Jay Rockefeller: “the massive devastation inflicted upon our southern States by hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma reminded all Americans…”

“the massive devastation inflicted upon our southern States by hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma reminded all Americans how important it is that the Federal Government be able to respond quickly and effectively when disaster strikes. We also learned from those tragedies that we must assist in ways few of us had imagined--for example, to meet the needs of evacuees who were dispersed far from the disaster. Other events of the past few years, both here at home and abroad, have taught us that we must prepare for more than just natural disasters. Accidents, acts of terrorism, and pandemic illnesses also threaten us with death, injury, and destruction. And while we work to minimize the threats, we must assume that such disasters will really happen. I have concluded that the President's current statuary authority to respond to disasters is not sufficient to meet the threats that we all now recognize as real, though once they were unimaginable. Today, I am introducing the Disaster Relief Act 2005 to modernize our disaster response capability for the 21st century. One of the principal authorities we have given the President for disaster management is the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. This is the law that authorizes the President, at the request of a Governor, to declare an ``Emergency'' or a ``Major Disaster,'' which then enables various types of Federal assistance. Emergency is the lower level declaration.…”