America, Mississippi Thanks You

Floor Speech

AMERICA, MISSISSIPPI THANKS YOU -- (House of Representatives - June 28, 2007)

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hall of New York). Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Taylor) is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mr. TAYLOR. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues for yielding me the time.

Mr. Speaker, as you know, about 22 months ago the Mississippi Gulf Coast was hit with the worst hurricane in our Nation's history. It was followed up by a disaster made by man, which was the insurance industry almost uniformly denying the claims of people who had paid their premiums for decades. So people who thought they were covered woke up the next day or the next week to discover that their house was gone, and that their insurance company that said they were in ``good hands'' or that might have been their ``good neighbor'' or were ``on their side'' weren't going to pay.

It has led to several problems, one of which will be addressed, we hope, in July with a promise by the Speaker Pelosi, Chairman Frank, Chairwoman Waters for a hearing in the Financial Services Committee to amend the National Flood Insurance Program to allow people to buy all-perils insurance through their Nation, something that will prevent the fight in the future in other areas of America where 52 percent of Americans live. So if they go through the same sort of tragedy that the people of Mississippi went through, that they will be paid. Because the only people who did pay their claims last time, uniformly, was our Nation through the National Flood Insurance Program.

One of the ways that the American people responded to that, Mr. Speaker, is that by the thousands, all the way from kindergartners to grandparents, volunteers that have come to south Mississippi, they volunteered their time, they have given of their own personal treasure to help the people of south Mississippi rebuild who should have been paid by the insurance industry but won't. We've had so many groups. And I wish I could name them all and I wish I could have thanked them all.

But one of the groups I did get a chance to visit with just recently was the St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church of Naperville, Illinois, again, one of the thousands of groups that have been to south Mississippi and continue to go to south Mississippi to help people rebuild their lives.

We want to thank them and all the groups, but I also want to recognize a letter that they sent to my office. And it's strange that they should even be thanking someone from my office, it is my office that should be thanking them. But I want to read their letter in gratitude for them, and thank them as a way of thanking all the people that helped.

``We are eternally grateful to you for sharing with us one of Mississippi's finest natural resources, Chris LaGarde.'' Chris is an employee in my office.

Since we first met Chris a year ago, we've come to know him as a dear friend, a counselor, a leader, a chef, a mentor and a pack rat. He is a great big energizer bunny in a bright orange jumpsuit, not only because he never stops, but because his presence energizes all of us. Chris is a man of compassion and passion. He is caring, loving, generous and the most humble man you could ever meet. He's an excellent chef and host.

Through all of the trials and tribulations of finding work for our 60 volunteers all week and feeding us twice this week, he always kept his composure, his sense of humor and his love for all of us. He is a role model not only for young adults, but for us older adults as well. He lends perspective to what is really important in all of our lives, not our iPods, TVs, cell phones, cars and homes, but our friends, family and fellow human beings.

Chris is the epitome of the face of Christ, of service, of love for his fellow man.

To the folks of St. Elizabeth Seton, know what you've said is really about yourselves and about the other people who've come to south Mississippi to help us out. And on behalf of the people of south Mississippi, I want to thank all of those volunteers for what they have done and what they continue to do. And on behalf of not only the people of south Mississippi, but all of our fellow Americans, I think our fellow Americans have truly risen to the occasion. And I, for one, am eternally grateful for their help.

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