Jim Baird: “Mr. Speaker, today we are talking about the need to adequately support people whose lives have been devastated by…”

“Mr. Speaker, today we are talking about the need to adequately support people whose lives have been devastated by natural disasters. I happen to live in a district where disasters are not uncommon. With Mount Saint Helens in our district, with heavy rainfall and, unfortunately, with recent landslides, we face a growing need, unfortunately, to have our citizens prepared to prevent and to respond to disasters when they do occur. Just last week I spent dozens of hours working with a group of citizens from a neighborhood in Kelso, Washington, whose homes have been completely destroyed by a slow-moving landslide. From this experience I have learned a great deal about what happens to families and to neighborhoods when disaster strikes, and I know how imperative it is to help those folks cope with disasters once they occur. I also believe that we need to do more to focus on disaster prevention, and it is to that issue that we speak today.”