Charles Norwood: “it seems tonight is the night for many of us to talk about the hurricane and the disastrous effects it has had on our…”

“it seems tonight is the night for many of us to talk about the hurricane and the disastrous effects it has had on our country. I heard earlier a couple of my Democratic colleagues berating the majority leader about hurry up with money, hurry up and get it done. We want to help our friends on the Gulf Coast, but it is also important that we do it sensibly and we pay some attention to the taxpayers here. Just yesterday, in Atlanta, one of the FEMA cards for $2,000 was used to buy a handbag. I guess you need a handbag if you are in dire straits, but this one was a Louis Vuitton, which does not mean much to me, except it was an $800 handbag. That is ludicrous. That is not what the American people expect for us to let happen. {time} 1830 We will be rebuilding the gulf coast States for years to come. We will do so with both public and private moneys, with cost estimates now running into the hundreds of billions of dollars. Estimates are that at least a half million Americans from the affected areas have permanently lost their jobs as their workplaces are totally destroyed. Mr. Speaker, we do want to help these people. We must help these people. It makes perfect sense that we ought to employ as many of these folks as possible in the rebuilding effort of the gulf coast. It is for their personal good we do that, and it is for the good of the country.…”