From the very minute this devastation took place, people started coming 
toward the devastation to try to help. There were some amazing stories 
such as the volunteers who helped this lady out of the debris of her 
home. At the nearby coal mine, they have a rescue team that is sent in 
when there is danger of a mine disaster. They have hard hats and 
breathing equipment and all the right extraction devices and tools. 
They came rushing to the scene, coal dust all over their faces, digging 
right into the wreckage pulling people out. That story was repeated 
over and over.
  The heroism and voluntarism didn't end that day. It continued all 
through the time I was there and even to this day. Special kudos to the 
American Red Cross, always the first on the scene, always performing a 
valuable and important job as they did in southern Illinois.
  I went over to Ridgway, which is a town 24 miles away, and for some 
reason this God-awful tornado skipped from Harrisburg to Ridgway and 
did little damage in between. But it came down in Ridgway and ripped 
through that town. Roughly 400 homes were damaged in Harrisburg and 
over 100 in Ridgway. There is a Catholic Church there over 100 years 
old. It was the sturdiest structure in town by far. Had people been 
given enough notice--this happened early in the morning at about 5 
a.m.--they might have said the safest place to go is the church. The 
church is gone. There are two things left, the doorway for the church 
and the altar. Everything else has been obliterated. There have been a 
lot of pictures taken of that altar still standing in the rubble, an 
inspiration to many. Perhaps a message there will be certain things 
spared even in the worst disasters.
  In that town, the fire department met with the mayor and all the 
volunteers. The one thing about being a volunteer after a disaster in 
Illinois, I guarantee you will not lose weight. Everybody brought in 
food, all kinds of food from every direction--pies, cakes, chili, and 
hot dogs. A fellow came by there and had his barbecue operation set up. 
It was a huge operation, and he was just cooking like crazy. It was an 
indication that everybody wanted to pitch in to help. So I wish to 
thank all those engaged in the rescue and cleanup work at every level.
  John Monken, director of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency 
under Pat Quinn--the Governor has been down there twice--accompanied me 
on this trip, local units of the government, the sheriff's office, the 
local disaster agency people, all the volunteers, the Red Cross, a 
group called Operation

[[Page 2863]]

Blessing, which showed up--I had never heard of them before. I bet they 
have been around. They knew just what to do. They said: Every religious 
group or volunteer group that wants to help, come check with us. We 
will send you to a place where you might be needed. As I walked through 
the wreckage, there were volunteers of every age, from little kids to 
elderly folks, with rakes in their hands picking up trash and getting 
it off to the side and trying to put people's lives together again. The 
scores of people made me proud to represent that great State and the 
people living in it.
  There are several things we need to talk about as a result of that 
disaster that cannot go unsaid.
  I think it is not considered politically correct now to talk about 
the state of climate in America, but I am going to because, as I stand 
here today, we have had 274 tornadoes already recorded in America this 
year--274. At this time last year we had 50. This tornado that hit my 
home State and, I might say, that tornado that hit Joplin, MO, last 
year were extraordinary events when it came to tornadoes. The weather 
patterns are changing. The weather events are more frequent and more 
severe. That is a fact. Are we ready? Are we prepared for it? Are we 
doing everything we can? The simple and honest answer is no.
  First, we need to acknowledge the obvious. I know I am walking on 
dangerous ground, but the climate is changing. We have gone from a 
situation last year where we had the worst recorded blizzard in the 
history of Chicago, followed 4 months later by the most rainfall ever 
recorded in 1 hour, to this situation with 274 tornadoes so far this 
year and literally scores of people killed--six in Harrisburg, many in 
Kentucky and Tennessee and other places. It is an indication the 
weather is changing, the severity is changing, and we need to be honest 
about it. We have to get beyond the political argument into the world 
of reality.
  I sincerely believe there are things we are doing that are affecting 
the world we live in--affecting the melting of the glaciers, affecting 
the disappearance of species, affecting the change of weather patterns 
all around. As long as we continue to take the politically convenient 
route of ignoring that, future generations can point a finger of blame 
at us for failing to acknowledge the obvious when we might have had a 
chance to make some difference in future lives. That is a fact.
  Secondly, I held a hearing and I brought in not government experts 
but experts from the private sector. Do my colleagues know who knows 
more about weather and damage events than anyone in America? The 
insurance industry. I brought them in, property and casualty insurance 
companies, and I asked them the same question: Is weather changing? 
They said it is obvious. Why do we think some companies are taking 
their business out of certain places in America? We cannot set up a 
reserve for the possibility of damage that is on the horizon; we are 
trying to cover ourselves. We are profitmaking people; if we can't see 
a way to set up a reserve for potential weather disasters, we start 
backing off of coverage. It has been done. Many insurance companies 
have walked away from places such as Florida because of hurricanes and 
because of violent storms.
  Then I asked them the question about whether the U.S. Government was 
adequately prepared to shoulder the burden that comes with these 
disasters--and the burden does come, particularly for those uninsured. 
We end up as a government helping them. I don't begrudge people that. I 
am going to ask for my State, and I am sure the Presiding Officer would 
do the same. Every Senator would.
  Here is the bottom line: When the Bowles-Simpson Commission sat down 
to try to determine how much we should budget each year for disasters, 
they came up with what these people in the private sector said was a 
totally unreasonable formula. It basically averaged 10 years and put an 
additional cost-of-living adjustment on it. They said that isn't the 
future. The future is a geometric progression in cost as property 
becomes more expensive, as the storms become more violent.
  We are not thinking about this, and we are not thinking about what we 
should do to deal with it. We also need to think about ways to warn 
people about these disasters before they strike. We live in a new 
world. In the old world we lived in--going back how far I can't say, 
maybe a century--we would turn on a siren outside. That is still of 
some value. It warns people and they respond to it. But in this day and 
age there has to be a better way. Let me suggest a few.
  In some counties in my State, the disaster agency has on record all 
of the telephone numbers of all of the residents. If something is 
coming, their phone is going to ring too, not just the siren outside 
that maybe they don't hear because they are sleeping or because the 
television is too loud but the telephone is going to ring too. That is 
something we need to make standard across this country so there is a 
way to reach everyone.
  I don't know this because I am a liberal arts lawyer. What do I know 
about these things? It seems to me that we ought to be able to deal 
with some mechanism that allows people to receive a notice when there 
is a warning going out of something disastrous on the way. I think that 
ought to be doable. I am working with people in FEMA and others to talk 
about that possibility.
  The point I wish to make is this: I think we have an obligation to 
reopen a conversation which we have walked away from. There is not a 
chance that we are going to pass significant legislation on this floor 
this year when it comes to climate change and what we need to do about 
it. There is little or no chance that we will even get a majority--
perhaps a majority; maybe not 60--to acknowledge this is a problem we 
could do anything about. But for us to ignore this is to ignore the 
obvious. Things are getting worse. Future generations will see even 
more challenges than we do today, and those of us with the 
responsibility to serve and lead need to at least stand and engage the 
conversation, engage the dialogue with the American people about this 
issue.
  I urge my colleagues all across the political spectrum to take a look 
at the reality and to stop turning their head and looking away. What is 
happening out there with our weather patterns is something that needs 
to be acknowledged and something we need to respond to.


                               Gas Prices

  Mr. President, one other thing I wish to say is that as I went home, 
the tornado was the first item of discussion, but the second was 
gasoline prices. I went through the suburbs of Chicago Friday night and 
saw a gasoline station with gas at $4.09 a gallon. It got a little more 
reasonable as I went through deep southern Illinois, but it was still 
very expensive.
  We have seen a significant increase, but those of us who have been 
around know that isn't the first time. I could dust off my springtime 
press release that I put out every year expressing outrage with the oil 
companies for gasoline price increases. It happens every spring before 
Easter. Usually, after all of the politicians get red in the face and 
sputter and run out of things to say cursing the oil companies it kind 
of moderates in May or June and then, get ready, it is coming again 
during the summer vacation season.
  We are not helpless but we are certainly at the mercy of oil 
companies which, even when investigated by major government agencies, 
can't be found to have engaged in any conspiracy or collusion, though 
it seems passing strange that the same gas stations in town after town 
watch their prices go up in lockstep day after day and week after week.
  There are those who think they have a good, quick, easy answer and 
can't understand why the rest of the world isn't cheering them on. They 
want to drill their way out of this situation. They believe if we find 
enough oil in America, gasoline prices will come down and we are going 
to find ourselves oil independent. By last measure, the United States 
has about 3 percent of the world's reserve of petroleum. We consume 
each year 25 percent. Drilling our way out of this is physically 
impossible. Yet that doesn't

[[Page 2864]]

mean we shouldn't look for new, environmentally responsible and safe 
sources for oil.
  Here is the record: Domestic oil production is at the highest level 
in 8 years. We would never believe it, hearing speeches from the other 
side of the aisle. In 2011, U.S. crude oil production reached its 
highest level since 2003, and we are now drilling more than ever 
before. The number of oil drilling rigs in the United States is at a 
record high--quadrupling over the past 3 years of the Obama 
administration.
  Between oil and gas drilling rigs, the United States now has more 
rigs at work than the rest of the world combined. Let me repeat that: 
Between oil and gas drilling rigs, the United States now has more rigs 
at work than the rest of the world combined. Those who are saying there 
is lack of effort don't know the obvious. We keep adding more. The 
administration has announced a new offshore oil and gas development 
program--they want to do it carefully after the BP spill of 2 years 
ago--which will open more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil 
and gas resources.
  Last year, Americans relied less on foreign oil than at any time in 
the past 16 years. Even the American Petroleum Institute agrees that 
American producers and refiners are producing more oil and reducing our 
reliance on imports. The American Petroleum Institute has said without 
these two factors, today's prices might be even higher.
  We simply cannot drill our way to lower gasoline prices. The 
President has proposed an approach that is balanced, and it is an 
approach with vision. It gets beyond the press release of the moment or 
Presidential campaign rhetoric.
  The President recently announced new fuel efficiency standards for 
cars and light-duty trucks that will save Americans $1.7 trillion and 
reduce oil consumption by 2.2 million barrels per day by 2025. My wife 
and I drive a Ford Fusion hybrid. I looked at Consumer Reports, and it 
is still rated very highly. We get over 30 miles a gallon. Prius does 
even better--over 40 miles a gallon. Toyota Camry is somewhere in the 
upper thirties. There are ways to reduce the use of gasoline with more 
fuel-efficient vehicles. I can tell my colleagues I don't believe our 
family makes any sacrifice when it comes to comfort and safety while 
driving this Ford.
  The administration has also finalized the first ever national future 
efficiency standards for heavy-duty trucks, vans, and buses. These 
standards will reduce oil consumption by over 500 million barrels, 
saving the owners more than $50 billion in fuel costs.
  The Department of Energy will make $30 million available for a new 
research competition to find ways to harness our abundant supplies of 
domestic natural gas for vehicles.
  There is no magic bullet that can bring Americans lower gas prices--
not drill baby, drill, and not the Keystone Pipeline in and of itself. 
Senator Hutchison stated that the Keystone XL Pipeline would transport 
830,000 barrels of crude oil from Canada to refineries in Texas and 
that oil would provide Americans with 34 million gallons of gas a day.
  Unfortunately, Senator Hutchison's statement doesn't quite match up 
with the testimony of the oil companies. Canada's oil production ships 
less than half of its current pipeline capacity to the United States. 
There is plenty of room for Canada to ship more right now without a new 
pipeline.
  Existing pipeline capacity would offer 4.2 million barrels per day of 
crude oil to be transported from Canada to the United States. However, 
in 2010, Canada exported less than half of it--1.9 billion barrels a 
day--with existing pipelines. Even doubling Canada's current production 
levels would not fill the Keystone XL Pipeline or bring an additional 
830,000 barrels a day to gulf refineries in the Texas region. So 
830,000 barrels of crude oil simply can't produce 34 million gallons of 
gasoline. Even the best refiners could produce only about half that 
amount of gasoline.
  I might also add that one of the things that is troubling to some of 
us is when the TransCanada Company was asked in a hearing in the House 
by Congressman Ed Markey of Massachusetts whether the oil coming down 
from Canada through the Keystone XL Pipeline would be used for domestic 
consumption in the United States, he said he couldn't make that 
promise. So this argument that the Keystone XL Pipeline is going to 
reduce gas prices, first, that pipeline is in the future; second, there 
is existing pipeline capacity that is unused; and, third, the company 
that is transporting it will make no promise that it will be used in 
the United States. It may not have any impact on our gasoline prices 
whatsoever.
  We just can't drill our way or ``pipeline'' our way out of this 
problem. One pipeline isn't going to solve the problem. Drilling in 
pristine areas such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is not going 
to solve the problem. We need a coordinated, balanced approach. We need 
to walk away from the heightened campaign rhetoric into a rational 
discussion about an energy policy for America: a balanced policy and 
one that is respectful of our environment, provides the energy we need 
for economic growth, as well as looks to innovation and green energy 
approaches that will create new businesses and new jobs for the 21st 
century in America.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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