Mike Levin: “we have all gotten up on this floor and talked about the urgent necessity of helping the people of Louisiana, Alabama…”

“we have all gotten up on this floor and talked about the urgent necessity of helping the people of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. We have all been on this floor talking about the uniqueness of the disaster which is called Katrina. Every one of us goes back home. We received into our homes, our churches, our synagogues people who have been displaced by Katrina. Our people have responded magnificently to this disaster, to this catastrophe back home. Now the question is whether we in the Congress are going to be helpful to the victims in a way which we have been helpful in so many other disasters of a smaller magnitude by providing a loan so that operations can continue, or whether we are going to incorporate a provision in this loan which has never been incorporated before in any loan ever made to a community that obtained a loan under this law. We have never imposed this restriction that is in this bill on any community in this country. We have lent money to Ricksburg, ID; we have lent money to Johnstown, PA; we have lent money to Clifton, AZ; we have lent money to Albian Borough, PA; we have lent money to Vassar, MI, in my home State.…”