Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Members of Congress who participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) should be automatically enrolled in the public option and be subject to any personal income tax increases levied as a result of healthcare legislation, regardless of their annual gross income.

I thank the gentleman, my friend, for yielding, and appreciate very much the kind comments of Mr. Diaz-Balart as well. Maybe sometime we can get the gentleman from southern Florida up for one of our ice storms. In turn, we can go down for a hurricane. We will all have kind of a better understanding one with another. It certainly does underscore the national dimension of how we hang together as a country. You get hit, we help; we get hit, you help. That's how it works. I want to speak to that for a moment or two in my remarks today.

The entire country, Madam Speaker, watched the compelling news coverage of the massive record flooding in North Dakota and Minnesota this spring that resulted from huge accumulations of snow and dangerous spring ice.

Having witnessed this flood fight firsthand, I understand what made these television images so compelling. From all walks of life, neighbors were helping neighbors. The Nation got to see the character of North Dakota and Minnesota as our communities responded to this disaster.

In my entire life, I have never seen a time when so many of our North Dakota communities faced disaster threats--from one end of the State to the other, and so many places in between.

Take a look at this picture. This is rural Cass County, actually outside of the city limits of Fargo. The next picture, a city a couple hundred miles north, Pembina, North Dakota.

These images are like so many small towns across North Dakota where all you see is water. Water, water everywhere. One of the operating heads of the disaster programs in the State observed to me that it has become a place where our ditches are streams, our streams are rivers, and our rivers are lakes. That's certainly what it felt like during much of the ordeal of this spring.

Record snow, in the end, wasn't the only threat. This next picture illustrates what happens when, as the gentleman illustrated, we had ice jams on the Missouri River, backing water into the southern part of Bismarck, known as Fox Island. It required, as we mentioned, demolition to blow up that ice jam to move this flood out of a place that has not had a flood threat since the construction of the Garrison Dam 60 years ago.

In the middle of all these fights, Fargo Mayor Denny Walaker observed, If we go down, we're going to go down swinging. That absolutely captured the determination of local leadership and the citizens that responded as they fought like crazy to keep their city from becoming inundated by rampaging waters.

Federal, State, and local officials came together with folks from all walks of life. And we're very grateful to President Obama for moving swiftly to declare North Dakota and Minnesota Federal disaster areas, unleashing the help that comes with that designation.

Acting FEMA administrator Nancy Ward stood with our local leaders, ensuring they had the Federal disaster assistance to respond to community flood threats. Governor Hoeven ended calling up more than 2,000 National Guardsmen to respond to the threats. We observed many times that it was good having him work in our sand instead of desert sand, as threats this spring unfolded.

The Corps of Engineers were present--and even senior leadership present in our communities time and time again. We could not have built the kind of emergency levees that were required without the Corps' expertise. They are true partners in this fight.

Throughout these ongoing flood fights I have had the opportunity and the honor of working with local, city, and community officials as they led the battle against the rising waters. While I have always been impressed with the caliber and commitment of our local leadership, I'm now in complete awe after witnessing these individuals lead their communities in times of real crisis.

Make no bones about it, city leaders have been instrumental, instrumental in keeping their residents and their communities safe.

When Federal agency heads came to North Dakota in the middle of all of this, seeking to provide advice and direction, what they got back was an understanding of just how thorough the planning had been and how competent the local response was as leaders led the fight against this. I think it underscores a lesson we need to keep in mind in terms of disaster--Federal support, subject to local leadership, because no one knows the ground better than local leaders.

But we all know the heart of our flood fighting efforts comes down to the people themselves. And our people stepped up, bore down, and worked furiously--neighbor helping neighbor in this struggle to save their homes and communities.

This is a picture of the Fargodome. Now that's an indoor football facility where Division I North Dakota State University Bison play their football games. It was turned into sandbag central. In a town of 90,000, over the course of this ordeal, more than 80,000 volunteers came forward, built millions and millions of sandbags around the clock at the Fargodome. I was there. I've never seen anything like it.

In addition to that, National Guard, local volunteers shown here took those sandbags in the middle of blizzards and everything else, built dikes, sometimes on top of snow banks, sometimes through some of the toughest snow storms we have had in the winter.

Having lived this flood fight for several weeks, I have seen more examples of heroism than I can begin to recount, but the impressions will be with me always. We will never be able to adequately thank the thousands of National Guard, tens of thousands of volunteers, and all the countless government agencies who brought to bear their assistance to fight this record fight.

I think President Obama put it best in his radio address which featured our State's disaster and response in our region, because there's lessons we can learn from all this. The President said, ``At moments like these we're reminded of the power of nature to disrupt lives and endanger communities. But we're also reminded of the power of individuals to make a difference.

``In the face of incredible challenge, the people of these communities have rallied in support of one another. And their service isn't just inspirational--it's integral to our response. It's also a reminder of what we can achieve when Americans come together to serve their communities.

``In facing sudden crises, or more stubborn challenges, the truth is we are all in this together as neighbors and fellow citizens. That is what brought so many to help in North Dakota and Minnesota and other areas affected by the flooding.''

Some may see these images of snow and rain and sand and mud and water and say to themselves, Why would anyone want to live there? But to each of us who played our respective part in this fight, experienced the strength of our community, mobilized together, shoulder to shoulder, helping one another, we say, Why would someone want to live anywhere else?

This congressional resolution is a well-deserved way to express our deep appreciation as a Congress and recognize North Dakotans and Minnesotans publicly for their courage and resilience. They are a true inspiration, and I am committed to standing with them during the long recovery process that now lies ahead. I thank you very much for allowing me this kind of time.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, in March, both Minnesota and North Dakota, as the gentleman just said, began experiencing severe storms and flooding. As a result, major disaster declarations were issued for a number of counties in those States pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to provide for Federal assistance.

But the numbers are staggering. Forty-seven of 53 counties in North Dakota and 28 of 87 counties in Minnesota

have been declared Federal disaster areas. That just tells you the scope and the size of these floods.

As a Member representing a State that has seen, unfortunately, its fair share of storms, I can tell you that there are so many people that really allow the people of these States to move forward and to, frankly, survive this and, hopefully, prosper from it.

There's so many people not only from North Dakota and Minnesota, but from around the Nation, who assisted in fighting these floods, and hundreds of volunteers chipped in to help one another to fill sandbags and to do whatever it takes to make sure that they can help their fellow citizens.

Demolition crews freed up ice jams and ice dams to get water moving up the Missouri River to minimize flooding--to try to minimize flooding after, obviously, so much had already taken place.

Reportedly, there were so many volunteers who offered to help, some of them actually had to be turned away. That says a lot about the greatness of the American people.

So this resolution commends the people of North Dakota and Minnesota for their heroic actions, as the gentleman just said, along with those volunteers from around the country who also came to assist. It also expresses appreciation to FEMA--the Federal Emergency Management Agency--and other Federal agencies for their work with the State and local officials.

Again, I want to thank the gentleman for this resolution. People are hurting and struggling, but the American people have a way to come together to help each other. This is just one more example.

I urge the approval and passage of this resolution.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I want to thank the gentleman for that great illustration of what the people are facing. I recall that after Hurricane Andrew, I ran into a number of--obviously--volunteers. And something that really struck me was, I ran into two people who were there on vacation, and they were actually helping in a day care center for children that had lost their homes, because the gentleman just talked about how we all need to see that and how we all here need to come together as well.

But because of that experience, I did go to Missouri in the nineties after some floods. I had some days off. I was in the State legislature in those days. I volunteered, and I went down there. I spent a few days sandbagging. And you really see the best of the country when people are really hurting and the people are really struggling.

Again, we've received the kindness of the American people in Florida multiple times. You also see how heroic the American people are. You are seeing it now with these storms.

I want to, again, thank the gentleman for bringing up this resolution. It's timely. It's so important to make sure that we recognize that tough times are to be had, but the American people do step up.

In both of those States, they're going to do better than they ever were. They're going to be stronger, and the people are going to survive and prosper.

With that, Madam Speaker, I would yield back the remainder of my time.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H. Res. 415.

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

I rise in the strongest support of H. Res. 415, a resolution to commend the heroic efforts of the people fighting the recent floods in North Dakota and Minnesota.

In October of 2007, the House passed H. Res. 657 to express sympathy for the victims of the devastating flooding that occurred in the States of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. I spoke on the House floor then to commend our fellow citizens in the wake of Mother Nature's wrath, and to thank the men and women who serve this Nation as National Guardsmen, police officers, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, and others, who put themselves in danger every day to protect us. These dedicated professionals were once again called in the wake of the Red River floods.

In April 2009, several counties in Minnesota were greatly affected by flooding along the Red River. The Red River flows between North Dakota and Minnesota. Flooding along the Red River, combined with extremely cold weather, caused severe ice damage. Flooding conditions along the river were the result of one of the wettest springs, where winter stream flows were 300 percent above normal.

Twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year, all over this country, when any type of tragedy enters our lives, from a medical emergency facing a neighbor to a large-scale national disaster, terrorist attack, or other incident, our Nation's emergency responders and charitable organizations are the first on the scene to provide professional services, expert help, aid and comfort. These well- trained, highly skilled individuals are truly on the front lines in preparing for, responding to, and mitigating damages from a variety of hazards.

In addition to the heroic acts of neighbors and friends, we rise today to also acknowledge and praise the support of local businesses and many charitable organizations whose boundless generosity and caring are just one of the pillars of recovery on which we come to rely. I strongly support this resolution and urge its passage.

I reserve the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman from Florida for those kind words. At this time I yield such time as he may consume to the author, the gentleman who introduced this, the gentleman from North Dakota, who, along with his constituents, we share a common border, and we share far more than that--a culture and a friendship--and his leadership of making sure that all possible steps were taken is a real great example.

So with that I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Pomeroy).

I thank the gentleman from Florida for his words, and I thank the gentleman from North Dakota for his inspirational description. Both of them did a wonderful job of explaining, when we come out of these most difficult situations, it's the best that we have.

I think, as the gentleman from North Dakota mentioned, when we saw Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we all became Floridians. And when the Red River was flooding, we were all Minnesotans and North Dakotans. A commonality in this Nation and the ability to pull together is truly inspirational.

Madam Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this resolution.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 415, a resolution to commend the heroic efforts of the people fighting the floods in North Dakota and Minnesota.

In October of 2007, the House passed H. Res. 657, to express sympathy for the victims of the devastating flooding that occurred in the States of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin in August of 2007. I spoke on the House floor then to commend our fellow citizens in the wake of Mother Nature's wrath, and to thank the men and women who serve this nation as police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel and who place themselves in great danger every day in order to protect each one of us. These dedicated professionals were once again called to duty last month in the wake of the Red River floods.

In April of 2009, in my district in Minnesota, the counties of Cook and Lake were greatly affected by flooding along the Red River. The Red River flows north between North Dakota and Minnesota. Flooding along the Red River, combined with extremely cold weather, caused severe ice damage in Cook and Lake counties. Wadena county was declared a disaster area and a small section of Beltrami county was declared eligible for individual and public assistance. Flooding conditions along the river were the result of one of the wettest springs where winter stream flows were up to 300 percent above normal.

Twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year, all over this country, when any type of tragedy enters our lives, from a medical emergency facing a neighbor to a large-scale natural disaster, terrorist attack, or other incident, our Nation's emergency responders and charitable organizations are the first on the scene to provide professional services, expert help, aid and comfort. These well- trained, highly-skilled individuals are truly on the front lines in preparing for, responding to, and mitigating damages from a variety of hazards.

In addition to the heroic acts of our neighbors and friends, we rise today to also acknowledge and praise the support of local businesses, and many charitable organizations whose boundless generosity and caring are just one of the pillars of recovery on which we have come to rely.

I strongly support this resolution and urge its passage.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to commend the people of Minnesota and North Dakota for the hard work and community spirit they displayed fighting last month's Red River flooding. When the water started to rise, people came from all around to feed the volunteers and help out in any way they could. Now, these communities are continuing to work together all across my district to rebuild, recover, and get life back to normal.

When I've been back home, I've seen the recovery effort firsthand. Neighbors all over my district, in Clay County, Fargo-Moorhead, and throughout the Red River Valley are working with one another to repair the damage. Schools, businesses, and towns are getting back on their feet.

It's impressive, Madam Speaker, but things aren't back to normal yet in North Dakota or Minnesota. Although we've come a long way since the flood crested a little over a month ago, we still have a ways to go.

Floods don't do many good things, but this flood has shown just how strong our communities are in the Midwest. In the face of the toughest odds, Minnesotans and North Dakotans united to fight for our community.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Minnesota and North Dakota National Guards. They were mobilized to assist in the flood relief efforts and did a great job. Their readiness to help out their neighbors is what the National Guard is all about. In addition, 300 soldiers from the Minnesota Guard were deployed to North Dakota to provide additional support for its flood fighting efforts.

We aren't out of the woods yet. There is much more to do, and even when we recover from this flood, we'll need to start thinking long-term to prepare for the next one. I commend the people of Minnesota and North Dakota for what they've done in the recovery efforts. They deserve our thanks.