Charles Melancon

Mr. MELANCON

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Diaz-Balart so much and Mr. Bilirakis. I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MELANCON

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, on the last vote, rollcall 229, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. MELANCON

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Chairman, first, I want to thank Chairman Velazquez for the continued commitment to helping rebuild the gulf coast. Over a year and a half has passed since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated south Louisiana and other Gulf Coast States. I am pleased my colleagues remain committed to seeing us fully recover and rebuild. I come to the floor today to support H.R. 1361, the RECOVER Act. Recovering from the two hurricanes that devastated our State and the gulf coast in 2005 is the biggest and most important challenge Louisiana and the gulf coast have ever faced. Katrina was the biggest natural disaster ever in the United States, and Rita, which may have been dubbed the ``forgotten storm,'' was the third worst disaster. First and third in our Nation's history, and they hit the same region within one month each. After these storms hit, it became very clear that SBA was not prepared for a disaster of this caliber. SBA was understaffed, poorly trained, poorly managed and, overall, unprepared to respond effectively to the urgent need of disaster relief loans. The SBA's disastrous response effectively discouraged small business owners from applying for business or home loans. Also, inadequate and inaccurate communications from SBA's employees kept many customers from finishing applications. I have personally heard of several instances in which small business owners were frustrated to the point of giving up on the SBA and the hope of getting financial assistance. I remind my colleagues again that this was a critical time, when these people needed help more than ever. H.R. 1361 addresses those serious shortfalls experienced in the aftermath of Katrina. The RECOVER Act will better prepare the SBA to handle and fund disasters by requiring, among other things, that the agency develop a comprehensive disaster response plan, improve employee training, streamline their information tracking systems and follow-up process, and more efficiently distribute disaster loans by partnering with the private local lenders. SBA's unwillingness to immediately and effectively delegate responsibility to qualified private lenders created a critical choke point in loan disbursements following these hurricanes. H.R. 1361 includes a commonsense solution that will cure this problem and allow for large, maximum loan amounts and create a more streamlined application process by allowing private, local, SBA-approved bankers to administer these loans. These private lenders have the unique advantage of being on the ground and knowing the community and, more importantly, the people in the businesses within them. By allowing these private lenders to participate, it will greatly increase the speed and efficiency in getting the funds in the hands of the small businesses after a disaster. Another problem we faced after the storms was SBA's unwillingness or inability to provide maximum flexibility in the administration of these disaster loans. Instead of nurturing struggling businesses as they adapted to the new environment following Katrina and Rita, the SBA often strangled them with red tape and bureaucratic hurdles. After the storm, some businesses along the gulf coast were denied sufficient loans because the SBA judged their application solely based on their prestorm capabilities, rather than on the new realities they were trying to adjust to or their ability to meet poststorm demands. The RECOVER Act will make the SBA a more flexible agency and will permit them to approve larger grants for businesses that become major sources of employment following disasters. The RECOVER Act also addresses one of the most notorious problems that arose after the storms, the duplications of benefit provisions. Under current law, storm victims who took the initiative to apply for SBA loans are now being forced to repay their SBA loans with Road Home money. Hurricane victims in Louisiana and along the gulf coast need all the help they can get with rebuilding their homes and getting their lives back to normal. They don't need the Federal Government giving with one hand and taking with the other. Rebuilding in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita has been the biggest challenge the people on the gulf coast have ever faced. In order to continue to recover and rebuild, recovery money must stay in the disaster regions, not sent back to Washington. I understand the administration does not want people to double dip and must be effective stewards of taxpayers' money, but in this instance, victims of catastrophic disaster are essentially being punished for receiving these disaster loans before they get their recovery grants. Under this bill, borrowers will still have to repay their SBA loans; they will just be able to pay them over the extended time frame they originally agreed to when they got the loan. I am a fiscal conservative, but this policy is absolutely ridiculous. It is dooming the recovery to failure, and it is time that we correct it. I urge my colleagues to support the RECOVER Act today. With hurricane season approaching fast, this bill is critical to the survival of small businesses. Small businesses are the lifeblood of this country, and we must be ready to protect them from another, possible, future disaster.

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairwoman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, this bill has the potential to help thousands of small businesses and business owners still struggling to recover from these hurricanes that devastated the U.S. gulf coast. I rise today in opposition to this amendment. After surviving Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, two of the worst natural disasters in our country's history, the citizens of the gulf coast were then faced with a man-made disaster, one of the most disorganized, chaotic Federal responses that anyone has ever seen. Many of the Federal agencies that were created to help these people recover wound up making matters worse. One of these agencies was the SBA. After these storms, 81,000 businesses were economically impacted. Over 18,000 were completely or severely destroyed. Astonishingly, however, following these hurricanes, only 38 percent of small business disaster loans were approved. In hearings, the SBA admitted that after ``typical'' disasters, they approved 60 percent of these business loans. After Katrina and Rita, conversely, over 60 percent did not receive SBA assistance and were left with nowhere to turn for help. One of the many reasons that the SBA failed the people of the gulf coast was because it did not have the proper tools nor the flexibility it needed to sufficiently and adequately address the demands caused by the extraordinary storms. These were unprecedented natural disasters and they called for unprecedented response. This was not a one-size- fits-all storm, as my colleagues on the other side of the aisle seem to perceive. In the resourceful, self-sufficient economy of south Louisiana and Mississippi, small businesses are the lifeblood of the local economy. Many of these mom-and-pop shops are homegrown and family-run businesses, such as those in the shrimping industry in south Louisiana and Mississippi that do not fit the traditional mold of current SBA loan qualifications. These are the businesses that are being denied assistance, yet these are the businesses that are the local economy's most critical assets. I am a fiscal conservative, but this policy is ridiculous. It's dooming the recovery to failure, and it's time that we correct it. To these business owners, these grants are critical investment capital which will help them pay utilities, keep the lights on, rent to keep the doors open and new equipment expenses to continue to recover and grow despite the incredibly difficult business climate that continues to persist in this area. Without this grant program, these small businesses will remain too debt-burdened to take the next decisive step required to move from recovery to rebuilding. I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment today. Help these small businesses along the gulf coast get back on their feet and help America be the proud Nation that it should be.

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, here we go again. We had a similar motion to recommit, the gentleman is right, 2 or 3 weeks ago, and 50 people fell for it. They fell for it because it came to the floor just minutes before we had to vote, and it sounded like people such as myself would condone felons getting loans, when the law already prevents that. For God's sake, the people in the gulf coast of the United States have suffered enough. And now we want to take away or at least put some procedures in this just to screw with them some more. Let's vote this bill straight up and down. Let's kill this motion to recommit. It is a fallacy. It is fake. It is there just to disrupt. The people of this country and the people of the gulf coast need your help. Support the bill.

Mr. MELANCON

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I would like to thank the leadership for the bipartisan effort also. It has been a long 18, going on 19, months for the folks of Louisiana; and this is the kind of thing that they have needed for a long time. I am here today to speak in support of the Katrina Housing Tax and, as Mr. Boustany pointed out, the Rita Housing Tax, also, which will extend important tax credits and waivers that are boosting rebuilding efforts along the gulf coast. It is hard to exaggerate the devastation Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused in south Louisiana. Over 1 million people had to flee their homes, and over 200,000 homes were damaged or completely destroyed. In St. Bernard Parish, a community to the east of New Orleans that I represent, it is reported that only five or six homes out of the 27,000 were inhabitable after the storm. It will take many years to repair the damage Katrina and Rita and the levee failures caused in just a few days. The enormous extent of the damage and the unprecedented time and money it will take to recover are why we need to pass the Katrina-Rita Housing Relief Act. For south Louisiana to rebuild, we need to continue encouraging developers to build affordable housing, not just high-priced condos. There is a severe housing shortage in the region, and rental prices have increased by 39 percent and more since the storm. Home sale prices in suburban parishes have also skyrocketed. Average working people can't move home because they can't find affordable housing. One of the most important features of this bill is the extension of the Gulf Opportunity Zone low-income housing tax credit until the end of 2010. Louisiana is offering these tax credits to developers who build affordable housing in the hurricane-affected communities, but current law requires that developers have the project built and occupied by the end of 2008. In the post-storm world of south Louisiana, this is almost impossible. The Housing Financing Agency in New Orleans estimates that 65 percent of the affordable housing units under development, about 11,050 units, won't make the deadline to be available for rent by the deadline at the end of 2008. Add all the extenuating circumstances of post-Katrina Louisiana, mold remediation for flood-damaged rehabilitation projects, elevation of property, getting permits, going through the zoning requirements, all the things that take time, including needing water, sewer, and gas lines, there is no way that developers can finish. Finally, as a fiscal conservative and a Blue Dog, I want to point out that this bill follows House PAYGO rules and will not increase the deficit. In fact, the offsets that are contained in the bill will cause an increase in revenue. I thank the gentleman from Georgia, and I thank the bipartisan effort of the committee.

Mr. MELANCON

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Katrina- Rita supplemental. The President was quoted yesterday as saying we needed a clean bill to fund the rebuild of Iraq. I disagree with that statement and suggest that we need the comprehensive bill put forth by the majority, so that the people of the Gulf Coast States can rebuild. For too long we are funding the rebuilding of foreign communities. While this is admirable, the American people deserve first call on the rebuilding money, and help when it is their very tax dollars that are being spent. My Caucus leadership took me seriously when I challenged them to put forth action rather than words. The supplemental appropriation bill we are debating tonight is the first and only vehicle available to Katrina-Rita affected citizens! Because of budgetary rules, there is no other opportunity to address the unfinished levees, the rebuilding needs of local governments, affordable housing so people can return, and help for the coastal fisheries and farmers who have, to date, been virtually ignored. My colleagues in the affected Gulf Coast States need to decide where they stand. If we let this one chance for $1.3 billion in levee assistance pass us by, every Member of Congress who votes against this should be held accountable for putting South Louisiana's citizens in harms way. Are you in support of your Party, or are you for helping Louisianians, Mississipians and taxpaying Americans? I support the Americans! I would also like to submit the following clarification for the record: This supplemental will provide funding for agriculture and fisheries disaster assistance along the Gulf Coast. For livestock producers, our intent is to increase the payment limit for those who lost hundreds of cattle as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. These cattlemen have been inadequately compensated as a result of previously underfunded USDA programs. Our citrus growers--whose groves were destroyed from up to a month of saltwater several feet deep--should receive an increase in the payment rate for USDA's hurricane assistance program. Additionally, this bill contains desperately needed assistance for our shrimp, menhaden, as well as other fisheries that were devastated by the storms and, unfortunately have been forgotten for the past 18 months by the Administration and Congress.

Mr. MELANCON

Mr. MELANCON. I thank the gentlelady. Mr. Chairman, first let me talk about the fraud. The fraud was perpetrated by people throughout this country in Florida, in California, in Colorado, that used addresses in Louisiana. The money that was spent was spent by the Federal agencies, and not misspent by the State of Louisiana. I am speaking today to urge my colleagues to vote in favor of the Gulf Coast Recovery Act and against the Price amendment, which would keep in place a major roadblock to Louisiana's recovery from Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Rebuilding in the wake of these two hurricanes is the biggest challenge people on the gulf coast and, for that matter, in this country, have ever faced. Katrina was the worst natural disaster ever in the United States history. Rita, which has been dubbed the forgotten storm, was the third worst catastrophic event in this country. Local governments are valiantly moving forward to try and rebuild, but without the ability to have the tax base that they need just to do day-to-day operations. If you have lived in a gulf coast community, you know the communities come back under normal circumstances. That is not happening. This was devastating, totally devastating. Bureaucratic red tape is holding us back. Our local tax base in south Louisiana is gone. Local governments have no way of coming up with money for the 10 percent match. For some parishes, the cost of local match for projects is many millions of dollars and could go as high as $1 billion across the devastated area. Ninety thousand miles, square miles, of devastation was caused by these two storms the size of Great Britain. We are sitting here and worrying about a 10 percent match that was harmful to these small communities and the City of New Orleans but has devastated this entire area. One thing that I need to point out: The President has the authority to waive the local match requirements with the stroke of his pen. In fact, this authority has been exercised 32 times since 1985 for other major disasters. In 1992, George H.W. Bush waived the requirement when the per capita recovery cost of Hurricane Andrew reached $139 per person. It was also waived for New York City following the attacks of September 11, $390 a person. But despite a $6,700 per capita recovery cost following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the administration has refused to waive the local match, despite repeated requests. How is this fair to Louisiana? I am a fiscal conservative, but this policy is ridiculous. It is dooming the recovery to failure, and it's time we correct it. I emphatically urge you to defeat the Price amendment, and pass the Gulf Coast Recovery Act, which will help thousands of people return home and begin rebuilding their lives.

Mr. MELANCON

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from New York for yielding. I appreciate the fact that today is a historic day for Louisiana. After 50 years of producing the energy for this country that power the plants, that power the cars, that provide the heating oil and the natural gas, we finally are going to come to a point in Louisiana where we are going to get something in return for the efforts that we have put forth. And during those 50 years, our wetlands have been damaged. Our estuaries are eroding. The Nation, I hope, will understand after these storms, and it is regretful that we had to have these storms in order to get the attention, but the marshlands, the wetlands, the estuaries of South Louisiana, the State in its wisdom has made a constitutional amendment to dedicate the funds that come from the revenues, and this will be new revenues, this will not be money coming out of the budget of the country, and it will be dedicated to rebuilding America's wetlands. It is America's wetlands because it provides for America energy and seafood, approximately 30 percent of each to the men, women, and children of this country. I encourage everyone to please vote for this bill. Some have said it is too much money, but long ago the Louisiana delegation for decades has been asking for help and have been like the tree falling in the woods, unheard. Now is the opportunity to not only do something for energy production for this country but to do something for America's wetlands, and I urge your support and vote.

Mr. MELANCON. Yes.

Mr. MELANCON. Thank you, sir.

Mr. MELANCON

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, I join with Mr. Boustany and rise in support of Senate bill 4093. I would like to thank the leadership of the Senate Agriculture Committee for sending this bill over to us. This bill is just an extension of the term limit waiver until September 30, 2007. It will allow us to fully discuss the issue of guaranteed loan eligibility during the farm bill. Passage of this legislation will ensure farmers and ranchers won't be left without financing options with little or no notice. Mr. Speaker, this is especially important in areas suffering from crop and livestock disasters the last several years. I urge the passage of this legislation.

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MELANCON

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, in the Water Resource Development Act of 2000, Congress authorized a project for hurricane protection known as Morganza to the Gulf. This contingent authorization would protect over 200,000 people in their homes, but the contingent authorization expired due to a delayed chief's report. The citizens of Louisiana that live behind this future levee system have passed a tax on themselves that generates roughly $5 million per year in funds dedicated strictly to fund this hurricane protection system. They have waited 6 years to begin construction on this project that Congress directed to be constructed due to a delayed report from the Corps of Engineers. H.R. 6428, introduced by Congressmen Baker and Melancon, authorizes only a small portion of the project as a whole. This bill would allow the people in Terrebonne Parish to begin protecting themselves while we work towards a complete water resources bill. The Melancon-Baker partial authorization bill includes only two reaches of levees, tying into the already existing system of levees. These levees would provide the most protection possible with the limited resources currently available. The bill also authorizes the lock complex on the Houma Navigation Canal to protect against devastating storm surges, such as the one during Hurricane Katrina that ran up the Mississippi River-Gulf outlet and destroyed St. Bernard Parish. In addition, Houma would be protected from salt water intrusion in their drinking water and the degradation of the wetlands. I urge passage of H.R. 6428. I wish to thank Mr. Oberstar and Mr. Young and the committee for all of their kindnesses to help us move this forward.

Mr. MELANCON

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, during rollcall vote No. 508 on S. 3930, I mistakenly recorded my vote as ``nay'' when I should have voted ``yea''. I ask unanimous consent that my statement appear in the Record immediately following rollcall vote No. 508.

Mr. MELANCON

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to urge Congress to pass H.R. 6106. This waiver authority has been a key component in the success of rebuilding schools in the areas devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and it is critical that we act immediately to extend the duration of this authority in order to allow these schools to continue their rebuilding efforts. A real success story born from this waiver is the St. Bernard Unified School Group. Led by the efforts of Superintendent Doris Voitier and others committed in St. Bernard, this combined school was able to quickly start back up to provide a place for children whose parents were committed to coming home and rebuilding. St. Bernard Parish was one of the most devastated regions affected by Hurricane Katrina. Without local revenue, the schools had to look elsewhere to meet the 10 percent match required by FEMA. This waiver has allowed the school district to use State funds for the 10 percent match and use federal restart funds to pay teacher's salaries and benefits. By allowing this flexibility, Superintendent Voitier was able to secure teacher's employment and open up the St. Bernard Unified School 11 weeks after the storm. Today, there is no longer need for the St. Bernard Unified School. Chalmett High is back up and running full capacity with 1700 students to date; Andrew Jackson Elementary, with 1800 students, has also opened its doors, and Tryst Elementary is next in line. However, we can't stop here. There are many more schools that are still being rebuilt and we need this legislation to ensure that these schools continue to reopen. This waiver has proven critical to the recovery of schools in the Gulf Coast region, and has enabled them to access much needed reconstruction funds. Without this extension, these school systems will not have the financial resources to operate nor rebuild. This waiver authority has already been authorized by Congress in the Hurricane Education Recovery Act. Unfortunately it is set to expire this Saturday. It is imperative that we reauthorize this waiver. Hurricane recovery has reached a critical stage, and it needs our continued support in the Gulf Coast. Families are continuing every day to return home to these areas and there are still schools that are in need of rebuilding and repair. Therefore, I urge the members of Congress to support this bi-partisan legislation and give these schools the flexibility that Superintendent Voitier and others need to continue their dedicated efforts in rebuilding and to make sure that students and teachers can return to the classroom. Brief Summary of what waiver does: FEMA requires that each local community put up a 10 percent match in order to get 90 percent reimbursed for replacing all items lost in the storm. Two Problems; (1) 10 percent of the total damage is tens of millions of dollars and (2) St. Bernard schools can't raise this money from the local community because their sales and property tax base has been decimated. So, they initially wanted to use federal restart monies to put up the 10 percent match. However this is prohibited in the Stafford Act because you can't use federal restart monies to supplant money from FEMA. Then they wanted to use State money to put up the 10 percent match, but this was also prohibited. However, in the Hurricane Education Recovery Act, the waiver authority needed to waiver this requirement was granted to Secretary Spellings. She waived this requirement and St. Bernard schools were able to put up state money for the 10 percent matching requirement and then use federal restart monies to pay teacher's salaries and benefits (i.e. what state money would have been used for). This waiver allows schools to: Waive the requirement (found in the Hurricane Education Recovery Act, Section 105 of Public Law 109-148) that federal funds must be used to supplement and not supplant non-federal funds and thus allows schools to: Use state money for the 10 percent match required by FEMA for the 90 percent reimbursement and Use Restart money to pay for things the State money would have been used for: For example: teacher's salaries, benefits etc.

Mr. MELANCON

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, Today I welcome President Nursultan Nazarbayev of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United States. When the Soviet Union collapsed, there was great concern about the political and economic future of the former Soviet republics. The world wondered whether these nations would join democratically developed nations, and whether they would be able to overcome the communist ideology that had been imposed on them for so long. Furthermore, as a result of the disintegration of the Soviet Empire, nuclear weapons were scattered, uncontrolled and therefore even more dangerous. The colossal number of nuclear weapons was a real threat to peace and the possibility loomed of bloody territorial and international conflict. Unfortunately, in some cases our concerns were valid. For many of these emerging states, the burden of building a stable, flourishing and democratic society appeared to be a difficult task. Not everyone could handle this historic mission. The world witnessed several conflicts, sometimes bloody, in the former Soviet bloc, which not only destabilized the region, but also caused economic stagnation. All indicators showed that Kazakhstan, with its enormous territory, vast natural resources and multinational and multiethnic population, should have been the epicenter of instability. But instead, Kazkahstan was one of only a few former Soviet states that avoided bloodshed. Kazakhstan withstood the pressure of reform and today has made staggering economic and political progress, largely due to President Nazarbayev's vision and leadership. President Nazarbayev's stewardship of Kazakhstan's vast natural and strategic resources has given the world confidence in his government. His commitment to harmonize Kazakhstan's political and business climate with Western standards has allowed Kazakhstan to assume a leadership role among the former Soviet states of Central Asia. And Kazakhstan has risen up as a model in disarmament and nonproliferation and should be applauded by all nations of the world. In November of last year I visited Kazakhstan. The warm and hospitable Kazakh people reminded me of the people from my own home state of Louisiana. During that trip, I was proud to be one of the first leaders to congratulate President Nazarbayev on his reelection. I also met with the elected leaders of the legislative and executive branches of government and of several opposition parties. I am glad to report that democracy in Kazakhstan is growing. If you have never seen Kazakhstan's capitol city, Astana, you must. The brand new city rises up out of the Steppes, with cranes and skyscrapers studding the horizon. Astana is a truly awesome testament to the will of the Kazakh people to move into the future. It is a symbol of the progress Kazakhstan has made from Soviet dominance to independence. I would also like to commend President Bush's Administration for seeing what I have seen for some time. Kazakhstan wants to be a partner with the United States. They are an ally in the Global War on Terror and Kazakh troops have shed their blood alongside Americans in Iraq. As we work to secure our nation from terrorism, we should thank the Kazakhs for their sacrifice. Kazakhstan's military and economic security is linked to America's. I hope to see our nations walk together down a path of prosperity and stability. It is with great enthusiasm that I look forward to Kazakhstan's continued success in the years ahead and wholeheartedly support the future strengthening of the U.S-Kazakhstan strategic partnership. I am confident that with President Nazarbayev's leadership we will bring our two nations closer together. Welcome to the United States, Mr. President.

Mr. MELANCON

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, I offer a motion to instruct conferees.

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I come here today in support of building a comprehensive hurricane protection system for the gulf coast. For years we in Congress have focused on various wants for our constituents. Today we have the opportunity to focus on the Nation's needs. Earlier this year, I introduced in Congress the Meeting Authorization Requirements for Our Coast, or MARC, Act. This legislation would have authorized a comprehensive hurricane protection system for the gulf coast. Today's motion is a continuation of that effort. Building a hurricane protection system that can protect our coastal citizens and businesses from category five hurricanes is the most important need in the U.S. Gulf Coast States. In Louisiana alone there are currently 200,000 people that have no protection, zero, from the next deadly hurricane. If Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana just a few miles to the west, the devastation would have been like nothing you have seen on TV, and building a category five hurricane protection system will save the lives of these people in future events. But a comprehensive hurricane protection system is also vital to supporting and safeguarding our Nation's energy supply. Louisiana has a long and distinguished history of oil and gas production, both on and offshore. Among the 50 States, we are first in crude oil production, second in natural gas production, and second in total energy production. Currently, approximately 34 percent of the Nation's natural gas supply and almost 30 percent of the Nation's crude oil supply is either produced in Louisiana, produced offshore Louisiana, or moves through the State and its coastal wetlands. Together with the infrastructure in the rest of the State, this production is connected to nearly 50 percent of the total refining capacity of this entire country. Based on its energy-producing value to the Nation, acre for acre, Louisiana is the most valuable real estate in the Nation. Louisiana has 17 petroleum refineries, most of them large, world-scale facilities. These refineries have a combined crude oil distillation capacity of approximately 2.77 million barrels per day, which is 16.2 percent of the total U.S. refinery capacity of 17.1 million barrels a day, the second highest in this Nation. Two of the four Strategic Petroleum Reserve storage facilities are in south Louisiana along our coast. Just last week Chevron announced it discovered a deepwater oil and gas field off Louisiana's coast that could account for as much as 50 percent of our Nation's known reserves. The field would be largely serviced by Louisiana ports, ports that remain highly vulnerable. Louisiana is crucial to all parts of America because of its working ``energy coast,'' and we need your help. Supporting our Nation's energy needs has come at a price. In the past century, Louisiana has lost 1.2 million acres of coastal wetlands and barrier islands and stands to lose hundreds of thousands more acres if measures to stop the loss are not taken. That is a football field of land every 38 seconds along our vanishing coast. Without this protected buffer, Louisiana's people, businesses, and energy infrastructure are much more vulnerable to storm surges and hurricane-related flooding. Comprehensive hurricane protection combined with coastal restoration will offer truly adequate hurricane protection necessary to protect the lives of over 2 million residents, over 50 percent of the State's population, and the entire infrastructure that supports our Nation's energy needs. Some of my colleagues might question the cost of a comprehensive hurricane protection system. In response I say that you can pay now or you can pay much higher later. You can pay to build a category five protection system today or you could pay later with a disrupted national energy supply, ruined businesses, lives lost, and hundreds of billions of dollars of recovery costs to the citizens of this country. The gulf coast has worked tirelessly and quietly for generations to provide the rest of the Nation with energy and transportation services needed to keep industry around the country on pace. Only now in this time of need does the gulf coast ask for something back, a category five hurricane protection system to protect lives, property, and energy production for future storms. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. MELANCON

Mr. MELANCON. Madam Speaker, today I offer House Resolution 892, to give honor and thanks to those who braved Hurricane Katrina's fury in service to their country. As we approach the 1-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I would like to recognize the men and women who stayed behind to protect NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in eastern New Orleans. The ``Michoud Hurricane Ride-Out Team'' was comprised of 38 Lockheed and NASA employees who risked their lives to protect the facility that produces the Space Shuttle external fuel tank, a vital component of the Shuttle program. Were it not for their efforts, the Shuttle program could have been grounded for years. In fact, if Michoud had been destroyed by Katrina, the U.S. would not be able to fulfill its commitment to its international partners, as there would have been no way for the U.S. to ferry vital supplies to equip the International Space Station. The ``Ride-Out Team'' volunteered to stay and protect valuable space flight hardware critical not only to NASA's Space Shuttle Program, but to the future of human space exploration. The Michoud facility is a vital component of America's Vision for Space Exploration, since derivatives of the external tank are part of the design for the next generation space craft. As hurricane winds exceeded 130 mph and storm surge topped the 19 ft. levees surrounding the facility, the team worked tirelessly manning the pumping station and generators. After all was said and done, those dedicated individuals pumped more than 1 billion gallons of water out of the facility. Because of their efforts, operations at Michoud resumed mere weeks after Katrina's landfill. Many of the ``Ride-Out Team'' lost everything they owned to the storm and many didn't know what had happened to their families until days after the storm had passed. They persevered even though all land routes to the facility had been cut off and they had no electricity or water for 21 days. For their bravery in the face of unbelievable destruction and their unquestionable dedication to the space program, I ask this body to recognize the members of the ``Michoud Hurricane Ride-Out Team'' and commemorate their heroism and selfless contribution to the United States, and enable America to continue to lead the world in space exploration.

Mr. MELANCON

Mr. MELANCON. Mr. Speaker, this is a very memorable day, as far as I am concerned, with the hopes not only for the passage of this legislation but for the people of Louisiana and for the people of this country. I know there are questions about the environment. Those have been around for 25 or 30 years. If you look at the record of the offshore oil industry, it has been very good. As a matter of fact, it has been excellent in the last 25 years. There have been more oil spills from ships and tank farms on land than there has been oil in the coastal waters of Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. I want to thank Chairman Pombo and Ranking Member Rahall for their working together. Even though there may be some differences between the parties and between the ranking member and the chairman, they have worked together to bring a bill that will do good for America. If you are happy with $3 plus a gallon of gas, if you are happy because your friends are being laid off from the petrochemical industry as those plants move to Saudi Arabia and other places where they get cheap natural gas, if you are happy to hear that our senior citizens up north, particularly, are living at 55 degrees on their thermostats, I don't think that is the way it should have been. For 25 years, observing this Congress, being a citizen of Louisiana, that has been producing gas and oil for over 50 years, it is great to see that we have finally brought something to the floor for this Congress to act on, because up until today, the policy of this Congress has been to just say no; and we can no longer do that. The independence of this country, the security of this country is premised on the fact that we can defend ourselves, that we can feed our folks, and that we can supply the fuel and the energy that is needed to drive this Nation. This may not be a panacea that will come tomorrow. But it will be a process or a point that will bring us into the future with hope that we can be energy independent and be a safe and secure Nation and defend ourselves without having to worry about getting our oil in tankers from countries that don't necessarily like us. It will mean a safe, secure America.

Mr. MELANCON

Mr. MELANCON. Thank you, Mr. Pombo. Mr. Chairman, as I have expressed earlier and on numerous occasions, this oil and gas exploration is not what it was 50 years ago when it started offshore. Back then, yes, they discharged off the sides of the rigs. They didn't worry about the environment. In these days and times, not only is the technology so much better, but so is the enforcement of all the environmental laws. That includes offshore oil drilling. It has been a boon. And I tell my friends from Florida, you are putting artificial reefs out there that will bring fish. And if you think you have got tourists now and you think you have got good fishing now, these oil rigs will not hurt that whatsoever. I wish we had the beaches that you have. We don't. We have lost our beaches because through the years Louisiana has provided the oil and gas, approximately, these days, 30 percent of what is consumed by this Nation. And for decades we have received zero for our efforts on behalf of this country. After Katrina, after Rita, hundreds of square miles of Louisiana disappeared. It is gone. The only way we will ever be able to revive it or bring it back is to rebuild and restore our coastal marshes. Those coastal marshes are also responsible for about 25 percent of the seafood consumed in this country. That estuary, that marsh, that coastal land that we have lost, for years this Congress and previous administrations have put into bills ``wants.'' Wants. We have been asking for years for help for things we need. And what we need is coastal protection. What we need is to preserve and bring back our coastal areas. What we need is barrier islands. What we need is to protect the Louisianans that produce the oil, the gas, and the fisheries for this country. I stand here today, as I have on all of my votes, and say that this bill provides for those States that do not wish to drill, that do not want to contribute to the national effort to make us energy independent. You have an option to not do that, and that is called States' rights. That is one of the strongest parts of this bill that I think solves, or should solve, the problem or the conscience of those people who represent Americans who aren't fed up yet with $3-plus gas, who aren't fed up yet with the cost of natural gas, and who, apparently, must not be reading the paper or watching TV, if there are any like that. I am so glad to see that we brought this bill to the floor. It is historic, in my mind. Louisiana, ladies and gentlemen, has been waiting decades for this help.