The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“FLORIDA'S HURRICANES” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Senate section on pages S9695-S9696 on Sept. 27, 2004.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
FLORIDA'S HURRICANES
Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I came here because, as most everybody in the country knows, an unusual meteorological phenomenon has occurred in my State where it has now been battered by four major hurricanes. Part of the State now has been battered in the same area--
namely, south of Orlando, southeast of Lakeland. In that area, it has been traversed now by hurricane strength winds from three hurricanes--
first Charley, then Frances, and now this last one. The third hurricane, Ivan, took off for a different part of the State. It hit west Florida in the Pensacola area, as well as eastern Alabama, with such force of not only 138 mile per hour winds but also with that surge of water called a tidal surge, which was so significant that it went all the way up Pensacola Bay and, in fact, lifted up sections of the Interstate 10 bridge--huge, heavy concrete sections--lifted it up by the pressure of that water and deposited it on the bottom of Pensacola Bay. That is the kind of force and fury of Mother Nature that has been visited upon my State. So what do we need to do? Well, there is one reason for the Federal Government, other than the protection of the national defense of this country, and that is also to provide during times of disaster.
FEMA ran out of money several weeks ago. We came in here and we passed an emergency appropriations bill of $2 billion to try to fill up their coffers. But since then, we have passed several things appendaged to the Homeland Security Appropriations bill, plus receiving several acknowledgements and commitments to, in particular, this Senator from Florida from the esteemed chairman of the Appropriations Committee of adding additional funds in the conference that is now occurring on the Department of Homeland Security funding bill.
But as of yet, we have seen an appropriation request come from the White House that is just not going to solve the problem. For example, the Commissioner of Agriculture of Florida said that for the first two hurricanes, we are going to have $2 billion of losses just in agriculture. Yet all we have announced out of that $2 billion requested by the Commissioner of Agriculture--who happens to be in the same party as the President--all we have seen is the Secretary of Agriculture offer a package that is only one quarter of what the Commissioner of Agriculture of Florida has asked for. That is just not going to do it.
Since the first two hurricanes, we have been hit by a third hurricane and, a day ago, by a fourth hurricane. In that third hurricane, there is going to be a big loss of the cotton and peanut crops up in the panhandle. With the fourth, what was left of the citrus crop across central Florida is going to be all gone because these ferocious winds are going to drop to the ground any fruit that was remaining. This is an election year, but this should not be partisan.
People are hurting and they need help, they need it now. I ask the White House, this administration, the Department of Agriculture, and all those myriad of agencies to come forward and help us. We need that help right now.
I yield the floor.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Iowa is recognized.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, how much time am I allotted?
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Iowa has 19\1/2\ minutes.
Mr. HARKIN. I thank the Chair.
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