On the recordJuly 20, 2010
I stand to support H.R. 5266. In 2007, Congress created the National Commission on Children and Disasters to examine the needs of children in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters. One lesson we learned from Hurricane Katrina is that we must ensure that our preparation for and response to disasters incorporate the unique needs of children. During Hurricane Katrina, many children were separated from their families, and schools and child care facilities were destroyed. I had a personal experience of that as it took me about 2 weeks after Hurricane Katrina to find a child care facility for my daughters. At that time, one was 3 years old, and the other was around 9 months. It became clear that focused attention to children would be critical to helping families through a major disaster and through the recovery process. The National Commission on Children and Disasters was created to ensure there is focused attention on the needs of children in disasters.
