Hurricane Katrina Relief Message

Hurricane Katrina Relief Message
September 5, 2005

Washington, D.C. - We've all seen and heard the tragic news reports of the devastation and destruction resulting from Hurricane Katrina, a level 5 hurricane that devastated the gulf states of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi. The hurricane, which is being called one of our nation's deadliest natural disasters, has already claimed thousands of lives and injured and displaced thousands more.

Today, more than half a million of our fellow American are homeless and hungry. People throughout the affected areas are in need of food, clean water, shelter, power and medical attention. And just when we thought it couldn't get any worse, the death toll continues to climb as violence has made the worst day even darker.

Congress rushed to provide a $10.5 billion down payment in relief aid for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Although I wholeheartedly support this measure, I was unable to vote on the legislation because I won't be sworn in until after the vote takes place. The majority of the relief aid will go to FEMA, the government's first-line defense in dealing with natural disasters. The remainder of the funds will go to the Pentagon, which is moving military resources into the coastal states to aid in rescue and recovery.

As we've watched with horror the daily footage of the aftermath, we ask how such a tragedy could occur. And then, in the true American spirit, we ask how we can help. Many of you have called our office in recent days asking how you can help.

President Bush recently called on all Americans to join in the relief effort, and has tapped two former presidents, his father, President George H. W. Bush and President Bill Clinton, to lead a nationwide fundraising campaign to help hurricane victims.

While it certainly pales in comparison, we had an evacuation of our own on the east side of Hamilton County near Lunken Airport recently when a passerby noticed a rail car spewing a white plume of smoke. The substance turned out to be a dangerous chemical called Styrene, which is used to make plastic.

The incident caused the forced evacuation of hundreds of residents living within a one-mile radius of the site, closed schools and businesses, and cost the city millions of dollars. I visited with residents who had been evacuated to a makeshift shelter at the Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church. Many of them expressed fear, anxiety and anger about the uncertainty of the situation. They also asked how such a situation could occur in their neighborhood.

I was impressed by the professionalism and swiftness with which the city of Cincinnati handled this emergency situation, but I am shocked that such a situation could happen - especially in an urban area near schools and homes.

I am determined to find out how a rail car containing a dangerous substance was allowed to sit unmonitored, and I will work with government leaders on the local and federal levels to ensure that a similar situation never happens again in neighborhoods in Southern Ohio, or in any other community across the nation.

While we will never be able to make sense of these unfortunate events, I believe if there is any silver lining, it's the great outpouring of human compassion we've witnessed here in our community and across the nation. Our thoughts and prayers are with the thousands of victims.

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/oh02_schmidt/katrina.html