Hurricane Katrina this past week was certainly the worst episode in what has become an all-too-familiar and tragic cycle, and our nation is now faced with a set of unprecedented challenges.

Dr. Rice went well beyond offering a helping hand – she went so far as to shed tears and share hugs with those who, in a matter of just a few hours, had lost everything to the rising floodwaters.

Nearly two weeks have passed since Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast, and while we are still dealing with the tremendous devastation – and will be for quite some time – we are also seeing increased signs of recovery and help in our region.

President Bush, Secretary of State Rice, and several cabinet level officials have visited Alabama’s Gulf Coast in recent days to tour the devastation and to offer their continuing support and prayers for everyone affected by the storm.

Never in our country’s history have we witnessed a natural disaster that has impacted so many people in such a wide area. In fact, as of the writing of this column, millions of people along the Gulf Coast have been displaced from their homes in a period of only five days.

Since the September 11 attacks, nearly 400 individuals have been arrested by the Justice Department as a result of ongoing investigations into international terrorism. Of that total, over half were convicted as a result of their actions.

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as well as more recent attacks in Madrid, Spain, and London, England, showed in a very tragic way just how vulnerable many areas of the world are to these sorts of actions.

As more information becomes available, and the magnitude of the storm’s impact becomes even more apparent, it becomes clear that this recovery will be lengthy.

Towns and cities throughout the United States have opened their hearts and homes to thousands of families displaced from their homes as a result of this horrific storm.

There is one final point I would like to make this week. As I said on the floor of the House during deliberation of this latest supplemental, hope is something Americans should never lose. Let each of us, both by our words and actions, continue to provide that hope.

In an effort to provide my constituents with information on how they can make contributions to a number of relief and humanitarian organizations, I have posted a short list of these groups and contact numbers on my Internet website.

Members of al Qaeda and other affiliated organizations spent a great deal of time blending into the populations of several nations around the world and exploring all aspects of life there.

I am certain more emergency supplemental bills will be needed before this process is concluded. In fact, there is a point I have repeated several times recently which keeps the enormity of this situation in perspective.

While the debate on the Patriot Act is far from over, it is important that all Americans continue in this dialogue and work together to ensure greater security for our nation.

Help is even being offered from across the ocean, as over two dozen countries have stepped forward to offer financial and material support to the American people.

While the level of support we can each provide certainly varies, it is very important at this time that we all do what we can to help our neighbors – not only our immediate neighbors here in Alabama, but those further away in Mississippi and Louisiana.

As horrific as this impact has been on my constituents, it is only a small part of the overwhelming destruction covering 90,000 square miles of the Gulf Coast.

I am very aware that there are many of you who have friends and loved ones in the areas affected by this storm who have been displaced or who have not yet been accounted for.

It is during difficult times like this that the true American spirit reveals itself. I am not talking only of the response of local, state, and federal governments, although they will each play an extremely important role in this effort.

Relief organizations both large and small are coordinating deliveries of food, clothing, water, and other basic necessities to those impacted by Katrina.

Living in this manner also gave them the opportunity to locate targets and develop methods of attack that would make the most impact on the population, infrastructure, and governments of these areas.

Please know that my thoughts and prayers, as well as those of many, many others here in Alabama and around the country, are with each of you during this time.

I have lived through many major hurricanes during my lifetime: Camille, Frederic, and Ivan, to name just a very few. However, never have I seen destruction, panic, and fear on this massive scale.

Hurricane Katrina this past week was certainly the worst episode in what has become an all-too-familiar and tragic cycle, and our nation is now faced with a set of unprecedented challenges.

There has certainly been criticism of the timing involved in getting help to the victims of the storm, and much of it may indeed be warranted. However, this is not the time for pointing fingers; rather, it is the time for offering a helping hand to our neighbors in need.

This emergency spending measure is certainly only the beginning, since we here in Washington will continue to work closely with the president and emergency agencies to ensure they continue receiving the funding they need.

At many points during our nation’s history, there have been times – known in our history textbooks as “panics” – when adverse conditions affecting the financial and economic sectors of the country have caused individuals to hoard more than they need.

The Inspector General issued six reviews and reports on actions taken based on provisions of the act. In those six reports, the IG found that not one violation of an individual’s civil liberties – a total of zero – had taken place since the act was instituted.

The review process was conducted in an extremely bipartisan manner. Minority members of the Judiciary Committee were responsible for the invitation of 1/3 of the witnesses who appeared.

There are things we can all do to help, including carpooling and traveling only when necessary, in order to save gas during this time. However, there is also something more important which we can all do: buy only the gas which you need.