Kent Conrad

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. I have a point of order that I would like to raise.

Mr. CONRAD. I rise to make a point of order that section 5822 of this bill is extraneous and violates section 313(b)(1)(D) of the Budget Act, the so-called Byrd rule. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing what amounts to a $2 billion blank check for one State, the State of Texas. The bill before us would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to approve the privatization of all Federal and State health and human services benefit programs in the State of Texas without any hearings and without any opportunity to review the proposal or ensure that the goals of these programs are furthered by the proposal. Mr. President, this is truly unprecedented. If we look at the potential impact from this one State waiver, we see that it affects 2.35 million Medicaid beneficiaries, 2.1 million food stamp recipients, 10 percent of all the food stamp recipients in the United States, nearly 1 million WIC recipients, and 20,000 children who are up for adoption or qualify for foster care assistance. The Texas waiver amounts to a $2 billion blank check without the benefit of one hearing and without the benefit of any Senator knowing what is in the proposal, because this is a proposal that has not been revealed to the U.S. Senate. There has been no waiver submitted. We hear a lot of talk that it is a waiver. There has been no waiver submitted. This is a procurement document which, by law, is confidential and cannot be reviewed by the U.S. Senate. There have been no public hearings on this proposal--not one. Not a single Member here has had privy to what this procurement document involves. There are serious unanswered questions about whether taxpayers are protected from liability, mismanagement or fraud. Mr. President, let me go to the next chart. The contracting of human services has a very checkered record. I have produced reviews of just four situations which have occurred around the country, because I think before we leap off this precipice, we ought to know what is in this agreement. What is in this proposal? None of us have been privy to what is here. Let me just review with my colleagues what we have seen in other agreements like this around the country. In California, an agreement with Lockheed Martin for a child support enforcement contract, harshly criticized in the California Assembly, slated to cost $99 million, now projected to cost $260 million, cost overrun of 163 percent. The State of California stopped payment in February of 1997; limited contractor liability of only $44 million. Taxpayers have to pick up the rest--a disaster in California. Do we want this to be repeated in Texas? Some will say, well, it won't happen in Texas. On what basis do they say that? Not a single Senator knows what is in that procurement document --not a single one-- because it is confidential. Virginia: Electronic Data Systems, a Medicaid contract. By the way, this is the same company that seeks to privatize all--let me emphasis-- every single Federal and State program in the State of Texas. The same company is involved in this Virginia matter. This is a Medicaid contract in Virginia. The contract has been canceled; 20 months behind schedule; error rate of more than 50 percent--error rate of more than 50 percent--alleged sweetheart deal; EDS selected over competitor whose bid was 50 percent less; alleged conflict of interest; company won contract after making revolving-door hire of a senior Virginia Medicaid official. Texas: Anderson Consulting, a child support system contract; 559 percent over the budget; over 4 years behind schedule; design errors result in inability to handle changes in Federal regulations; taxpayers to foot more than 78 percent of the project cost--another disaster. Mr. President, before we do this, we ought to know what is in this procurement document. We shouldn't be handing a blank check to Texas, or any other State. I wouldn't advocate this for my State--a blank check that could blow up on the taxpayers like these examples have blown up. Let me just conclude with the Florida Unisys contract, a Medicaid contract. Unisys employees arrested for grand theft; one pleaded guilty to fraud, forgery and money-laundering; two others charged with racketeering; more arrests expected; use of temporary employees, one of whom stole almost a quarter of a million dollars. And we are getting ready to approve this kind of deal for the State of Texas without any hearing, without any review, without a single Senator knowing what is in the proposed agreement? Mr. President, we ought to think very carefully before we go down this path. In Florida, authorities investigating alleged Medicaid theft of $20 million. Boy, if the warning lights aren't out on this one, I don't know what it will take. Mr. President, we ought to review this circumstance, have a chance to review it, have hearings, and make a determination if it makes any sense for us to proceed on this basis. I think there are serious and legitimate questions surrounding this proposed procurement document. The Texas waiver has serious unanswered questions. How do we prevent the massive cost overruns and high error rates that plague similar projects in other States? How do we protect against revolving-door hiring, kickbacks, or other fraud? Will the taxpayers be liable if a contractor fails to enroll eligible individuals? You know, this is a fundamental responsibility of Government to make certain that those who are eligible get the benefits to which they are entitled. Who pays for it if they enroll people who are not eligible? What happens to vulnerable Americans who need these programs for basic survival if the contractor has financial incentives to minimize enrollment, even of those who have every legal right to be qualified? Mr. President, I would like to quote an editorial from the Salt Lake Tribune of April 27th. This is what the Salt Lake Tribune said on April 27 of this year: Certain elements of a welfare program lend themselves well to contracting, vouchers, or other forms of privatization . . . I think we all agree with that: But when it comes to deciding who will receive public assistance or who should lose custody of a child, the private sector has its limits. If a private group's primary mission is to make profits . . . services may be reduced . . . Government employees, on the other hand, are subject to more public scrutiny and are expected to promote the public good within constitutional protections for individuals. Mr. President, let's not fix what isn't broken. Virtually every State is currently operating, developing, or planning the development of an integrated, automated eligibility and enrollment system for TANF, food stamps, and Medicaid. Thirty-eight States with Federally certified systems; three States installing; five States developing; two States planning; three States with State-developed systems. Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. I urge my colleagues to support this well-taken point of order. I thank the Chair. I yield the floor.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I yielded to the distinguished Republican manager. I would like to reclaim my time at this point.

Mr. CONRAD. Parliamentary inquiry. The motion to waive the point of order has been raised. Will this be stacked in votes tomorrow? Would that be the intention of the Chair?

Mr. CONRAD. That would be the intent of the chairman. Mr. President, would that be the intent?

Mr. CONRAD. Will the Senator yield on that?

Mr. CONRAD. Is the Senator aware that the proposal before us forces the Secretary of Health and Human Services to approve without comment or review any proposal submitted by the State of Texas which includes provisions to contract out for eligibility determinations? Was the Senator so aware?

Mr. CONRAD. If we think about this, these are programs with respect to food stamps and WIC that are 100 percent federally funded. The Medicaid Program is over 50 percent federally funded.

Mr. CONRAD. The rest of it is State funded. We would be in a position to endorse any proposal the State of Texas sent up here without any review, without any comment by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. That is the situation we are in with the proposal in the underlying legislation. I just ask the Senator, has he ever heard of such a proposal before the Senate?

Mr. CONRAD. Will the Senator yield for a final question?

Mr. CONRAD. Is the Senator aware that under the proposal in the underlying legislation, we could have a private company decide the custody of a child? That this is so far-reaching without any limits we could be in a circumstance in which a private concern has the authority to determine the custody of a child? How does that strike the Senator from New Jersey?

Mr. CONRAD. I ask for the yeas and nays.

Mr. CONRAD. I thank the Chair. Mr. LAUTENBERG addressed the Chair.

Mr. CONRAD. I thank the Senator from New Jersey. If I could just take a moment to further point out--I want to rivet this point--there have been no hearings, not a hearing in the Finance Committee, not a hearing in the Agriculture Committee. Members have not been granted the opportunity to question witnesses, experts, company, or advocates on the merits of privatizing eligibility determinations, protections against cost overruns or protections for recipients. I really believe this is a totally unprecedented proposal that is buried in this very large document that sets a precedent that I believe is truly alarming. I hope my colleagues will support the point of order when we vote on it tomorrow. This is, I think, a circumstance in which a very broad proposal is being attempted, being made to ram it through Congress as part of privileged legislation. That is wrong. That is simply wrong. The issue deserves public hearings and full debate. I thank the Chair, yield the floor, and I thank very much the Senator from New Jersey. Amendment No. 503 (Purpose: To extend premium protection for low-income medicare beneficiaries under the medicaid program)

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, we have heard a lot of passion on both sides of this issue. I understand the passion that this issue generates. But I hope we will think quietly for a moment of where we are headed in this country. We have heard pleas to think of the working people. I agree with that. I came to this Congress wanting to fight for the working people of my State. The question is, how do we best do that? The hard reality is, Medicare is headed for a cliff. Social Security has problems and they have problems because, No. 1, people are living longer. I was asked moments ago, why do you favor this change in Medicare eligibility? It is very simple. People are living longer. In 1965, when we started with Medicare, a male in this country could expect to live to be 66.8 years of age. A female, 73.8. In 1996, a male could be expected to live to the age of 72.5, a female to the age of 79.3. In 2025, when this change is fully phased in, a male is projected to live to 75.6 years of age, a female to 81.5. These are facts. They are indisputable. People are living longer, and the hard reality is, this program that we have put in place only extends the solvency of Medicare for 10 years. This provision is an attempt to deal with the longer term problem of Medicare, just as we have done it with Social Security, to slowly phase in and move up the age of eligibility to treat Medicare entitlement the same way we treat Social Security. Why? Because we do care about working people, because we do care about providing for those who are less fortunate, because we do care about preserving and protecting Medicare. That is precisely why this Finance Committee agreed, on a bipartisan basis, to extend the age of retirement for Medicare eligibility. We have another problem. The other problem is a demographic time bomb, and that demographic time bomb is the baby boom generation. As I look around this Chamber, there are a number of baby boomers here. All of us in the U.S. Senate understand, if we fail to act, all of these programs are going to be in deep trouble. The harsh reality is, the number of people eligible for these programs is going to double in very short order. Starting in the year 2012, when the baby boomers start to retire, the number of people eligible for these programs is going to double. The entitlements commission told us 2 years ago that in the year 2012, if we fail to act, every penny is going to go for entitlements and interest on the debt. There is not going to be any money for parks. There is not going to be any money for highways. There is not going to be any money for education. There is not going to be any money for law enforcement. There is not going to be any money for one thing after another. If that is the course we want to stay on, agree with this amendment. Some people say let's wait for a commission. Two years ago we had a commission. We had the entitlements commission. What did they tell us? They told us, if you fail to act, you are headed for a cliff. Now we can choose to continue to fail to act. If we do, we know the results. There is no question what will happen. We will go right over the cliff. Unfortunately, it will not be just us going over the cliff, but we will be taking our fellow Americans right with us. We do not need another commission. It is time to act. It is time to protect Medicare for the long term. It is time to reject this amendment.

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I wish to thank several additional people. There have been so many people involved in this effort. The mayor of Grand Forks, Mayor Pat Owens, who has been just remarkable through this series of disasters, and Mayor Lynn Stauss of East Grand Forks, who has come to Washington three times to plead for the assistance that the people of our area need, and two other people on my staff, Geri Gaginis, who is from that area of our State and has worked tirelessly to help the people of that area, and Scott Carlson of my staff, who was really the author of the provisions to help the livestock owners across the part of our country that have lost hundreds of thousands of head of livestock.

Mr. CONRAD. I thank the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Byrd. Mr. President, this legislation comes as an enormous relief. As the occupant of the Chair knows well, I have come to the floor many times to plead with my colleagues to deliver this assistance and deliver it as quickly as possible. We have been hung up here, now, in the 54th day since the dikes broke at Grand Forks. A town of 50,000 was completely evacuated; tens of thousands of people still, today, are not back. We have people still who are sleeping on cots, living in cars; thousands of people who are wondering when is help going to come. We heard over the weeks that there was money in the pipeline. I can tell you, from a local perspective, the money has not been getting through that is necessary for rebuilding and recovery. So this legislation that has now come from the House represents an incredible victory for the people in the disaster areas because the offending provisions, those that caused the President to veto the bill, are now removed. What we have is a clean disaster relief bill, which is what the people of the disaster areas have asked for sincerely, and in many ways with, I think, real patience, because 54 days have elapsed before we are finally going to see this legislation pass and be signed by the President of the United States. Mr. President, a clean disaster relief bill, thank goodness; many of us wondered if this day was going to come and here it is. This bill represents real help that is going to make the difference, a real difference in the lives of people. I just remind my colleagues, this is what we look at in Grand Forks today. This is the rubble that is left by the devastation of downtown Grand Forks. Remember, we experienced a multiplicity of disasters. We had, first of all, 10 feet of snow this winter, the most snow we have ever had, followed by the most powerful winter storm in 50 years that eliminated electricity for 80,000 people for more than a week, followed by a 500-year flood, by far the worst flood ever in our history. It was absolutely devastating. Then, in the midst of that, a fire that burned much of downtown Grand Forks. I tell you, we began to think this was apocalyptical. But still, today, we are living with the results. This is the picture of just one boulevard. On every street in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, this is what you see: The rubble piled, 5, 6 feet high. You can go down the streets and you can see what kind of washer and dryer everybody had in Grand Forks, because they are all out in the boulevards. Every item of personal furniture and clothing is out on these boulevards. People left at 1 o'clock in the morning with only the clothes on their backs, because the dikes failed at that hour. Again, this is another typical street. You can see the junk piled all up and down the streets of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, ND. These people are living through a slow-motion disaster because the disaster occurred, the natural disaster, but now we are still living with the results. That is why this money is so desperately needed. I can tell you, there are many people we want to thank. Senator Byrd, the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, has been a staunch ally throughout this fight. We deeply appreciate, Senator Byrd, your assistance, and the assistance of your able staff--Jim English I want to name specifically, because he has been a rock. We will never forget the assistance that you, Senator Byrd, have provided and that Jim English has provided as well. I also want to thank the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Stevens, because he, too, listened and heard our plea. And we appreciate it very much. I thank the Chair and yield the floor.

Mr. CONRAD. I thank the Senator from North Dakota. There are a number of people I would like to additionally thank. I would like to thank the President for his support. I would like to thank the Democratic leader, Senator Daschle, for really brilliant leadership in a very difficult fight. I would also like to thank very much his colleague, Senator Johnson from South Dakota, Senator Wellstone of Minnesota, my own colleague, Senator Dorgan of North Dakota, who serves on the Appropriations Committee and served on the conference committee that came up with this disaster relief package. He has been extraordinary throughout this fight. I will never forget both his friendship and his advocacy of the State of North Dakota. If I could have an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. CONRAD. I would like to thank our colleague in the House, Congressman Pomeroy, who really stood up and was counted at a critical time for our State. I also would like to thank staff members, my own staff people that spent night after night here, Derik Fettig, Kirk Johnson, Bob Van Heuvelen, my own chief of staff Kent Hall, and one person I did not thank, somebody on Senator Stevens' staff, Steve Cortese, who was of great help in resolving this matter as well. I want to thank them all. They have made a difference in the lives of people who desperately need help. Thank you.

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I have taken to the floor numerous times since the disasters that struck North Dakota and attempted to describe to my colleagues the really remarkable series of events that we have experienced: First of all, the greatest snowfall in our State's history; followed by a winter storm in early April that was the most powerful winter storm in 50 years, knocking out the electrical grid to 80,000 people for more than a week, leaving people with 15-foot snowdrifts, leaving people with the most powerful ice storm that we have ever seen that killed literally hundreds of thousands of cattle in North and South Dakota and also tied up the transportation system for most of our State, as well as much of South Dakota and parts of Minnesota. That was then followed by the 500-year flood, which was cataclysmic in Grand Forks. All of the dikes failed, a city of 50,000 was evacuated. Many of those people are still not back in their homes. In fact, 80 percent of the city of Grand Forks was in some way damaged by the floods. And, in the midst of all that, a fire broke out that destroyed much of downtown Grand Forks. This is a series of events, unparalleled in our State's history, and it has left much of our economy in ruins. It has left people sleeping on cots, living in cars, wondering what will happen to them next. And, as I think everyone here knows now, the disaster bill has been delayed. But the good news is, there are serious negotiations underway to resolve this issue and resolve it today, and for that we are extremely grateful. Mr. President, I thought today, because I have spent a great deal of time describing the circumstances in Grand Forks, ND, and in the rest of the Red River Valley, that I would take a bit of time to describe the developing disaster in Devils Lake, ND, because not only have we had this remarkable series of events in the Red River Valley, but Devils Lake, a town of over 9,000 people, has had a slow-motion disaster occurring. This is one of only two major lakes in North America that has a closed basin--no inlet and no outlet. For the last 4 years, the lake has been rising inexorably. This chart shows the historic water level of Devils Lake. This chart goes from 1867 to 1997, 130 years. You can see the recorded history is the blue line. Recorded history starts back in about 1890, and the lake was at about 1,423 feet. It then went into a period of steep decline where it went down to just over 1,400 feet. But look what has happened since the 1930's. That lake has been rising, sometimes falling, but in recent history, in the last 30 years, rising dramatically. And in the last 4 years, this lake has just gone up and up and up. Some people might say, ``Well, the lake is rising. You know, that's not that big a deal.'' Mr. President, this lake is nearly 200 square miles. It is a huge lake. It is nearly three times the size of the entire area of the District of Columbia. This is a lake that is rising inexorably and is acting like a cancer. It is eating everything around it. It is submerging roads, it is inundating homes and bridges. It is just eating up the countryside. In the last 4 years, it has tripled in volume and doubled in size. It is very hard to understand or appreciate this circumstance, because nowhere else in the country do we face anything quite like it. Mr. President, if I can just show this next chart, it shows the summary of damages in the Devils Lake area. As this lake level rises, you can see what happens to the cost in terms of damages. Already we have spent over $114 million, and that is just from the Federal Government, addressing this disaster. But you can see as the water level rises, the estimates from the Army Corps of Engineers is that we would face over $400 million in Federal costs if the lake level continues to rise. As I indicated, the Federal Government has already spent over $114 million coping with this crisis. This next picture shows the lake and how it has expanded. You can see, this is the luckiest guy in America today. He just got through on this road. He was driving along, and it looks like he escaped from the lake. You can see the lake coming over the road. This is actually a road, the Minnewaukan Flats Road, completely covered by water now. You can see the various tree lines. You can see how this lake has been expanding and expanding very, very dramatically. This is one of my favorite pictures, Mr. President, because this shows the little town of Minnewaukan, ND, of 400 people, and they have a sewage lagoon--you can see the outlines of it--surrounded completely now by Devils Lake. When the Federal officials came to Devils Lake, they said to the mayor of the little town of Minnewaukan, ``Gee, why did you build this sewage lagoon so close to the lake?'' And the mayor and the local officials laughed and they said, ``Well, when we built this sewage lagoon, it was 8 miles from the lake''--8 miles. That is how this lake has expanded. Mr. President, this is truly an extraordinary circumstance. This next picture shows a seed company and what has happened to their operation. It is completely surrounded by water now in this area of Devils Lake. And this water is deep, by the way. It is just amazing how this lake keeps rising. This picture shows one of the key roads, Highway 57, that connects the city of Devils Lake to the Spirit Lake Nation and to the communities south of Devils Lake. You can see the wave action. These are 5-feet waves on this lake completely breaking over the highway. In fact, if we were to go and take this picture today, this entire road now is under water. That is how rapidly this lake is rising. In fact, it has come up 4 feet already this year. And now remember, we are not talking about some little tranquil lake, we are talking about a huge expanse of water, a lake that is nearly 200 square miles in size now. That is what we are dealing with here, and the water keeps rising. Mr. President, those are the pictures I wanted to show our colleagues. An important point I wanted to make is that in this disaster supplemental bill, there are a number of measures to address this crisis, in addition to the crisis we have in the Red River Valley, where we had the 500-year flood. We also have provisions to deal with this crisis at Devils Lake. First, is a provision for an emergency outlet. The Corps of Engineers has determined that one of the things we need to do to fight this disaster is to have an emergency outlet, because we are very close to the point at which this lake will find its own outlet. And if it does, it will be out of the eastern end of the lake where the water quality is, by far, the worst, and it will go over into Stump Lake. At that time, Stump Lake will immediately rise 40 feet. It is hard to get your mind around these numbers because this is so massive. But when this finds its natural outlet at 1,446.6 feet--it is right now at 1,442 feet--at 1,446.6 feet, it spills over into Stump Lake, raising that lake immediately 40 feet. At 1,457 feet, it spills over into the Sheyenne River Valley, and, as I showed the cumulative impact, we are then talking about over $400 million of cost to the Federal Government. The emergency outlet requires $5 million for the work that needs to be done this year, and that is in this disaster supplemental bill. Second, we need to raise the levy protecting the city of Devils Lake, and this legislation directs the Corps to expedite action to raise the levy system protecting the city of Devils Lake. The city right now has a dike that is protecting it to about 1,445 feet. This provision will move the protection to 1,450 feet, with 5 feet of free board to deal with the wave action on this very large lake. Third, there are provisions for emergency funding for Federal Highway Administration to raise roads, because, as I showed, the main linkage point here is already under water. That road--Highway 57--has to be raised and needs to be raised as quickly as possible because it provides the emergency access to all of the communities south of Devils Lake and the Spirit Lake Nation to the regional hospital and the regional shopping center that is in the city of Devils Lake. Fourth, this legislation provides for the Ramsey County rural sewer system some $600,000 to mitigate damages from the Devils Lake flood to the Ramsey County rural sewer system. As you can imagine, Mr. President, this is a situation in which the rural sewer system is about to float. That is a very bad thing to have happen. All of those underground pipes, as the water table rises, puts enormous hydrological pressure on that rural sewer system, and they are desperately worried that at any time, those pipes will burst through the ground and float. At that point, the entire rural sewer system is destroyed. It is critically important that that money be approved and be approved as quickly as possible. Fifth, and finally, this legislation includes $15 million for the Natural Resources Conservation Service to purchase floodplain easements for frequently flooded farmland. Landowners in the Devils Lake basin would be eligible for this voluntary floodplain easement program. Mr. President, I wanted to take this time to describe this disaster so there is an understanding that not only are we dealing with the crisis in the Red River basin, the cities of Grand Forks and other cities up and down the Red River, but that we have a second disaster as well, a slow-motion disaster, and that is the disaster that is occurring at Devils Lake and that there are very important matters that are included in this disaster supplemental bill that deal with those problems. I thank the Chair and yield the floor. Mr. BENNETT addressed the Chair.

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent I be permitted to speak for 15 minutes.

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I further ask that, upon the completion of my remarks, the Senator from North Dakota, Senator Dorgan, be recognized for the 15 minutes that has been allotted to him as well.

Mr. CONRAD

Mr. CONRAD. Mr. President, I represent the State of North Dakota. And our State has been absolutely devastated. We have people, thousands of people, who are still sleeping on cots 54 days after the disaster occurred. Fifty-four days after the dikes broke, we still have thousands of people on cots, people living in cars, people whose homes and businesses have been devastated. And they cannot understand why Congress fails to act. Mr. President, last night we had a linkup via computer with people who are the leaders of the Grand Forks community--the mayors of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, the leaders of the business community, the head of the chamber of commerce, leaders of other parts of the Grand Forks community, people from the medical school. And their message was clear and unencumbered. They have asked Congress to send a clean disaster relief bill to the President without unrelated measures, and to do it now. That is their request. The message was powerful and compelling. People who have had everything lost, people who evacuated their homes at 1 o'clock in the morning and who have not returned since, a city of 50,000, 95 percent of whom were evacuated, with 80 percent of the homes in that community devastated. That is the reality that we are living with. Mr. President, this chart says it, and says it clearly: Disaster Victims Held Hostage, Day 20. This is just since this Congress took the Memorial Day break without acting. Twenty days of inaction after a bill to provide disaster relief was completely agreed to. The disaster provisions were agreed to by Democrats, by Republicans, and by the President. It is these unrelated measures that were stuck into this disaster relief bill that have hung things up. The people that I represent say, ``Take them out. Quit playing politics with the lives of people. Quit holding hostage thousands of people to a political agenda. Get the disaster relief where it's needed, and get it there now.'' Mr. President, this is a sign that a resident of Grand Forks put out on their lawn after Congress decided to take a break without passing disaster relief. It says, ``Hey, Congress! Spend your break here!'' And here is some of the refuse from the disaster in their front yard. You can see the garbage bags piled up as people try to rebuild their lives. I have a series of photos here that try to bring this back to what this is really about. It is not about how we take the census in the year 2000. It is not about some budget dispute. This is about people who have been devastated and need help. This is a picture from Grand Forks. This is the downtown area that not only had a 500-year flood, but had a fire that devastated three entire city blocks. Here is some of the refuse that remains from that disaster. Go to another picture that shows what is happening in terms of Grand Forks, ND. Here is a downtown area, one of the buildings that burned up in the fire, all the rubble that is there. It is staggering. You go through the city of Grand Forks, it looks like a giant junkyard. Here is what you see as you go up and down every street in residential Grand Forks--every street, because 80 percent of the homes were damaged in this town. This is what you see on every boulevard. All of the contents of these homes, the washers, the dryers, the carpeting, the furniture is not in the home, it is out here on the street because it has all been destroyed. And these people are asking for one thing, a chance to get their lives back in order. They have had the worst winter in our history followed by the most powerful winter storm in 50 years that destroyed the electrical grid that served 80,000 people. They were without power for nearly 10 days, in the midst of 40-degree below weather, and then they get hit by the 500-year flood, and then by the worst fire in our State's history. Now they are hit by a disaster of a Congress that fails to act. Never before in the face of a disaster have we diddled for as long as we have diddled on this disaster. People are asking for help. And this is the condition of their lives. This is a picture of the business district. It is not just the homes, but it is the businesses that have been destroyed. I ask my colleagues, if you were in this circumstance wouldn't you expect this body to act, wouldn't you expect a response, wouldn't you expect some help? This is another picture of what people are going through each and every day now in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks--piles of garbage. This water is not just rainwater, this is water that is putrid. You fly over it, and it stinks because it is filled with every imaginable awful thing. And every home and every business is just destroyed. All of the things that are in there have to go. This is again a picture of what is outside one of the commercial buildings, and a tremendous amount of destruction. We are going to take years to rebuild. We do not have much time. We have a short construction season in our part of the country. By October 15 outdoor work will have to be completed. So we do not have time for political games to be played here in Washington. Let me again repeat the message from the people that I represent. ``Please, Congress, pass a disaster relief bill without these unrelated measures so the aid can start to flow.'' Some have said, ``Well, nothing is being held up. There's money in the pipeline.'' Last night we heard from the people of Grand Forks. And what they said was very clear. There is not money in the pipeline. There is concrete in the pipeline, because the money is not getting through. There is no money for the buyouts and relocation of the homes and businesses that have been destroyed. There is no money in that pipeline. There is no money in the pipeline to help the ranchers who have lost hundreds of thousands of head of livestock. There is no money in that pipeline. There is no money in the pipeline for the school districts that have taken the kids from the disaster areas. There is no money in that pipeline. The Governor of South Dakota, Republican by the way, said: On a disaster bill you ought to deal with disasters. He said: For those who say nothing is getting hung up, that's just wrong. And not just he said it, a Republican Congressmen from Minnesota, Jim Ramstad, said: Those who say there's money in the pipeline are being disingenuous at best. There is no money for housing. There is no money for buyouts and relocations of the homes and businesses that have been destroyed. There is no money for sewage systems. There is no money for roads. There is no money for a whole series of things that desperately need resources. This is the Republican Governor of South Dakota. He said, ``If you've got a disaster bill, you ought to deal with a disaster.'' He was complaining about the congressional leaders here for sticking controversial measures in a disaster relief bill. And he has it exactly right. For those who say nothing is being hung up, `` * * * Janklow said the delay in the legislation is blocking reconstruction of sewage facilities, highways and a State-owned rail line in South Dakota.'' Mr. President, this is how the flood victims feel. This is from the largest newspaper in our State. The headline is very clear: ``You are playing with our lives.'' Let me just read what this disaster victim said: Ranee Steffan has strong words for members of Congress who think flood victims can wait while bickering continues in Washington . . . ``You are playing with our lives'' . . . [she was speaking] from the sweltering travel trailer she and her family now call home. ``This isn't some game. . . . [She said] You should come here and walk in my shoes for a day.'' Homeless for a month, out of work and bounced from one temporary shelter to another, the wife and mother of two is fed up with lawmakers who she believes think[s] Grand Forks residents are ``getting along just fine.'' They are not getting along just fine. We had one of our colleagues say, ``Well, we can send you a bunch of trailers.'' People in North Dakota do not see trailers as a long-term answer to their housing needs. Frankly, trailers in a North Dakota winter are not a very acceptable form of housing. We need to rebuild housing, housing that can withstand a North Dakota winter. We do not need a bunch of trailers sent to our part of the country. That is not the answer to what we face. We have heard a lot of talk about what is happening and what is not happening, what people out there are asking for, what they are not asking for. How about hearing from the people out there. How about listening to them. This is the mayor of Grand Forks in a letter to Senators Lott and Daschle, this courageous mayor who has become, I think, an inspiration to the country because, in the face of adversity, she has provided extraordinary leadership. Let me just make clear she is not a partisan. To my knowledge she is not a member of either political party. I have no idea what her political identification is. She has always said she is an independent, that her husband is a Republican. That is as much as anybody knows about her legal affiliation. Here is what she says: I urge you to strip all of the controversial amendments from the disaster aid bill and send the humanitarian emergency provisions of the bill to the President for his signature. That is what she says. She continues: We are grateful for the emergency aid provisions included in this bill. These provisions, especially funds for the Community Development Block Grant program, will be essential for Grand Forks to be able to recover and rebuild. North Dakota's short construction season dictates that we must take action quickly to rebuild and relocate homes away from the floodplain. But the political fight over provisions unrelated to disaster relief have stalled this bill and delayed the recovery process for Grand Forks and other cities in the Red River Valley. This disaster aid is needed now. We are simply unable to make decisions about how and if we will be able to rebuild our city without knowing the extent of Federal resources available. We need funds now for housing, for buy- outs and relocation and homes of businesses, for roads and bridges, for school districts and many more urgent needs. With each passing day thousands of residents of Grand Forks and other communities are unable to get on with their lives and are forced to live in shelters, in government-issued trailers, or with relatives. Again, thank you for the emergency provisions included in the disaster aid bill. I urge you to strip the controversial, non-disaster related measures from the disaster bill and send the humanitarian emergency provisions to the President for his signature. This was the elected leader of the city of Grand Forks. Last night, we heard that identical message from the head of the chamber of commerce, from other leaders of the business community, from people from all walks of life, a member of the police department, a member of the city works department, all of them talking to people across the country via satellite as they told their story, what has happened in their community, and what they are asking for now. It has been 83 days since the President asked for disaster legislation. It has been 53 days since the dikes broke. It has now been 20 days--20 days--since Congress agreed to a disaster package but left town without enacting it before the Memorial Day recess. Let me just read part of a letter from one of my constituents: ``The people here have no homes, no jobs, and no other homes to go to. They have no toys, no bikes, no clothes, or anything else for their children, and you go home for a break. What are you thinking of?'' That is a sample of the literally hundreds of letters that we have gotten from the disaster area. This is a letter from another constituent: Perhaps you should visit here and see and feel the pain and devastation. Spend 3 days here, and you will soon understand why people are depressed and the anxiety level is extreme. We are stressed out. Also, I am sure that if this disaster had hit your district, you would want to pass the legislation with a sense of urgency. That's all we expect. What this means to me and my family: Relief from the flood of the century. It brought flood waters into our community, our house and six rental properties I own and manage. Indeed, the amount of damage I have sustained is mind boggling. I'm on the brink. We urge you to pass the disaster relief bill today. Please don't delay another day. We can't wait. I have hundreds, if not thousands, of letters like this from people out there who are asking their Government to respond. These people are proud people. They are independent people. They are hard-working people. But they have been hit with a series of disasters unprecedented in our State's history. The worst winter ever, followed by the most powerful winter storm in 50 years, followed by a 500-year flood, followed by a fire in the midst of flood that destroyed much of the town of Grand Forks, a city of 50,000 people that had 95 percent of that town evacuated. That has never happened in America's history, a town of that size completely evacuated. The town right across the river, East Grand Forks, in Minnesota, a city of 9,000, was entirely evacuated. We are not going to be able to rebuild much of these towns. Many of these homes are just absolutely destroyed. Those homes need to be torn down. They represent a health hazard. The businesses, too, need to be torn down. We need to move back from the river to a more defensible location, but that cannot happen until and unless this Congress acts. I just conclude by saying when the shoe is on the other foot--and I have been in the Senate 10 years--we were ready to help. We never delayed anybody's disaster bill ever. I never even thought of adding controversial provisions to a disaster bill that someone else needed. I just ask our colleagues to give us the same chance and extend the same respect to our constituents. They desperately need help and they need it now. I thank the Chair and I yield the floor.