Kent Conrad: “Mr. President, I have just returned from another trip to my home State of North Dakota to see firsthand the developing…”

“Mr. President, I have just returned from another trip to my home State of North Dakota to see firsthand the developing slow-motion disaster that is occurring there. I call it a slow-motion disaster, Mr. President, because it is not one of those things that happens and then is over with. We have a slow-motion disaster. We have had the worst winter on record in North Dakota. Then we were hit at the end by the most powerful winter storm in 50 years, on top of the greatest flood threat in 150 years. Mr. President, you can imagine, people of my State are beginning to wonder what happened, what could have led to a series of events as extreme as these. I don't think anyone has the answer at this point. We are truly coping with an unprecedented series of disasters. We have just had a visit from the Vice President of the United States, Vice President Gore, the Secretary of Transportation, Rodney Slater, and the head of FEMA, James Lee Witt, all in the State of North Dakota last Thursday and Friday. We deeply appreciated the Federal response.”