Alcee Hastings: “later today we will take up the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for the year 2005. It is a help, but it is…”

“later today we will take up the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for the year 2005. It is a help, but it is simply not enough. From today's newspapers, we learn that the four hurricanes which struck over 6 weeks have wiped out thousands of jobs and billions of dollars' worth of property. Economists estimate that that is the case. The hurricanes caused parts of 10 eastern States from Florida to Vermont to be declared Federal disaster areas. The storms destroyed or seriously damaged many hotels, restaurants, stores, factories and other businesses while temporarily closing seaports, harbors, theme parks and other tourist destinations. Insurance payments will be as much as $23 billion. I call on the House of Representatives to get past this set of disasters and realize that there will be others, and to establish in this Congress a disaster relief fund and a separate jurisdiction dealing specifically with disaster relief from drought to fires, to storms, to earthquakes and whatever may occur in our Nation.”