Ernest Istook: “as is evident a great many people responded to this situation. Over 12,000 emergency workers, rescue workers and…”

“as is evident a great many people responded to this situation. Over 12,000 emergency workers, rescue workers and volunteer workers, were at the site within a matter of only a couple of days. They came from all over America, for which we are grateful and will always remember. I want to add some additional thanks to some people that have not been mentioned that I, as someone who shared representation of Oklahoma City with Congressman Lucas at the time, and as someone who now represents that specific building site, I want to express appreciation for those with whom we also worked. As a member of the Committee on Appropriations, I worked directly with former Chairman Bob Livingston, former Speaker Newt Gingrich, and former Infrastructure Chairman Bud Shuster in making sure that we fashioned the correct Federal response. And, in fact, something in the neighborhood of $200 million flowed in to reimburse law enforcement and safety expenses, to pay the cost of rebuilding hundreds of damaged properties, to establish a permanent revolving loan fund for the redevelopment of the area, the area that surrounds the former Murrah site, to build the new Federal building and campus, which was opened just over a year ago, and of course to establish the national memorial, museum, and the antiterrorism institute in Oklahoma City.…”