The group, including committee chairman Sen. Jesse Helms, said the Congress stands ready to fully cooperate in this endeavor to help victims of the quake that struck Gujarat on January 26 and has claimed close to 30,000 lives.
Thousands are dead and the scenes of human suffering are heartbreaking.
They noted that at the time of the earthquake, President George W. Bush had said such natural disasters know no political boundaries and that the president could not be more right . Consequently, the lawmakers wrote to Powell that particularly at a time when the United States is recasting its foreign policy with a spirit of compassion, we must reach out to the people of India and Pakistan . In that spirit, they said, we express our support of President Bush's pledge of assistance to the subcontinent. We stand with you, Mr Secretary, ready to provide any possible emergency aid and assistance to help countless thousands of people suffering as a result of the devastation wrought by the earthquake. The lawmakers pointed out that many rural areas hit hardest by the earthquake have not as yet received assistance .