Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 106 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 106 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 145 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1999 No. 158 Senate R E V I S E D N O T I C E If the 106th Congress, 1st Session, adjourns sine die on or before November 17, 1999, a final issue of the Congressional Record for the 106th Congress, 1st Session, will be published on December 2, 1999, in order to permit Members to revise and extend their remarks. All material for insertion must be signed by the Member and delivered to the respective offices of the Official Reporters of Debates (Room HT±60 or S±123 of the Capitol), Monday through Friday, between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. through December 1. The final issue will be dated December 2, 1999, and will be delivered on Friday, December 3, 1999. If the 106th Congress does not adjourn until a later date in 1999, the final issue will be printed at a date to be an- nounced. 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VerDate 29-OCT-99 23:04 Nov 11, 1999 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 0624 Sfmt 8633 E:\CR\FM\G10NO6.082 pfrm02 PsN: S10PT2 S14480 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð SENATE November 10, 1999 MAKING FURTHER CONTINUING No. 2, do they assume when they turn respond? I have paid my taxes. I have APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE the tap on that they will be able to been a good, law-abiding citizen all FISCAL YEAR 2000 drink the water that comes out of that these years, and I have always been The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under tap? told this is my Government. So my the previous order, the clerk will re- And No. 3, do they assume their chil- question to Washington now is, What is port the continuing resolution. dren will be able to go to school? my Government going to do to re- A joint resolution (H. J. Res. 78) making Let me tell my friends and colleagues spond? further continuing appropriations for the fis- in the Senate that there are tens of The reality is, nobody in North Caro- cal year 2000, and for other purposes. thousands of North Carolinians who no lina is asking for a handout. Our people The Senate proceeded to consider the longer take those things for granted have responded heroically to this situa- joint resolution. and no longer assume they are going to tion. Our businesses have been extraor- The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under be able to do those things because they dinary. the previous order, the Senator from know they cannot. The question they They have made millions and mil- North Carolina is recognized for 15 ask me and, more important, the ques- lions of dollars worth of donations to minutes. tion they ask us as their representa- help the people who have been dev- Mr. EDWARDS. Mr. President, we tives in this Government is, What are astated by Hurricane Floyd. Our indi- are about to pass a resolution to keep we going to do to respond to what has vidual citizens have made contribu- the Government operating for approxi- happened to them? tions. They have not only made con- mately a week. The question I ask is, We have kids in eastern North Caro- tributions with funds to help the vic- What are we doing for the victims of lina who are going to school in small tims of Hurricane Floyd, they have Hurricane Floyd? Keeping this Govern- trailers in a gravel parking lot of the taken time off from work, with their ment open is not important unless it National Guard grounds in Tarboro. In employers' permission; they are taking does the things it should and needs to order to go to the restroom, they have their weekends and their time off to go do for its citizens. to leave these small trailers and travel to eastern North Carolina to work to We keep telling the people of this to the one small trailer that has a rest- try to help the folks who have been country that this is their Government, room. They are already going to school devastated. They have done everything it belongs to them. Every week they in little trailers on a gravel parking they can. Every person in North Caro- get their paycheck, and they have a lot, and there is not even a restroom in lina is doing what they can to help our huge deduction for Federal taxes. They the trailer they are using for a class- people who have been damaged by this wonder every time they get their pay- room. In order to use the restroom, storm. check and their paycheck stub where they have to leave their trailer and go That is not enough. We need this that money is going. down the parking lot to another small Government to respond in a way that The truth is, now is the time, in the trailer. addresses the needs. The water rose in this area, for exam- wake of the devastation of Hurricane No. 1, we need housing relief. We ple, 88 inches in an elementary school Floyd, when they are entitled to expect have thousands of families who have in Tarboro. The school was completely their Government will respond and re- lost their homes as a result of this destroyed. spond in a responsible way to what has storm. They have no way to rebuild TransportationÐwe have more than been done to them. their homes and rebuild their lives 90 sections of State roads and 12 The people of eastern North Caro- without our assistance. It is assistance bridges still washed out. linaÐI know because I have been there to which they are entitled. They have over and over, including this past AgricultureÐour farmers are hurting as they have never hurt before. Before paid their taxes all these years, never weekendÐare wondering how they are knowing this disaster, this devastation going to make it through the winter. this hurricane went through eastern North Carolina, our farmers were tee- was coming. Now that it has hit them, They are completely and totally inno- it is time for this Government to re- cent. These are people who had a hurri- tering on the edge from low crop prices and many years of having a very dif- spond and to get them back into cane drop inches and inches of water on houses. them. It devastated their homes and, ficult time financially. They do not need help 6 months from thereby, devastated their lives. In What is the effect of a hurricane now or a year from now; they need help many cases, it devastated their work- coming through? This is the time of right now. Right now is the time they places. year when many of our farmers in east- are living in small trailers, on gravel What they are saying to us now is: ern North Carolina would be doing the parking lots. They want to get back What is my Government to which I bulk of their work. They would be har- into a home, a real home, the kind of have been paying taxes for all these vesting their crops. Not this year. home they had before Hurricane Floyd years going to do? The reality is, if the Many of our farmers have lost all of came. We have a responsibility to do Government does not respond to this their crops. The current crop loss esti- 1 everything we can to put them in those disaster and this terrible situation, the mate is $543 millionÐover $ ¤2 billion. homes. Government serves no purpose. The livestock loss is estimated at We had 50 people die in North Caro- about $2 million.