Obama Introduces Bill to Create a National Emergency Family Locator System
Wednesday, September 7, 2005
Printable FormatFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington Contact: Robert Gibbs or Tommy Vietor, (202) 228-5511
Illinois Contact: Julian Green, (312) 886-3506
Date: September 7, 2005
Obama Introduces Bill to Create a National Emergency Family Locator System
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today introduced legislation to create a national emergency family locator system that could be used in the event of an emergency to help family members locate their loved ones.
"Thousands of people are calling hospitals, hotlines and the government looking for loved ones who were forced to evacuate Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi," said Obama. "My office alone has received dozens of calls from constituents seeking help in locating missing relatives. Greta from Chicago was looking for her Aunt Perra Lee. John from Romeoville was looking for his children and grandchildren in Biloxi. The calls keep coming, but my staff can only point these constituents to various nonprofit organizations doing their best to provide locator services. We must immediately create a centralized federal database to help these families who are desperately searching for the family members they love."
Obama said that on the Houston Chronicle's website alone, there are nearly 90 sites to help reconnect loved ones [http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3342298]. Senator Obama's bill, the National Emergency Family Locator System Act, would instruct the Department of Homeland Security to create a centralized system that families can use to locate their loved ones in the time of an emergency, and that displaced individuals can use to let their families know their location and that they are safe.
Louisiana Department of Public Health social worker Jessica Oliva at a 12,000-person shelter in Thibodaux, Louisiana told the Boston Globe, "You'd think there would be a centralized database for the country. It's a huge crisis."
"Various non-profit organizations and news services have effectively used the Internet to connect displaced people with their families," said Obama. "Our government, through the Department of Homeland Security, should combine the best aspects of these services so that after an emergency, displaced individuals can call one phone number or go to one website and post their location. Family members and law enforcement officials should be able use this same secure, centralized system to check the status of missing loved ones."