Barbara Mikulski: “Certainly. We welcome you back. And to the people of Mississippi, know that we extend our concern and want to put our…”

“Certainly. We welcome you back. And to the people of Mississippi, know that we extend our concern and want to put our good intentions into operation. I come to the floor of the Senate to speak about what has happened to our country and ideas on how we can move forward and make sure this never happens again. I note that the Presiding Officer himself has been a mayor and a Governor, so he knows what these kind of challenges are. Last week on the Senate break, when I saw what was happening in Louisiana, in Mississippi, and in Alabama, I couldn't believe it. I could not believe the devastation that occurred in these communities where entire neighborhoods were wiped out, that a wonderful city we have all loved and admired and enjoyed, New Orleans, was now under 10 feet of water, that the people of Mississippi all along their coast lost their homes, where with the flyovers all you saw was wreckage, people on a beach and an American flag and a sheet saying: Please help us. And then also this going on in Alabama. We in Maryland know what it is like for a hurricane to hit. Just a few years ago, we survived Hurricane Isabel where we had communities that looked like Baghdad on the bay. So we were very concerned. One thing we had was confidence that hope and help would be on the way. Well, my gosh, this did not happen.…”