Congressional Statements

Letter to Bush on India's earthquake

Rep. Jim McDermott and Rep. Ed Royce
Letter to President Bush
January 25, 2001

President George W. Bush
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing to respectfully request that your Administration consider sending immediate humanitarian and other aid to the Indian state of Gujarat. The 45-second long, 7.9 Richter scale earthquake has already killed hundreds of people, and Indian officials estimate that the death toll will exceed one thousand.

Earthquakes of this magnitude cause massive and lingering destruction. The earthquake in El Salvador on January 13th of this year measured less than this earthquake and left over 600,000 of that country's population homeless. The 1999 quake that hit Taiwan was also less intense than this quake, and it killed over 2,400 people. With aftershocks in the coming days, many thousands will be left homeless. Gujarat is India's second most industrialized state, and this quake will surely deal a significant blow to the economic progress and development of the region.

This quake will have a massive impact for a long time to come. We urge you to lend the considerable resources available to us to the Indian government and the people of Gujarat so that the effects of this natural disaster may be eased. By sending humanitarian assistance now, we not only aid a nation in its time of need; we will also be forging a deeper relationship between our two democracies.

Sincerely,
Jim McDermott Co-Chair of the India Caucus
Ed Royce CO-Chair of the India Caucus