September 13, 2006 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H6505 local level, I believe we need a well- addition to transporting much of our domestic The Louisiana parishes of Orleans and St. thought-out plan for additional hurri- oil supply, coastal Louisiana also refines 16% Bernard were especially hard hit by flooding, cane protection in this region of the of our petroleum products. Knowing this, we with an estimated 77% of Orleans’s population gulf. It must be a comprehensive plan must ensure that this valuable part of our na- affected, and nearly all residents of St. Ber- that also recognizes the navigation tion’s infrastructure remains intact and its peo- nard. needs of one of America’s great ports ple remain protected. In Mississippi, 55% of Hancock County’s and waterways as well as the ecological Our current levee system in New Orleans population is estimated to have been affected importance of the coastal marshes. dates back to the 1960s, and since then our by flooding and/or structural damage. I want to assure Mr. MELANCON that whole environment has changed. The loss of In the greater New Orleans area alone, I will work in conference to make sure coastal barrier islands and the erosion of our there were 160,000 homes and apartments that the Corps of Engineers gets the wetlands have led to a weakened first line of destroyed or heavily damaged by the storm. authority it needs to provide the ap- defense against hurricanes. These islands and The metro New Orleans area has lost ap- propriate protection for coastal Lou- wetlands help absorb the storm’s tidal surge proximately 400,000 residents. isiana and Mississippi. and weaken the strength of an approaching The National Flood Insurance Program has Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, we were all storm. We are losing our wetlands at a rate of paid out $17 billion in property damage claims horrified a year ago when New Orleans’ levies 25 to 30 square miles per year, while we are in Louisiana alone, only a fraction of total broke under the force of the winds and storm making areas further inland more susceptible damage. surges caused by Hurricane Katrina. Katrina to flooding. We have seen hurricanes become Hospital capacity in Orleans parish dropped was at Category 3 strength when it made more powerful and more frequent as the years in half immediately after the storm. In St. Ber- landfall that fateful day, yet it wrought destruc- go by. The risk of hurricanes will always be nard, there are still no hospitals open. tion beyond our imagination. In the face of the present in south Louisiana, it is up to us to de- The Army Corps of Engineers has only devastation we witnessed, it borders on the cide how to best mitigate their destructive im- begun to raise sinking levees and deal with absurd to consider authorizing levee funding pacts. unfinished hurricane protection and flood pre- for New Orleans at anything less than the Cat- Looking at this situation, I am reminded of vention projects. But, they’re only rebuilding egory 5 level. For that reason, I rise in strong what I saw firsthand in the Netherlands. After the levees to withstand a Category 3 storm, support of the Melancon Motion to Instruct the the devastating North Sea floods of 1953, that Katrina’s level. Prudent planning and common WRDA conferees. nation committed itself to a system of water sense would dictate that they be raised to Cat- Mr. Speaker, past authorizations for hurri- management projects that would ensure such egory 5 levels to protect the more than two cane protection took into account vast a flood never happened again. Although the million residents along these coasts. marshes and wetlands, as well as barrier is- cost was high, their determination to provide I urge my colleagues to support and vote for lands that could absorb most of the force of absolute protection was justified. As a result, this motion to instruct. Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no tidal surges. Louisiana has lost 1.2 million the Netherlands now has a significant number further requests for time, and I yield acres of this land due to economic develop- of its citizens living and produces 70% of its back the balance of my time. ment in the past century, and stands to lose $480 billion GDP in areas that are fifteen to twenty feet below sea level, safely protected Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, I have another 435,000 acres if measures to stop the no further requests for time, and I loss aren’t taken. Without this protective buff- by flood control projects. By comparison, the lowest areas of New Orleans are only four and yield back the balance of my time. er, the people of Louisiana are that much The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without more vulnerable to storm surges and other a half feet below sea level. Protecting the city is not beyond our technological capabilities, it objection, the previous question is or- hurricane-related flooding. dered on the motion to instruct. Coastal and wetlands restoration combined is simply a matter of making the commitment necessary to do so. While the cost may seem There was no objection. with a strong levy system will offer the hurri- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The substantial now, it pales in comparison to the cane protection necessary to protect the lives question is on the motion to instruct cost we would face in human and economic of over 2 million residents and the nation’s in- offered by the gentleman from Lou- losses should another hurricane strike south dustries. However, we cannot rebuild all of the isiana (Mr. MELANCON). wetlands lost in the near term, so we must Louisiana directly. The question was taken; and the Mr. Speaker, it is time to get it right. We compensate with stronger, better levee protec- Speaker pro tempore announced that must ensure the safety of the city of New Or- tion. The Army Corps of Engineers has the ayes appeared to have it. leans and the rest of the Gulf Coast, because worked hard to bring levees back up to pre- Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, on we have seen the horrible effects of sub- Katrina standards, but we’ve already seen that I demand the yeas and nays. standard, poorly designed, inadequate levee what that level of protection does—nothing. The yeas and nays were ordered. protection in the face of a powerful storm. A Anything less than Category 5 levee protection The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- working flood control system for south Lou- is totally inadequate and would be an insult to ant to clause 8 of rule XX and the isiana begins with sound levees. I urge the the memory of the more than 700 New Chair’s prior announcement, further conferees to support levee protection against Orleanians who lost their lives a year ago. proceedings on this question will be a Category 5 storm surge. Mr. JEFFERSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today postponed. Mr. ABERCROMBIE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to request the conferees on the Water Devel- today to support Congressman MELANCON’s f opment Resources Act guarantee levee pro- motion to instruct conferees on H.R. 2864. FOURTEENTH DALAI LAMA CON- tection at a Category 5 level. Hurricane This motion would direct conferees to accept GRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT Katrina served as a stark reminder that our provisions that will protect coastal commu- levee system in south Louisiana is inadequate. Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I nities in Louisiana and Mississippi from the move to suspend the rules and pass the We are responsible for ensuring the safety of storm surge of a category 5 hurricane. its residents, and today we can make a com- Senate bill (S. 2784) to award a congres- Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf on August 29, sional gold medal to Tenzin Gyatso, mitment that they are not forgotten. 2005, and was a category 3 hurricane that did The economic and environmental benefits the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, in recogni- not even directly hit the affected areas. tion of his many enduring and out- that south Louisiana provides to the nation are Yet, Katrina was able to inflict monstrous standing contributions to peace, non- substantial. Coastal Louisiana produces over and unimaginable damage upon Louisiana violence, human rights, and religious 30% of our nation’s seafood, including 50% of and the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. One year our shrimp crop. Our wetlands are home to understanding. after Hurricane Katrina, the area remains a The Clerk read as follows: over 79 endangered species and serve as a terrible, twisted portrait of lives and families S. 2784 vital habitat for migratory birds. The network of and whole communities washed away; home Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Rep- interconnected waterways and presence of by home, block by block, neighborhood by several major port facilities are an important resentatives of the United States of America in neighborhood. Congress assembled, hub in our maritime industry. Over 70% of the As a result of Hurricane Katrina: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. grain produced in the United States travels More than 1,000 people died. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fourteenth through the area. 30% of our domestic crude The total number of immediately displaced Dalai Lama Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. oil and 34% of our natural gas is produced by people has never been determined. Estimates SEC. 2. FINDINGS. or travels through south Louisiana, making us range from the hundreds of thousands to the Congress finds that Tenzin Gyatso, the a centerpiece in America’s Energy Coast.