[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 60 (Tuesday, May 16, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H3062-H3067]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S
RESPONSIBILITY FOR STARTING A DESTRUCTIVE FIRE NEAR LOS ALAMOS, NEW
MEXICO
Mrs. CHENOWETH-HAGE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 326) expressing the
sense of the Congress regarding the Federal Government's responsibility
for starting a destructive fire near Los Alamos, New Mexico.
The Clerk read as follows:
H. Con. Res. 326
Whereas on May 4, 2000, the National Park Service initiated
a prescription burn on Federal land during the southwest's
peak fire season;
Whereas on May 5, 2000, the prescription burn exceeded the
containment capabilities of the National Park Service, was
reclassified as a wildland burn, and spread to non-Federal
land, quickly becoming characterized as a firestorm;
Whereas by May 7, 2000, the fire had grown in size and
caused evacuations in and around Los Alamos, New Mexico,
including the Los Alamos National Laboratory, one of
America's leading national research laboratories and
birthplace of the atomic bomb;
[[Page H3063]]
Whereas on May 12, 2000, the President issued a major
disaster declaration for the Counties of Bernalillo, Cibola,
Los Alamos, McKinley, Mora, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Juan,
San Miguel, Santa Fe, Taos, and Torrance;
Whereas the fire resulted in the loss of Federal, State,
local, tribal, and private property;
Whereas the loss to private citizens of personal property
and memories cannot be accounted for in monetary terms nor
repaid with financial assistance; and
Whereas a full congressional investigation will assist the
Federal Government to determine the cause of this disaster
and its full cost to the Federal Government and the people of
New Mexico: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That--
(1) it is the sense of the Congress that the Federal
Government should--
(A) take responsibility for the fire intentionally set by
the National Park Service at the Bandelier National Monument,
New Mexico, on May 4, 2000, which burned out of control near
Los Alamos, New Mexico;
(B) take all necessary steps to mitigate the threats from
the fire to the public health and well-being of the residents
of New Mexico; and
(C) take all necessary steps to compensate the people of
New Mexico for the losses incurred as a result of National
Park Service actions; and
(2) the Congress commends--
(A) the people of New Mexico for opening their homes and
their hearts to the New Mexican communities affected by this
fire;
(B) the New Mexico firefighting teams for their efforts and
courage in battling the fire;
(C) the New Mexico National Guard and the State of New
Mexico for their efforts in mitigating the fire and assisting
those affected by it;
(D) the American Red Cross and numerous other charitable
organizations and volunteers for the extensive assistance
provided to the fire victims;
(E) the Western States that have assisted New Mexico by
sending people and equipment to help fight the fire;
(F) the businesses which have served as food and clothing
collection points;
(G) all organizations and individuals that have collected
and disseminated information to those affected by the fire;
(H) Sandia National Laboratories for extending assistance
to fire victims;
(I) the Department of Energy for providing analysis and
monitoring public health concerns; and
(J) the people of the United States for opening their
hearts to assist with the plight of New Mexicans affected by
the fire and for sending additional firefighting teams to
help battle the fire.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Idaho (Mrs. Chenoweth-Hage) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Idaho (Mrs. Chenoweth-
Hage).
General Leave
Mrs. CHENOWETH-HAGE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material on House Concurrent
Resolution 326.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Idaho?
There was no objection.
Mrs. CHENOWETH-HAGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may
consume to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson).
Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, it has been a very difficult week in New
Mexico. My colleague, the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall), is not
here. He is still in northern New Mexico. As so many New Mexicans have
in the past week, we are pitching in together and holding up our end of
the stick.
We wanted to move forward with this resolution today, not only to
recognize those who have served and are still serving in the great
State of New Mexico fighting the fires, but to begin to rebuild and
look to the future, and for the Federal government and for this
Congress to stand up and take responsibility for a fire that was
started by the Federal government.
Mr. Speaker, the sense of the Congress that my colleagues will have
an opportunity to vote on today recognizes a tragedy and a disaster in
the State of New Mexico that I would like to talk about a little bit,
because its origins will affect this Congress and how it appropriates
funds this year.
Let me talk first a little bit about what happened. On May 4, it
seems like a long, long time ago right now, the National Park Service
set a prescribed burn which was supposed to be a controlled burn in the
Bandelier National Forest, which is down here.
This is the area of the fire as of last night. The red area is that
part of New Mexico that has been devastated by fire. Here is the Baca
ranch, we are in the process of trying to purchase that for the Federal
government. This is Bandelier National Monument, the Santa Clara Indian
Reservation here, 10 percent of which has been burned, and the fire is
now dangerously close to the cliff dwellings.
Here in the middle is the town of Los Alamos and Los Alamos National
Laboratories. Los Alamos is a city built on mesas. It was a closed city
for many years, put out in the middle of northern New Mexico where
nobody would be likely to find its secrets.
On May 4, the National Park Service started a prescribed burn over
here. That fire quickly became out of control, and while the Department
of the Interior is conducting an administrative investigation as to
whether their procedures were followed, the National Park Service has
acknowledged that they started the fire, that they started it in very
dry conditions, and it quickly got out of control.
By Sunday night, I got a phone call from my former legislative
director who went back to New Mexico to work there just 8 months ago,
and he moved to Los Alamos. His house is in the western part of Los
Alamos here. He was supposed to meet with me on Monday morning. He
called and said, they are evacuating our neighborhood. I am not going
to be able to be at the meeting on Monday. He got what he could in his
pick-up truck and got his dog and headed down to White Rock, where his
parents live. White Rock is this little community down here.
For about 48 hours it looked as though they had things mostly under
control or at least contained, and the fire had not crossed State Route
4, which they were kind of using as a fire line. But on Wednesday, last
Wednesday, we got the call here that the fire had jumped the road, that
the winds were gusting to 40 and 50 and 60 miles an hour, that the
humidity was 10 percent, and that as sparks dropped, 9 out of 10 sparks
were starting new fires. The plume of smoke stretched all the way
across northern New Mexico and into Texas and Oklahoma on high winds.
Immediately they began the evacuation of the town of Los Alamos and
of Los Alamos National Laboratories. Los Alamos is the birthplace of
the atomic bomb. It is a place that still has nuclear materials, and
there was a real concern on the part of the residents of New Mexico
about environmental safety and health if a raging forest fire crossed
Los Alamos National Laboratories.
The laboratory I believe was well prepared, and the Department of
Energy responded, as did the Environmental Protection Agency and
numerous agencies, to monitor and make sure that all the plans were in
place and executed well to protect the people of New Mexico and even
surrounding States.
{time} 1100
But they could not fight the fire. The wind was too strong. By 1 a.m.
on Thursday, they began to evacuate the town of White Rock. The fire
had spread down Pajarito Canyon, and they were fighting to keep it from
reaching the town of White Rock and reaching a number of technical
areas that contained nuclear material.
So by Thursday at breakfast time, 20,000 New Mexicans had been
evacuated from their homes. The winds were still high. There was no
water pressure in Los Alamos. But the Los Alamos police department
stayed in place. Throughout that terrible night of Wednesday night when
260 homes burned, the Los Alamos police department and the fire-
fighting teams from across the American west saved everything that they
could.
Last night, I was up in Espanola, which is a town near here and
Pojoaque, which is just down the hill, and they did re-open 80 percent
of Los Alamos, everything but the areas that were burned. But the fire
is still only 35 percent contained, and the winds today are expected to
gust up to 30 or 40 miles per hour or even higher again.
But now the biggest part of the fire is up here, burning the Santa
Clara Indian Reservation and the Santa Clara Canyon, which is sacred to
the Santa Clara Pueblo.
In this country, we are used to dealing with disasters with floods
along the
[[Page H3064]]
Mississippi or hurricanes along the Gulf Coast or earthquakes in
California, but there is a difference with this one. It is not just the
Federal Emergency Management Agency coming in to help those in some way
get back on their feet because they did not have insurance. Everyone in
this town knows that the Federal Government started the fire. This was
not an act of God. It was an act of man. While it was not intentional
that this fire rage out of control, that the Park Service did not mean
for this to happen, they set the fire that destroyed 260 homes and the
lives of 400 families and the businesses and incomes of thousands of
residents of Los Alamos in White Rock.
I spent much of the weekend dealing with the fire and the fire's
victims. The response of the people of New Mexico to this disaster
really warms one's heart. We always read about people taking advantage
of people when things are going bad, and that did not happen in New
Mexico.
There was nobody there trying to sell bottles of water for $5 or $10.
On the contrary, there were truckloads of food and water and clothing
streaming into Sante Fe and Los Alamos. Twenty thousand people
relocated from a rural area in northern New Mexico, and immediately
every hotel and motel in Sante Fe and Espanola in northern New Mexico
dropped their prices to $25 a night. It has probably been since 1920
since one has been able to get a $25 a night hotel room in Sante Fe,
New Mexico; but last weekend, one could get one if one were a victim of
a fire.
The Red Cross mobilized. I was there on Friday morning in Albuquerque
at the Red Cross Center there where they were bringing in the national
teams. On Friday afternoon, they had to stop taking donated supplies
because they had no more storage room. But they were still accepting
donations.
Intel walked in on Thursday afternoon with a $100,000 check. As I was
standing there, a man walked in and opened his wallet and emptied it
and gave it to the Red Cross.
Most of the banks in New Mexico set up special accounts for the
victims of the fire. I went by one. It is not a big bank. It is called
First State Bank. It is a New Mexico bank. They have a New Mexico
flavor. They do not even wear ties to work. On Thursday mid-morning,
they opened an account and just called the local radio station to say
they had opened one. Six hours later, they had collected $34,000 from
New Mexicans who just walked in to donate to the victims of the fire.
As one can see, Los Alamos is kind of an isolated community, and
there were over 1,000 fire fighters and policemen and Red Cross workers
who still needed to be fed in a place that is really hard to get to. I
was up in Los Alamos on Friday afternoon, and the Los Alamos Inn was
still open. That is where most of the media and many of the fire
fighters and rescue people were staging out of.
There was a waitress who continued to work there. They were just
making food and bringing it in. She had her 4-year-old daughter with
her there at work. I do not think she stopped working since they
evacuated the town.
Down at Ray's in Albuquerque was one of the staging points for the
food and water distribution. I was there on Friday morning. Mayflower
had donated big trailer trucks to take food and water and clothing up
to the victims of the fire. I was there. In probably about an hour and
a half, they had filled half a tractor trailer truck full of food and
water and clothing and bedding and equipment to rebuild lives and
homes.
Car after car was just driving through the parking lot and opening
their trunks and giving. There is a man who wanted to remain anonymous,
but he donated 1,000 brand new suits to the Salvation Army down in
Espanola to reclothe the victims of the fire. It kind of made me laugh
actually because, in Los Alamos, they do not often wear suits. It is
kind of a relaxed place of scientists and Ph.D.s. They probably will be
better dressed than they have in a long time. But it is that kind of
generosity that has been provoked by the fire.
The New Mexico home builders immediately got together, and they
wanted to make sure there was not a lot of scamming of people who lost
their homes. So they are working with the New Mexico Attorney General
to come up with a list of the licensed contractors so that every victim
knows what their options are and they will not have somebody show up at
the front of their door and say, give me $2,000, and I will fix their
siding, and they never see them again, which so often happens after
these kinds of disasters.
They also called all of the suppliers, all of the suppliers for the
home building industry and said, we want the best and lowest prices you
can get us for building materials to help rebuild. Those guys probably
have the power to make that happen.
On Friday morning, I went by United Blood Services in Albuquerque.
See, last week, there was supposed to be a big blood drive in Los
Alamos, and they depend on that to supply the State of New Mexico. They
have kind of got their plan from where they are going to get enough
blood from this week to make sure all the hospitals were supplied.
They were 400 pints short because they had not been able to do the
Los Alamos blood drive. So they put out a special appeal and said they
were having a special week in Albuquerque, and please come in and
donate blood. I dropped by, and the line was an hour wait just to
donate blood because the people in Los Alamos were not there to donate
blood.
But as I was standing there and watching the live news reports from
Los Alamos, there was a lady standing next to me watching as well. Her
husband was donating blood. They were in Texas when the fire started,
and they are from Los Alamos. The first thing they did when they came
back to the State was to go donate blood while they wondered if their
home still stood.
We have a number of military bases in New Mexico, and the military
was there, too, the National Guard, the Army Guard, the Air Guard as
well as active duty. A lot of guys loading the trucks with food and
water were active duty military who were not on their shifts.
I met one guy. His name was David. He is a Sergeant in the Air Force.
He has only been stationed in New Mexico for about a year. He is out at
AFOTEC in Kirtland Air Force Base. He had come into the Red Cross
because he figured the guys on the base could take the 6:00-to-6:00
shift and man the phones at night, and he could get a lot of his
friends to help to relieve the Red Cross volunteers.
Many of the elementary schools in New Mexico all over New Mexico have
gathered contributions for the victims of the fire. This has affected
so many people's lives.
I dropped by the Elks Lodge in Los Alamos, which is right up there by
the Los Alamos Inn. They stayed there to pass out food to the fire
fighters and to the cops. They were kind of funny about it. There is
more than a little gallows humor in these kinds of things. They said,
well, the Elks Lodge really is not known around this town for the thing
we do for the community, but we do do quite a lot.
There were folks coming in in their pickup trucks. One family from
Santa Clara Pueblo had a pickup truck full of all kinds of snacks and
food, and they were going to every one of the trail heads to make sure
that all the fire fighters would be fed in an F-150 pickup that looked
like it was about a 1981 version with about 130,000 miles on it. But
their Pueblo was threatened, and they had not been evacuated yet, and
they were going to do everything they could until they needed their
pickup truck to move out of their own homes. At that time, they did not
know if they would have to move or not.
Los Alamos has more Ph.D.s per capita than any other town in the
world. It is probably not a surprise that, during this disaster, it was
the Internet Professional Association that got up an Internet site
immediately to communicate among the victims of the fire spread out
across the State and their relatives, many of whom were looking for
them.
They put up a web site that, not only had information for folks, but
also had bulletin boards so that one could ask about one's friends or
relatives or have any of you seen so and so, or we are missing our
horses, down where they might be, to help with the information and the
confusion of a disaster.
While sometimes we always like to pick on the press a little bit in
this town, I have to give some commendations also to the television and
radio
[[Page H3065]]
stations in New Mexico. All three of our television stations were
working around the clock during this disaster, giving information to
people and providing that public service to keep people informed on
where they could go and what they should do and what the fire was doing
to their lives.
My husband is in the Air Guard. On Saturday morning our phone rang,
and the New Mexico Air Guard was called to duty for a civilian disaster
for the first time in 30 years. The last time the Air Guard was called
up for a disaster, State disaster, was during the riots in Vietnam at
the University of New Mexico. But the Air Guard took on the task of
taking in the victims, the one who had lost their homes, so that they
could see what was lost and begin the process of getting insurance
coverage and rebuilding their lives.
So he went up to do that on Saturday and Sunday, and he ended up
taking in a busload of folks. As they were driving down the street, he
really understood what the fire department had done, the extraordinary
efforts they had gone to to save homes and save neighborhoods from a
raging inferno.
There was one burned house, and right next to it, and he kind of
laughed, was a fire hose with the end burned off. These guys were
serious about doing everything they could to save the homes and lives
of their neighborhoods.
So where are we now? This fire is 35 percent contained. It is burning
mostly on the northern end. 80 percent of the residents of Los Alamos
are able to get back into their homes. Some will never go back into
their homes.
Every red dot on this map is a home that is not there anymore, 260
buildings, over 400 families that were burned out by a fire started by
the United States Government. But it is not only their losses that the
city of Los Alamos is feeling. Every small business in Los Alamos has
been out of work and off the hill for over a week.
I ran into a family at Pojoaque Red Cross Station at the high school
last night.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). The time of the gentlewoman from
New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson) has expired.
Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to yield 2 minutes to the
gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson).
{time} 1115
Mrs. WILSON. The question is, where do we go from here? FEMA is doing
everything they can, like they do in floods and tornadoes and other
disasters, in bringing assistance to the people of New Mexico, but the
reality is that the Federal Government started this fire. I am not a
lawyer, I do not do liability, but there is responsibility, and the
Federal Government must stand up and take responsibility for the
actions and the consequences of those actions.
On the night of May 4, the National Weather Service told the Park
Service that there were potential blow-out conditions and that any
controlled fire might not be controlled. They lit the fire anyway. This
resolution before the House today commends the people of New Mexico and
those surrounding States that have helped New Mexico deal with this
disaster, and it takes responsibility on the part of the Federal
Government for this disaster.
We will begin to rebuild Los Alamos, but it will be with the help and
assistance of the Federal Government, which must take responsibility
for the actions that it took.
Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mr. GREEN of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to speak on behalf
of my friend and neighbor, fellow Congressman, the gentleman from New
Mexico (Mr. Udall). I say neighbor because the State of Texas and New
Mexico are very close. In fact, at one time Texas claimed part of that
area where the fire is at in the last century.
I have followed this story and the tragic fires in my colleague's
district in northern New Mexico that has disrupted the lives of
thousands of citizens of New Mexico, and we have shared the anguish of
their families who have lost their homes and cherished possessions.
There is, of course, no price we can place on much of what has been
lost, but our hearts go out, and not only those of us who are Texas
neighbors but also from the entire country, to the New Mexican people
for this tragedy.
What we can do, though, is to support the relief and recovery of the
people who are now faced with putting their lives back together,
because that is the right thing to do. The New Mexico Congressional
delegation has done just that, and on their behalf the gentleman from
New Mexico (Mr. Udall) asks that all his colleagues here in the House
provide their support.
Right now the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) is back in his
district working to provide his support to try to make the difference.
He is making sure information about what assistance is available is
getting to the people in his Third Congressional District who have been
hit so hard by this fire. He is also walking through the fire stricken
parts of his district, talking to his constituents and listening to
them about what they need to put their lives back together.
What he has already learned has made him grateful for the efforts of
the many New Mexicans and the communities surrounding the fire who have
pulled together even as this tragedy unfolded, opening their homes and
their hearts to the less fortunate. He has also expressed his
gratefulness for the efforts of the countless organizations and
firefighters who have helped bring some order to this shattered scene.
Even from that distance he is advocating for what his constituents
are telling him by working with this Congress to keep the Federal
efforts to help these citizens on track. The resolution is one example.
While in New Mexico, he has been working here in Washington to ensure
that the emergency funds needed for these efforts are available. He has
asked for $100 million in additional emergency aid for that purpose.
And, Mr. Speaker, I would like to read from a letter from the gentleman
from Washington (Mr. Dicks), who is a member of the Committee on
Appropriations, and the ranking Democratic member on the Subcommittee
on the Interior, to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall):
I am pleased to report that we are pursuing your
suggestions in the Committee on Appropriations with regard to
the need to replenish the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of
Land Management firefighting funds in this fiscal year. While
the emergency supplemental appropriations bill, which the
House passed and sent to the Senate on March 30, contained
$250 million for these accounts, Senator Lott's opposition to
moving the supplemental bill precluded us from providing
additional funds to these agencies this spring, even though
the expected weather conditions and Forest Service
predictions indicate a very high risk of wildfires this year.
With the fire still raging in your State of New Mexico, and
with these accounts becoming seriously depleted, it is our
intention to introduce a freestanding supplemental
appropriations bill containing $350 million, $200 million for
the Bureau of Land Management and $150 million for the U.S.
Forest Service, to reflect the current estimates for
emergency firefighting expenses. I want you to know that
there is broad support in the Appropriations Committee, among
both Republican and Democratic Members, for such a strategy.
Pending a decision on whether a separate supplemental bill
will have sufficient support in the Senate, I want you to
know that it is also the committee's intention to add this
amount of funding to the fiscal year 2001 Interior
appropriations bill when the Interior Appropriations
Subcommittee considers the bill on Wednesday. That is
tomorrow.
In addition, I have sought agreement from our committee
leadership to designate this funding as emergency in nature,
so that it will be available immediately upon passage by both
Houses and when signed by the President.
Again, continuing the letter, Mr. Speaker,
Let me assure you that I and all of my colleagues on the
Appropriations Committee understand the urgent situation you
have brought to our attention. To the best of our ability, we
will attempt to play a constructive role in assuring that
Forest Service and BLM firefighters will have sufficient
resources to hire the fire crews to contain the New Mexico
fires now occurring, as well as to fight additional wildfires
that may occur later in this fiscal year.
Again, Mr. Speaker, this letter is signed by the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. Dicks), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on
Interior of the Committee on Appropriations.
[[Page H3066]]
While the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) is in New Mexico he
remains in close contact with the Federal agencies that share the
assistance and relief responsibilities for dealing with this disaster.
He wants to make sure that the maximum effort is being employed to
discharge these responsibilities. And, again, having him on the ground
in New Mexico is just like, and I can relate to it in Texas when we
have a hurricane come to the coast in Houston, oftentimes we have to
fight a battle here to have the resources at home, but oftentimes we
need to be at home to see what our constituents need, and that is what
the gentleman from New Mexico is doing today.
This resolution is a first step in taking both responsibility for the
fire but also to help mitigate the threats of fire to public health and
to take the necessary steps to compensate the people of New Mexico. As
the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson) mentioned, and the
gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) has expressed to me, the people
in New Mexico are opening their homes and their hearts to the people
affected.
The firefighting teams should be commended for their courage in
battling the fire, as well as the New Mexico National Guard and the
State of New Mexico for their efforts in mitigating the fire. We could
go on and on. The American Red Cross, and the other western States who
have provided help to New Mexico by sending people and equipment, as
well as the businesses who have served food and clothing at collection
points. Thanks also should go to the Sandia National Laboratory for
their assistance to the fire victims, and the Department of Energy for
providing analysis regarding public health.
Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman from
Idaho (Mrs. Chenoweth-Hage).
Mrs. CHENOWETH-HAGE. Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining?
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). The gentlewoman from Idaho (Mrs.
Chenoweth-Hage) has 12 minutes remaining.
Mrs. CHENOWETH-HAGE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I really want to commend the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs.
Wilson) for this very quick response resolution, letting the National
Park Service know of our deep concern about their destructive and
negligent actions in this matter.
Mr. Speaker, this is not one moment too soon to let the Federal land
management agencies know that we as a Congress take these issues very
seriously and we will take appropriate action. This is more than money
that is involved. What happened here was the fact that it has become
apparent that the Federal agencies do not understand the consequences
of their actions or their inactions.
There was an inordinate amount of squabbling about what kind of
aircraft to use to put out the fire quickly, while it was still
containable. And, yes, people can make mistakes, but to see continual
finger pointing at each other between the agencies does not resolve the
problem. What we in the Congress must do to resolve the problem is to
make sure that we have agencies who know how to take the appropriate
action when these destructive measures happen in our country.
This phenomenon that is occurring lately is one where we see agencies
not able to take the proper course and not be able to make decisions,
and it costs lives. It costs the lives of animals who are burned, it
destroys habitat, it destroys landscapes, it destroys homes, it
destroys families, it destroys communities because a handful of
individuals fail to make the right decisions at the right time.
Mr. Speaker, the time has come when this Congress must begin to look
in a new direction for the appropriate measures to make sure that we
have agencies who are responsive to these emergency needs. The fires
burning today in New Mexico provide the Nation with the very worst
examples of Federal agency mismanagement of the public trust. The
National Park Service is, frankly, acting like children playing with
matches, not understanding the consequences of their actions.
Since becoming chairman of the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest
Health, I have held numerous hearings on Federal agency firefighting,
fire prevention and related issues. And through these efforts, my
subcommittee has uncovered many, many serious problems. Even before the
Cerro Grande fires, I had begun planning a hearing on the
administration's overreliance on prescribed fire. Now, in continuation
of our investigation, my subcommittee is in the process of scheduling
two hearings to follow up just as soon as possible.
Again, I want to thank the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson)
and the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) for their leadership on
this issue. Rest assured we will get to the bottom of this issue.
Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I am here today to speak on
behalf of my cousin and fellow Congressman Tom Udall. We have followed
the story of the tragic fires in my cousin's district in New Mexico
that have disrupted the lives of thousands of our citizens in New
Mexico and we have shared the anguish of the families that have lost
their homes and cherished possessions. There is, of course, no price
that we can place on much of what has been lost.
What we can do, though, is support the relief and recovery efforts
for the people who are now faced with putting their lives back
together. It is the right thing to do. The New Mexico congressional
delegation has done just that. And on the delegations behalf he asks
that you also provide your support for the delegation's efforts.
Right now, Congressman Tom Udall is back in his district working to
provide support to his constituents. He is making sure information
about what assistance is available is getting to the people in the
Third Congressional District who have been hit so hard by this fire. He
is also walking through the fire-stricken parts of his district,
talking with his constituents and listening to them in order to
understand what they need to put their lives back together.
What he has learned has made him grateful for the efforts of the New
Mexicans in the surrounding communities the fire who they pulled
together even as this tragedy unfolded. Opened their homes and their
hearts to those less fortunate. And he is so grateful for the efforts
of the countless organizations and firefighters who have helped bring
some order to this shattered scene.
And even from that distance he is advocating for his constituents by
working with this Congress to keep the Federal efforts to help these
citizens get back on track. This house resolution is one example.
While in New Mexico, he has also been working here in Washington to
ensure that the emergency funds that are needed for these efforts are
available. He has asked for 100 million dollars in additional emergency
aid for that purpose.
And he remains in close contact with the Federal agencies that share
the assistance and relief responsibilities for dealing with this
disaster. He will make sure that the maximum effort is employed to meet
our responsibilities. Colleagues, I am here to tell you that he asks
for your support for his efforts and those of his colleague Heather
Wilson to help Americans whose lives have been turned upside down.
Mrs. CHENOWETH-HAGE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for
time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from Idaho (Mrs. Chenoweth-Hage) that the House suspend the
rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 326.
The question was taken.
Mrs. WILSON. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not
present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Evidently a quorum is not present.
The Sergeant at Arms will notify absent Members.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 404,
nays 0, answered ``present'' 6, not voting 24, as follows:
[Roll No. 183]
YEAS--404
Aderholt
Allen
Andrews
Archer
Armey
Baca
Bachus
Baird
Baker
[[Page H3067]]
Baldacci
Baldwin
Ballenger
Barcia
Barr
Barrett (NE)
Barrett (WI)
Bartlett
Barton
Bass
Becerra
Bentsen
Bereuter
Berkley
Berman
Berry
Biggert
Bilbray
Bilirakis
Bishop
Blagojevich
Bliley
Blumenauer
Blunt
Boehlert
Boehner
Bonilla
Bonior
Bono
Borski
Boswell
Boyd
Brady (PA)
Brady (TX)
Brown (OH)
Bryant
Burr
Burton
Buyer
Calvert
Camp
Canady
Cannon
Capps
Capuano
Cardin
Carson
Castle
Chabot
Chambliss
Chenoweth-Hage
Clayton
Clement
Clyburn
Coble
Coburn
Collins
Combest
Condit
Conyers
Cook
Cooksey
Costello
Cox
Coyne
Cramer
Crane
Crowley
Cubin
Cummings
Cunningham
Davis (FL)
Davis (IL)
Davis (VA)
Deal
DeFazio
DeGette
Delahunt
DeLauro
DeMint
Deutsch
Diaz-Balart
Dickey
Dicks
Dingell
Dixon
Doggett
Doolittle
Doyle
Dreier
Duncan
Dunn
Edwards
Ehlers
Ehrlich
Emerson
Engel
English
Eshoo
Etheridge
Evans
Everett
Ewing
Farr
Fattah
Filner
Fletcher
Foley
Forbes
Ford
Fossella
Fowler
Frank (MA)
Frelinghuysen
Frost
Gallegly
Ganske
Gejdenson
Gekas
Gephardt
Gibbons
Gilchrest
Gillmor
Gilman
Gonzalez
Goode
Goodlatte
Goodling
Gordon
Goss
Graham
Granger
Green (TX)
Green (WI)
Greenwood
Gutierrez
Gutknecht
Hall (OH)
Hall (TX)
Hansen
Hastings (FL)
Hastings (WA)
Hayes
Hayworth
Hefley
Herger
Hill (IN)
Hill (MT)
Hilleary
Hilliard
Hinchey
Hinojosa
Hobson
Hoeffel
Hoekstra
Holden
Holt
Hooley
Horn
Hostettler
Houghton
Hoyer
Hulshof
Hunter
Hyde
Inslee
Isakson
Istook
Jackson (IL)
Jackson-Lee (TX)
Jefferson
Jenkins
John
Johnson (CT)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones (NC)
Jones (OH)
Kanjorski
Kaptur
Kasich
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilpatrick
Kind (WI)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kleczka
Klink
Knollenberg
Kolbe
Kucinich
Kuykendall
LaFalce
LaHood
Lampson
Lantos
Larson
Latham
LaTourette
Lazio
Leach
Lee
Levin
Lewis (CA)
Lewis (GA)
Lewis (KY)
Linder
Lipinski
Lofgren
Lucas (KY)
Lucas (OK)
Luther
Maloney (CT)
Maloney (NY)
Manzullo
Markey
Mascara
Matsui
McCarthy (MO)
McCrery
McDermott
McGovern
McHugh
McInnis
McIntyre
McKeon
McKinney
Meehan
Meek (FL)
Meeks (NY)
Menendez
Metcalf
Mica
Millender-McDonald
Miller (FL)
Miller, Gary
Miller, George
Minge
Mink
Moakley
Moore
Moran (KS)
Moran (VA)
Morella
Murtha
Myrick
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Nethercutt
Ney
Northup
Oberstar
Obey
Olver
Ortiz
Ose
Owens
Oxley
Packard
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor
Paul
Payne
Pease
Pelosi
Peterson (MN)
Peterson (PA)
Petri
Phelps
Pickering
Pickett
Pitts
Pombo
Pomeroy
Porter
Portman
Price (NC)
Pryce (OH)
Quinn
Radanovich
Rahall
Ramstad
Rangel
Regula
Reyes
Reynolds
Riley
Rivers
Rodriguez
Roemer
Rogan
Rogers
Rohrabacher
Ros-Lehtinen
Rothman
Roukema
Roybal-Allard
Royce
Rush
Ryan (WI)
Ryun (KS)
Sabo
Salmon
Sanchez
Sanders
Sandlin
Sawyer
Saxton
Scarborough
Schaffer
Schakowsky
Scott
Sensenbrenner
Serrano
Sessions
Shadegg
Shaw
Shays
Sherman
Sherwood
Shimkus
Shows
Shuster
Simpson
Sisisky
Skeen
Skelton
Smith (MI)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Snyder
Souder
Spence
Spratt
Stabenow
Stark
Stearns
Stenholm
Strickland
Stump
Sununu
Sweeney
Talent
Tancredo
Tanner
Tauscher
Tauzin
Taylor (MS)
Taylor (NC)
Terry
Thomas
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thornberry
Thune
Thurman
Tiahrt
Tierney
Toomey
Towns
Traficant
Turner
Udall (CO)
Upton
Velazquez
Visclosky
Vitter
Walden
Walsh
Wamp
Waters
Watkins
Watt (NC)
Watts (OK)
Waxman
Weiner
Weldon (FL)
Weldon (PA)
Weller
Wexler
Weygand
Whitfield
Wicker
Wilson
Wise
Wolf
Woolsey
Wu
Wynn
Young (AK)
Young (FL)
ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--6
Bateman
Hutchinson
Kelly
Lowey
Mollohan
Sanford
NOT VOTING--24
Abercrombie
Ackerman
Boucher
Brown (FL)
Callahan
Campbell
Clay
Danner
DeLay
Dooley
Franks (NJ)
Largent
LoBiondo
Martinez
McCarthy (NY)
McCollum
McIntosh
McNulty
Norwood
Nussle
Slaughter
Stupak
Udall (NM)
Vento
{time} 1146
Mrs. KELLY changed her vote from ``yea'' to ``present.''
So (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof), the rules were
suspended and the concurrent resolution was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Stated for:
Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained on business
and unable to be present for rollcall vote No. 183. Had I been present,
I would have voted ``yes'' on rollcall vote No. 183.
(Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to speak out of order for
5 minutes.)
____________________