Chris Dodd: “nearly three months have passed since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the lives of the good people of our Gulf Coast…”

“nearly three months have passed since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the lives of the good people of our Gulf Coast region. Congress has taken great efforts to address the immediate needs of those affected by the hurricanes and continues to consider how we can assist the long-term needs of these communities. I previously came to the floor with the distinguished Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, Senator Lott, to discuss the needs for funding to restore the elections infrastructure of the impacted States, including not just those directly hit by the storms but also States that welcomed and provided shelter to those displaced by the storms. As the ranking member of the Rules Committee, I rise today to introduce with Senator Lott, the Hurricane Election Relief Act of 2005, a bill that authorizes the necessary funding to impacted States for the purpose of ensuring that they will be capable of conducting the up- coming Federal elections next year, consistent with the Help America Vote Act ("HAVA'). This bill will ensure that impacted States will be able to strengthen the foundation of our democracy and the process by which we build communities. Specifically, this bill provides funding to States to restore and replace supplies, materials, records, equipment and technology that were damaged, destroyed, or dislocated as result of the storms. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is charged with distribution of the appropriate funding to the States.…”