IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 551 
Acknowledging the progress made and yet to be made to rebuild the Gulf 
Coast region after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 16, 2007 
Mr. JEFFERSON (for himself, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. CLYBURN, Ms. KILPATRICK, 
Mr. PAYNE, Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Ms. CORRINE 
BROWN of Florida, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, 
Mr. BACA, Mr. NADLER, Mr. LEWIS of Georgia, Mr. CLAY, Mr. ELLISON, 
Mr. WATT, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. RUSH, 
Mr. CUMMINGS, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. 
WYNN, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, 
Mr. SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Mrs. JONES of Ohio, 
Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. ENGEL, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, 
Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. REYES, Mr. HONDA, 
Mr. SIRES, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. FILNER, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. MEEKS of 
New York, Mr. TOWNS, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. BAIRD, Mr. CUELLAR, Mr. 
MEEK of Florida, Mr. GONZALEZ, Ms. CLARKE, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, Ms. 
VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. MELANCON, and Mr. MCCRERY) submitted the fol-
lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and 
Government Reform 
RESOLUTION 
Acknowledging the progress made and yet to be made to 
rebuild the Gulf Coast region after Hurricanes Katrina 
and Rita. 
Whereas Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the lives of 
4.5 million people through loss of life and personal in-
jury; destroyed homes, businesses, and public property; 
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•HRES 551 IH 
displaced people; and damaged cultural assets and econo-
mies across the Gulf Coast of the United States; 
Whereas Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed nearly every 
home and business in Orleans Parish, St. Bernard Par-
ish, Plaquemines Parish, and Cameron Parish; and thou-
sands of homes in Calcasieu Parish and other coastal 
parishes also suffered flood damage; 
Whereas Hurricane Katrina displayed winds peaking at 175 
miles per hour; 
Whereas Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the Gulf Coast 
region on August 29, 2005, as a powerful category 3 
storm and the third strongest land-falling hurricane ever 
recorded in the United States; 
Whereas Hurricane Katrina destroyed 275,000 homes, 
18,750 businesses, and 875 schools in Louisiana, and is 
blamed for the deaths of 1,577 residents in Louisiana; 
Whereas Hurricane Katrina caused four levees to breach, in-
cluding the 17th Avenue Canal, the Industrial Canal, and 
the London Avenue Canal, resulting in flooding of the 
city of New Orleans and the parishes of St. Bernard and 
Plaquemines; and nearly two years later, work on those 
levees is still unfinished; 
Whereas, because of an insufficient levee protection system, 
approximately 80 percent of New Orleans was submerged 
for nearly one month in deadly flood waters; 
Whereas Hurricane Katrina devastated institutions of higher 
education, including Delgado Community College, Dillard 
University, Loyola University New Orleans, Southern 
University at New Orleans, Tulane University, the Uni-
versity of New Orleans, and Xavier University of Lou-
isiana; 
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•HRES 551 IH 
Whereas nearly two years later, all colleges and universities 
in New Orleans have reopened, but enrollment is lagging, 
major infrastructure has not yet been rebuilt, many pub-
lic schools remain closed, and private and public schools 
that have reopened are struggling to recover; 
Whereas prior to Hurricane Katrina, the population of New 
Orleans was 484,674; but nearly two years after Hurri-
cane Katrina, little more than half of New Orleans resi-
dents have been able to return to their homes; 
Whereas Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed the capabilities of 
State and local governments and Congress appropriated 
billions of dollars for emergency response needs, such as 
evacuations, repairs, deployment of personnel, and other 
immediate relief efforts; 
Whereas nearly two years after Hurricane Katrina, disaster 
relief efforts continue to be needed, especially for hun-
dreds of thousands of displaced citizens; 
Whereas Hurricane Rita made landfall along the border of 
Louisiana and Texas on September 24, 2005, as the 
fourth most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded, 
causing $9.4 billion in property damage; 
Whereas Hurricane Rita completely destroyed several towns 
in Southwest Louisiana along the border of Texas and 
washed tons of potentially hazardous debris into the 
area’s marshes, causing severe economic loss, detrimental 
health effects, and deaths; 
Whereas Congress has responded to the devastation of the 
Gulf Coast region by providing billions of dollars in as-
sistance, including tax relief efforts such as the Gulf Op-
portunity Zone, student aid, and disability services to vic-
tims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and nearly two 
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