Jane Harman: “I rise in support of the emergency supplemental. If your district has never experienced a massive natural disaster like…”

“I rise in support of the emergency supplemental. If your district has never experienced a massive natural disaster like the Northridge earthquake, you should consider yourself fortunate. For my family and me, the earthquake was a unique and terrifying experience. At 4:31 a.m. on January 17, I stood with my husband and our 11-year-old son under a doorway of our Marina Del Rey home, and heard the sounds of breaking glass and creaking walls around us. I spent that day surveying my district, talking to local officials, and visiting police stations, and was relieved to find that, by and large, the South Bay escaped with some shattered glass and shattered nerves. In fact, as part of the LA County emergency response plan, many of the fire trucks in my district had been sent to Northridge. Unfortunately, parts of Los Angeles and Ventura were not so lucky. Beyond the terror of the moment, the destructive power of this earthquake was unprecedented. Seeing businesses destroyed, homes condemned, and a lifetime of possessions burned is painful. And yet, the courage and perseverance of the people of southern California is staggering. We have all read the stories about strangers coming to each other's aid and people's heroic determination to rebuild. What impresses me is the measurable desire to prove that the cumulative tragedies our area has undergone over the past several years-- recessions, earthquakes, fires, floods, droughts, riots--have not broken our spirit.”