Steve Cohen: “In the first weekend of May, the great storms came through from the West and struck in Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee…”

“In the first weekend of May, the great storms came through from the West and struck in Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The flooding damage was record-breaking. The damage done in all States was great but in the State of Tennessee was the most severe, my home State. The most destruction, I guess, and the most damages occurred in the district of the Honorable Jim Cooper of Davidson County and environs. But in my own County of Shelby, there was extensive damage. I joined with my colleagues in calling on our Governor to issue a request for a declaration of emergency, and that was done by Governor Bredesen. The Federal Government has responded in a magnificent manner. President Barack Obama, in his historic speech to the Democratic National Convention in 2004, said how there was not a red United States of America and there was not a blue United States of America, but there was only one United States of America. And in this particular instance where people suffer in States that are all considered politically red States, the United States of America has responded with all of its resources to help our people, and our people need help.”