Date: 2010-01-13
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Let me thank Congresswoman BARBARA LEE. our chairperson. who raised the red flag and who let out the siren and gathered us together. and I want to respond to what she just said about the earthquake. It rocks you in your soul. 7.0 on the Richter scale is hairraising. I would also argue that it puts your hair on fire. I still have a sense that I am trembling because its unimaginable. As you have just indicated. we look to California. and we get very nervous about our friends and family who are there when we hear of a 2. of a 3 or of a 4. I recall in the northern California area when there was an earthquake that impacted the baseball game and the baseball stadium. and it was all over the news. It was not a 7.0. So I would just simply say that we rise here with all solemnness. We are not speechless. but we are trembling for those who are now in the eye of devastation. I. too. rise to thank the Congressional Black Caucus. of which I am a member. to thank all of those who have been in meetings. as we have been throughout this morning and yesterday. and on a conference call that occurred. Work is going on as we speak and the concern that we have for those who we have been able to see only through. to a certain extent. still pictures. though I know many of our cable networks in particular have been making their way there. and other networks. to be able to deliver the devastation to us. I express my appreciation to the President of the United States. who moved swiftly. There was no hesitation on the commitment that President Barack Obama had. In fact. he quickly offered his prayers. but he acknowledged the devastation. making note of the fact that he had seen collapsed hospitals. crumbled homes. men and women carrying their injured neighbors to the streets. He acknowledged that it was truly heartwrenching. sufficient to make you tremble. So. moving swiftly. he directed his administration to coordinate in an aggressive manner to save lives. The people of Haiti will have the full support of the United States in the urgent efforts to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble and to deliver the humanitarian reliefthe food. the water. and the medicinethe Haitians will need. He has authorized that USAID and the Departments of State and Defense work closely together. and he has mobilized large numbers of individuals. including our military efforts. I also want to take note that the Secretary of Homeland Security has indicated that our resources. including the United States Coast Guard and FEMA. will be there. which we have jurisdiction overmy committee has jurisdiction overand Chairman THOMPSON will be intimately involved in pushing the efforts of making sure that FEMA and the U.S. Coast Guard are there. Google "7.0" and get a sense of how deeply devastating that is and that it hit one of the most populated areas. PortauPrince. It damaged buildings extensively. We saw the palace collapse. not riddled by bullet holes. but literally collapse. How fortunate we can say we were. the fact that this came at 6 oclock when we understand that many of the workers in the palace and the government were already gone. but we know that government officials may have lost their lives. It is said that many of the United Nations personnel and peacekeeping troops have lost their lives. and so we cant put this at a level of seriousness by just our voices and our words. Let me thank the U.S. Southern Command that is deploying a team of 30 people to Haiti to support U.S. relief efforts in the aftermath of yesterdays devastating earthquake. Let me also mention that the team will include U.S. military engineers. operational planners. a commandandcontrol group. and communications specialists. They will arrive in Haiti on two C130 Hercules aircraft. For those who dont know or who cant imagine. those are huge. boatlike aircraft which can carry an enormous amount of equipment. Chairman LEE. I think one of the important issues that I am very concerned about and would like to get a report on is how many aircraftlet me just use the right terminologylarge ships can carry heavy equipment. We know in the war zones that there are large aircraft that can carry heavy equipment. and the equipment I am thinking of in particular would be the Earthmoving machines. the machines that can assist in finding the loss. As we understand. many are still living or are still trying to live who are in the crushed buildings. Time is of the essence. It is imperative because of the crush injuries that can kill. Even if they are alive. the fact that some parts of their bodies are crushed. whether it is a leg or an arm. can cut off circulation. and they can die. Some of the large equipment is so very important. and I would like to get a report on how fast that equipment can move. We do understand that a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter already evacuated four critically injured U.S. Embassy staff to the naval station at Guantanamo Bay. Cuba. hospital for further treatment. Elements of the U.S. Air Force First Special Operations Wing are deploying today to the international airport of PortauPrince. Haiti. to provide air traffic control capability and airfield operations. That is very important. which will allow Members of Congressand might I thank Congresswoman LEE in working with the Congressional Black Caucus. I would like to push for a codel on Friday. but I realize the difficulty of moving Members during a time of great uncertainty. So I encourage. as you have already dictated. that the CBC have a codel. and I know there are many members who are looking to do that and who would do that at the appropriate time. I want everyone to realize that the Congressional Black Caucus is leading on this. and we are attempting to get to Haiti as quickly as we can. making sure that the operations of rescue go forward first. A U.S. Navy P3 Orion aircraft from the forwarding operational location at El Salvador took off early this morning to conduct an aerial reconnaissance of the area affected by the earthquake. and the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. the USS Carl Benson. is under way and is expected to arrive off the coast of Haiti. I might imagine that they will be bringing in what is necessary in the heavy equipment. Many countries around the world are also coming. and I do believe it is crucial that we acknowledge that. The Red Cross is receiving dollars. The White House has a Web site. Madam Chair. which I would like to recite if I could find it.