Boehner Statement on Emergency Assistance for Victims of Hurricane Katrina

WASHINGTON , D.C. – U.S. House Education & the Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner (R-OH) today issued the following statement on the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act to provide emergency assistance for the regions affected by Hurricane Katrina.

“Today, Congress fulfilled President Bush’s request to provide an immediate $10.5 billion to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to address the short-term needs of the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

“As the rescue and relief effort proceeds, Congress will turn its attention to the long-term challenges of helping the region rebuild.

“We are working closely with the U.S. Department of Education to determine how we can best meet the needs of the children, families, teachers, and schools impacted by this tragedy.  The Department of Education has already begun to exercise its authority to provide flexibility and assistance to the K-12 and higher education systems impacted, and we will build on that effort in the coming days and weeks.

“We are also working in consultation with the U.S. Department of Labor to identify what steps that agency is already taking, and what steps can be taken in the future, to ease the burden on hard working Americans displaced from their jobs by this unprecedented natural disaster, and ensure the flexibility necessary as workers from across the nation join together to help rebuild the employment infrastructure of the Gulf Coast.”

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