A resolution mourning the horrific loss of life in January 2009 caused by a landslide in Guatemala and an earthquake in Costa Rica.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 76) mourning the horrific loss of life in January 2009 caused by a landslide in Guatemala and an earthquake in Costa Rica and expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should assist the affected people and communities, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, first I want to thank Congressman Dan Burton for introducing this very important and timely resolution, which mourns the terrible loss of life caused by two natural disasters that occurred 4 days apart in Central America in January of this year. The first was a landslide that occurred on January 4, 2009, in Guatemala. The second was an earthquake on January 8, 2009, in Costa Rica.

The resolution before us conveys the deepest condolences of Congress to the families of the victims and urges that the United States Government maintain technical assistance to Central American countries regarding disaster management and mitigation.

On January 4, 2009, millions of tons of earth fell onto a road in the Alta Verapaz area, north of Guatemala City in Guatemala. Apparently, a geological fault triggered the movement of earth, sending 10 million tons of mud and rock down a hillside onto a road that runs from San Cristobal Verapaz to Chicaman, north of Guatemala City. At least 38 people were confirmed dead and up to 60 were missing, many of whom were coffee workers in the region.

Four days later, on January 8, 2009, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake shook the capital region of San Jose, Costa Rica. The earthquake's epicenter was 20 miles from San Jose at a depth of 21.7 miles, and the shaking continued for 40 seconds. Twenty-three individuals were confirmed dead, over 100 were treated for injuries, and nearly a dozen went missing, including many buried by resulting landslides.

Guatemala and Costa Rica have been frequently impacted by significant natural disasters including those in the aftermath of Hurricane Stan in Guatemala in 2005 that led to hundreds of deaths.

I agree wholeheartedly that it should be the policy of the United States to continue technical assistance to governments in the region at the national, provincial, and local levels in the area of the disaster management coordination. It is also essential that the United States take a long-term view with its regional partners and help them improve disaster mitigation techniques.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this very important and necessary and timely resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, I certainly again want to commend Mr. Burton for showing the leadership and at the same time showing the greatness of America, which has always been the timely response to other nations in their moment of great need and crisis.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 76, ``Mourning the horrific loss of life in January 2009 caused by a landslide in Guatemala and an earthquake in Costa Rica and expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should assist the affected people and communities.'' I would like to thank my colleague, Representative Dan Burton, for introducing this legislation.

Natural disasters are one of the most difficult things to deal with as a nation. As a Representative of Houston, TX I have seen devastation and heartbreak come from devastating natural disasters. Our city alone has faced and returned stronger after natural disasters like tropical storm Allison, as her waters flooded our streets and entered our homes. Within the past few years the people of the 18th Congressional District of Texas dealt with damage and evacuation troubles when shortly after a storm called Katrina ripped through the homes of our neighbors, Hurricane Rita threatened our city and our lives. Most recently, we had the electricity taken from our city, roofs stripped from our houses, and windows shattered into our livings rooms. Because of Hurricane Ike our city has seen the impact of horrific situations before and after natural disasters ravage through our streets. These challenges, although largely difficult to recover from, already would have been virtually impossible to recover from had the Federal Government not assisted.

The landslides in Guatemala claimed the lives of more than 30 people and caused destruction to many in this small country. The unfortunate loss of these men and women shall not only be remembered here today as we acknowledge this House resolution, but should be remembered everyday as the people of Guatemala try to recover from the devastation caused by this event. These events take time to recover from and in time just as the sadness fades the recovery will begin in this region.

Just like the people of Guatemala the people in Costa Rica did not expect the ground to start shaking bringing buildings to the ground. With over 14 lives claimed and dozens of people still missing the people of Costa Rica have been devastated by the effects the earthquake has brought them. The 6.2 magnitude earthquake shook the lives of all the people living in Costa Rica and like the people of Guatemala the wounds will take time to heal.

I have experienced firsthand the devastation of events like these and understand the difficulty in recovering from them. These people deserve all the help they can get. It is our moral responsibility to assist in any way we can in helping these countries rebuild. Supporting H. Res. 76 is a big step in helping these devastated nations. That is why I support H. Res. 76, ``Mourning the horrific loss of life in January 2009 caused by a landslide in Guatemala and an earthquake in Costa Rica and expressing the sense of Congress that the United States should assist the affected people and communities'' and I urge my colleagues to do so as well.

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

I want to thank my colleague from Georgia, David Scott, for cosponsoring this resolution.

I think everybody in this body is very concerned about the tragedies that befall human beings here and around the world.

As my colleague said, this past January two significant natural disasters wreaked havoc on the Central American nations of Costa Rica and Guatemala and took a terrible and destructive toll on people in these communities.

In Guatemala, as coffee workers were returning from long days of work in the Alta Verapaz region, thousands of

tons of mud and rock fell in a landslide. As a result of this catastrophe, the nation mourned the deaths of as many as 36 while over 60 are still missing.

Only 4 days later, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake shook the capital region of Costa Rica, resulting in the destruction of over 500 homes and the deaths of at least 20.

I join my colleagues today to express my sincere sympathy and our sincere sympathy and support to our Latin American friends who have suffered as a result of these disasters. I would like to commend the courage and perseverance of the Costa Rican and Guatemalan Governments, along with the private citizens and relief organizations who worked tirelessly in the rescue effort. The prompt humanitarian response carried out in the aftermath of these disasters clearly contributed to the ability of these nations to overcome the damage wrought by these two tragedies.

As I said before, I would like to thank Mr. Scott for cosponsoring this, and I would like to thank our chairman, Mr. Berman, and our ranking member, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, for helping move this important resolution to the floor. And, again, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the Guatemalan and Costa Rican people and their families who suffered as a result of these horrible disasters.

Mr. Speaker, with that, I yield back the balance of my time.