Date: 2004-09-13
Speaker: GINNY BROWN-WAITE (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Flor

ida. Mr. Speaker. when we remember Hurricane Frances. we have to remember that it was so large that at one point it obstructed nearly the entire State of Florida on satellite views. The hurricane actually was estimated to measure twice the size of Texas. As I went around my district. and my district goes from the coast. from the west coast to just bordering on the gentleman from Floridas district in the Orlando area. as I went around my district after the hurricane struck. I would see homes and stop and talk to the owners. It is amazing. as I mentioned to him. the difference between the. older homes and the newer homes. The newer homes did not sustain as much damage because they were built to better safety codes. they were better designed. higher wind loads for the roof. All of those facets made those homes sustain the storm a whole lot better. While Frances may have ripped roofs off stores and homes. flattened gas station canopies and slammed moored boats against each other. it did not dampen the spirits of the people of Florida. I had a mother come up to me and say. you know. it has always been difficult to turn off the TV. to get the kids to turn off the TV. She said. I never thought I would say this. but we were able to have the television off. and we actually played some board games. She found this to be a great time to get closer to her children. She now has her power restored. and I am sure that television is back on. But overall. people found this a time of great reflection and a time to pray that their friends and neighbors and that their own family members would remain safe. Mr. Speaker. there is still a lot of repairing that needs to be done. I know. as I was driving Saturday evening around my district. there were piles of debris along the road. And right now. there are still some 213.000 Floridians still without power. When we put that into perspective. there. are some people who do not have a home anymore. They do not have the family heirlooms. they do not even have photographs. because all of those were destroyed in the storm. So people can put this lack of electricity into perspective. because in Florida it gets hot and very. very muggy. but at least they still have their homes. A woman pointed that out to me because she had a friend in another part of the State who lost everything. absolutely everything. Mr. Speaker. Floridians have hope because they know that we as public servants will not forget them. They know that we will work to the fullest of our abilities to see that they receive the relief that they so desperately need. I would like to take a moment to certainly applaud FEMA. the SBA. the Red Cross. the Salvation Army. and so many other organizations that have coordinated relief efforts in our State. There is a wonderful group in my district that is called the Christian Contractors of America. and these are very dedicated. skilled workmen who go out and assist people. I had one constituent who had a tree land on her house and somebody misinformed her that FEMA would take care of the tree. Well. FEMA does not go around cutting down trees. But this great group of Christian contractors we were able to call and. without a doubt. they are there to help. They were there long before the storm. helping people. helping people living in substandard housing. I can think of another example where they helped a battered spouse who had all the windows knocked in. Organizations such as this. certainly the Salvation Army. the Red Cross. all of the church groups that opened up their doors if they had power and they provided food and they provided airconditioning and they provided shelter and respite. and a place to come where the community could all come together. Mr. Speaker. we must answer the needs of Florida and other States. It is not just Florida that gets hit by hurricanes. as Alabama is about to find out. as North Carolina found out last year. I joke with my sister. she lived in North Carolina in Morehead City and she was tired of all the hurricanes hitting there. so she decided to move down to the panhandle of Florida. Well. guess what? She is about ready to be hit by another hurricane. All of the members of the Florida delegation. regardless of which party we belong to. do not forget our commitment to our constituents. Florida must be helped. and I am sure that Congress will take action.