Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to the earthquake that occurred in San Luis Obispo County, California, on December 22, 2003.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) for yielding to me.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 519, a resolution honoring the victims of the December 22, 2003, San Simeon earthquake and paying tribute to the law enforcement, emergency personnel, and many local leaders who provided assistance to citizens throughout San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties.

I thank my colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) for introducing this resolution and for bringing it to the floor of the House today. It has been a privilege for me to work with him to help get the central coast back on its feet again.

Mr. Speaker, earthquakes impact all segments of the communities they strike: Individuals, businesses, and public services such as police, fire, hospitals, and schools. In the days following this earthquake I was very moved by the devastation in San Luis Obispo County and in northern Santa Barbara County. The earthquake registered 6.5 on the Richter Scale and was felt from San Francisco all the way to Los Angeles. I know what it was like to feel it strongly in my fourth

floor congressional office building as I was meeting with constituents at that very hour.

Even though the earthquake lasted only seconds, it left behind destruction that will take months, if not years, to repair and rebuild. The greatest tragedy, of course, is that time will not undue the loss of life of two people caused by this earthquake. Two women perished when a clock tower collapsed in Paso Robles. Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the friends and families of these victims.

More than 50 people were injured as a result of the earthquake. There was extensive damage to residential properties, to historical and public buildings, and to public utility structures. I have received numerous calls and letters from constituents who have suffered major losses to their businesses.

Total costs and damages to the counties of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara are expected to exceed $300 million with reports of more damage coming in daily.

Mr. Speaker, residents and local authorities are continuing to rebuild their lives after this earthquake. I was pleased the President heeded calls from Governor Schwarzenegger, the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), and me and declared San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties Federal disaster areas as a result of the December 22 earthquake. Federal funding and loan assistance is essential to help businesses and individuals rebuild their lives and get their lives back on track following this, such a devastating earthquake.

However, I remain disappointed that the Governor's request that Santa Barbara County's Federal disaster area declaration does not include individual assistance programs. It only limits the support from the Federal Government to the businesses involved.

In northern Santa Barbara County, especially in the cities of Santa Maria and Guadalupe, homeowners are still suffering from the impact of this earthquake and its after shocks. Updated damage assessments have revealed that northern Santa Barbara County residents suffered much more loss than was originally estimated.

My office will continue to work with all businesses and all families affected by the earthquake to ensure that they have access to loans and other assistance that could help them recover as quickly as possible. Work has already begun to make sure that the hundreds of Federal historic properties are preserved and retrofitted to provide safe and accessible work in public spaces.

This is a critical component of creating communities where our families and businesses are safe, healthy, and that the economy is secure. State and Federal agencies, including the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, FEMA and the Small Business Administration all have been working closely with local officials to give them all the support that they need. And I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to them as well as to the first responders, to the rescue workers and to all of the volunteers, so many of them, everyone who took great risk to themselves to search the wreckage for their fellow citizens. They did an extraordinary job.

I also want to commend the city, the county, and State workers and utility crews who worked around the clock to restore power, water, and other important services to our communities. Critical functions such as emergency centers, fire stations, police stations and hospitals were functioning right after the earthquake.

We do not want to think about what would happen in such an event, but when it does, we are all heartened by the way that people pull together and work together from every level, particularly the volunteers who leave whatever they were doing aside and step right up to the plate. They cannot do it without the assistance of local, State, and Federal support.

The San Simeon earthquake was a shocking reminder to people who live just about anywhere in California that we are prone to earthquakes and should do whatever we can to prepare. Preparing for an earthquake can be as simple as making an earthquake preparedness kit with first aid supplies, extra food and water, and clothing. I encourage all Californians to take this step. This may be a lifesaver in the next quake.

Mr. Speaker, as I said, people on the Central Coast are returning to their lives as they once knew them before the earthquake. The earthquake may have shaken our foundations, but it, once again, proves the strength of our communities and our unshakable resolve to help each other out during times of tragedy. I urge immediate adoption of this resolution to pay tribute to the lives we lost that day and to honor all of those who stepped in, stepped up to the plate, to help their neighbors to get through such a difficult time.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this month I was not present for several recorded votes because pressing business required me to remain in Colorado. If I had been present, I would have voted as follows:

Rollcall No. 42--H. Res. 519--Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to the earthquake that occurred in San Luis Obispo County, California, on December 22, 2003, I would have voted ``yes.''

Rollcall No. 43--H. Res. 392--Congratulating the Detroit Shock for winning the 2003 Women's National Basketball Association championship, I would have voted ``yes.''

Rollcall No. 44--H. Res. 475--Congratulating the San Jose Earthquake for winning the 2003 Major League Soccer Cup, I would have voted ``yes.''

Rollcall No. 45--On approving the Journal, I would have voted ``no.''

Rollcall No. 46--S. 1881: to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to make technical corrections relating to the amendments by the Medical Device User Fee and Modernization Act of 2002, and for other purposes, I would have voted ``yes.''

Rollcall No. 47--H. Con. Res. 373: expressing the sense of Congress that Kids Love a Mystery is a program that promotes literacy and should be encouraged, I would have voted ``yes.''

Rollcall No. 48--Amendment to H.R. 339 offered by Mr. Scott (VA) to add a new section which provides that the bill does not apply to an action brought by a State agency to enforce a State consumer protection law concerning mislabeling or other unfair and deceptive trade practices, I would have voted ``yes.''

Rollcall No. 49--Amendment to H.R. 339 offered by Mr. Watt to limit the provisions of the bill only to cases brought in Federal court, I would have voted ``yes.''

Rollcall No. 50--Amendment to H.R. 339 offered by Mr. Andrews to permit civil liability suits to be brought in cases related to a food that contains a genetically engineered material unless the labeling for such food bears a statement providing that the food contains such material and the labeling indicates which of the ingredients of the food are or contain such material, I would have voted ``no.''

Rollcall No. 51--Amendment to H.R. 339 offered by Mr. Ackerman to expand the definitions in the act to exclude any establishment that manufactures or sells meat from downed animals for human consumption from the protections of the bill, I would have voted ``no.''

Rollcall No. 52--Amendment to H.R. 339 offered by Ms. Jackson-Lee (TX) to provide that the bill would not apply to civil actions that allege a product claiming to assist in weight loss caused heart disease, heart damage, primary pulmonary hypertension, neuropsychological damage, or any other complication which may be generally associated with a person's weight gain or obesity, I would have voted ``yes.''

Rollcall No. 53--Amendment to H.R. 339 offered by Mr. Watt to strike section 3(b) of the bill which provides that a qualified civil liability action that is pending on the date of the enactment of the bill shall be dismissed immediately by the court in which the action was brought or is currently pending, I would have voted ``yes.''

Rollcall No. 54--Final passage of H.R. 339, to prevent legislative and regulatory functions from being usurped by civil liability actions brought or continued against food manufacturers, marketers, distributors, advertisers, sellers, and trade associations for claims of injury relating to a person's weight gain, obesity, or any health condition associated with weight gain or obesity, I would have voted ``no.''

Rollcall No. 55--Final passage of H.R. 3717, to increase the penalties for violations by television and radio broadcasters of the prohibitions against transmissions of obscene, indecent, and profane material, and for other purposes, I would have voted ``yes.''

Rollcall No. 56--Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H. Con. Res. 15, Commending India on its celebration of Republic Day, I would have voted ``yes.''

Rollcall No. 57--Motion to Suspend the Rules and Agree to H. Res. 540, as amended, expressing the condolences and deepest sympathies of the House of Representatives for the untimely death of Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, Paso Robles, California, is a small town nestled in the Central California wine country. Since 1892, the clock tower atop the Mastagni Building had kept the pulse of the town, an unceasing progression of hours for 111 years. The ticking stopped at 11:16 a.m. on Monday, December 22, 2003, when the building crumbled underneath it and the clock fell to the street below.

Marilyn Zafuto of Paso Robles and Jennifer Myrick of Atascadero were shopping at a dress shop in the Mastagni Building on that fateful day, and as they attempted to flee to safety, they were killed by falling debris. Their tragic fate made them the only two deaths of a powerful earthquake that shook California from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

With a magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter Scale, the San Luis Obispo County earthquake of 2003 threw lives into upheaval all around the State. In addition to the deaths of Ms. Zafuto and Ms. Myrick, 40 people were injured in the quake and its subsequent aftershocks, which measured as strong as magnitude 4.7. More than 40 buildings were damaged, roads were buckled, gas mains were damaged, water pipes were ruptured. This was the largest earthquake to hit California since 1999 when a magnitude 7.1 quake was measured in the desert near Joshua Tree and the first to cause deaths since the 6.7 magnitude earthquake in Northridge in 1994.

The effects of this earthquake were felt far and wide across California. At the Federal Building in San Francisco, 165 miles northwest of the epicenter, the top floor swayed for 30 seconds and people in downtown Los Angeles reported that the streets were beset with a sustained rolling motion.

As often is the case, from American tragedies come stories of American heroism. The San Luis Obispo earthquake is no exception. The 200 emergency workers who toiled for hours, looking through the rubble for victims and tending to the wounded, deserve the admiration of this House as do the countless local heroes who rose to the occasion when circumstances called for it.

We have not the time to tell all the stories, but I would like to tell you of Nick and Patricia Sherwin. Mr. Sherwin owns a jewelry store in the Mastagni Building in Paso Robles. When the quake hit, Mr. Sherwin took charge, calling for the evacuation of his store. Most of the people made it outside before the roof, including the clock tower, was shorn off the building. But two elderly customers fell before they could get outside. Mr. and Mrs. Sherwin went back and draped themselves over the fallen elderly customers and shielded them and their bodies until the quake subsided. Untold heroic stories like this one unfolded across Central California on that day.

Mr. Speaker, in honor of men and women, Americans like these, I offer my respect for their quiet heroism on a day when the earth made their feet seem poised to betray them. I also extend, along with the rest of the House, my deepest condolences to the victims and families of the San Luis Obispo County earthquake.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps).

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the chairman, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) for his willingness to expeditiously move this resolution. Those of us in California experience earthquakes periodically. It is difficult to predict. The usual formula is the longer it has been since the last one, the sooner it is to the next one. When actually, if you will look at newspapers in California on a regular basis, literally on a daily basis there are anywhere from several dozen to several hundred earthquakes that occur, many of them are not felt.

Periodically, we get an earthquake as occurred in Paso Robles on December 22. It was a good size earthquake, 6.5 on the Richter Scale is a good size earthquake. The earthquake that literally leveled downtown Bakersfield in 1952 was only 6.1. The earthquake that produced between 20 and 50,000 lives lost in Bam, Iran, in 2003 was about the same magnitude, 6.5.

This particular earthquake caused about a quarter of a billion dollars worth of damage in homes, businesses and government offices. But only two lives lost. And even then, it was a peculiar set of circumstances that produced the tragedy of the two lives lost. I have a district office in San Luis Obispo County in the 1915 Atascadero City Hall which was shook pretty severely, bricks were falling, and the building itself suffered a number of cracks. And in visiting the site and in the surrounding area, again and again and again it was clear how fortunate we were, how many near misses occurred.

I do want to thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) for moving this resolution, and for all of us to remember those individuals who lost their life, those individuals who suffered major business damage downtown, and to the general psyche.

I know that when earthquakes occur, I have seen local television stations go to the airport to interview people, to ask them if they are thinking about returning to California because the earth literally shook. I have told them many times that although it occurs periodically on the east coast, literally, hurricanes and tornados occur everywhere. There are difficulties that you have to put up with wherever you live. California, unfortunately, on the rim of fire, is periodically subjected to these earthquakes.

This one was a difficult one for all of us. My colleagues in the area, Mrs. Capps and others responded fairly quickly. I do want to put on the record how magnificently the local elected officials responded, setting up emergency teams, keeping lines of communication open. And I want to compliment the Federal Government in its quick response in providing grants and loans to those who were clearly depressed and destroyed and were given the opportunity very quickly to rebuild.

The spring has come, the rains have come, the grass is green, but the psyche shattering earthquake of last December is still present in downtown areas and in the surrounding communities. And the scar on the earth will be there for a long time.

I thank the chairman for the quick response and especially for the Nation's taxpayers in responding in the hour of need in San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Atascadero and the surrounding community. I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 519) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives with respect to the earthquake that occurred in San Luis Obispo County, California, on December 22, 2003.

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 the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 519, introduced by the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), honors the victims and affected residents of the earthquake that occurred in San Luis Obispo, California, on December 22, 2003. The earthquake registered a 6.5 on the Richter scale, and it killed two people and injured 50 others. This was the largest quake to hit the counties of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara since 1994.

The historic town of Paso Robles was hit the hardest. Many of the buildings in that area were unreinforced masonry structures built over a century ago, and they were unfortunately no match for the earthquake's power. The two deaths occurred in Paso Robles. In addition, the earthquake's tremors were felt in San Francisco to Los Angeles, and more than 30 aftershocks were reported in the following hours. The quake knocked out power to approximately 75,000 residents, and many others were forced to evacuate. This resolution remembers the victims and those who were injured and underscores the heroic sacrifices made by countless disaster relief workers and emergency personnel after the earthquake.

Following the wildfires that scorched hundreds of thousands of acres in October, the December 22 earthquake concluded a difficult fall season for so many California residents. Therefore, I thank the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) for introducing this resolution. It helps us all remember the victims of this disaster.

The resolution also appropriately recognizes the public safety officials and emergency response personnel who helped limit the earthquake's effects on the region. Many individuals, businesses, and organizations in surrounding areas provided much-needed assistance to victims in the days and the weeks following the tragedy. I commend the gentleman from California for the resolution's important focus in

commending these charitable groups as well.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge all Members to support House Resolution 519.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas), the distinguished sponsor of this resolution.

(Mr. THOMAS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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

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

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