Tina Smith: “We have called upon the President to declare this event a major disaster and free up Federal resources to begin…”

“We have called upon the President to declare this event a major disaster and free up Federal resources to begin rebuilding this devastated area. We would like in particular to commend FEMA and the U.S. Coast Guard. FEMA took a lot of criticism as a result of Hurricane Katrina, but their response in Oregon has been spectacular. We thank them on behalf of all Oregonians. We also thank the Coast Guard. Within the first 24 hours, the Coast Guard responded to well over 600 emergency calls and was able to save a tremendous number of lives.”