Americans Helping Americans in Time of Disaster

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding for just a moment. I would welcome the opportunity to use the time that the gentleman yields, but I do want to compliment the gentleman for what he has done at this most difficult time and greatly appreciate what he is saying about those who were there to be a help to those in time of need.

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Mr. Chairman, I would like to share this thought with the gentleman because he touched upon a salient point, and that is the notion that we can have unity without uniformity. We can maintain our principles, but we can always find higher ground to stand on. The principles that we have, we don't have to relinquish so that we can do things together.

I am honored that the gentleman and I have been able to do a good many things together. As the gentleman knows, annually he and I work together on the abuse of persons in domestic relations. We have decided that that is something that we don't want to tolerate and that we will stand together against it.
I just want to thank the gentleman again for his many years of service and the service especially in that time of crisis. I greatly appreciate the gentleman.

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Mr. Speaker, once again, the gentleman and I have been able to compliment each other, as we properly should, as Members of Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a grateful and prayerful heart. I am grateful to my colleagues, many of whom called to give their expressions of concern.

Mr. Speaker, it is a wonderful thing to have your colleagues call to let you know how much they care about what is happening in your congressional district. After all, we are Congresspersons of the United States of America, not just the congressional districts that we just happen to represent.

So I am grateful to my many colleagues and leadership calling, all to give their expressions of concern not just for me, but for the people who we all represent as Congresspersons of the United States of America.
I am also grateful for the many lives that were spared. Many lives were spared. I don't know why some people were able to survive in circumstances wherein they should not have, but I do know that I am grateful that they were spared.

I am also very grateful for the many Good Samaritans who were there to extend the hand of friendship in a time of need, who went out of their way to be a neighbor to people they did not know.

I am so grateful to those who came across county lines and State lines to do what only they could do, because many of them had talents and they had various instrumentalities that were of benefit to us in a time of need. So I am grateful to the Good Samaritans.

I am also grateful that we were able to get the $15 billion that will be a good faith downpayment to those who are still suffering in Houston, Texas, and in other places that this monster visited. I am very grateful that I was in the Speaker's Office and was there to see the actual signing take place. I thank the Speaker for allowing me to be present.

I am prayerful. I am prayerful for those who are still suffering. In my congressional district, there are people who are still in homes that are mold-infested. They need help. I want them to know that there is some help on the way. Obviously, we will have to do more, but I am prayerful that they will have their homes restored.
I am prayerful that they will have their lives return to normalcy. I am prayerful that their children will have the opportunity to get into school as quickly as possible. I am prayerful that they who are suffering will have the hands of our government there to comfort them.

I am prayerful that they will understand that, while others are going to do what they can, only the government of the United States of America can do the heavy lifting necessary. A lot of largesse has come in. A lot of lagniappe is available. But only the government can do this heavy lifting. I am prayerful that they will understand that we are going to do what we can to make sure that they get the help that they need.

I am prayerful for the families that have lost lives. One such family lost a first responder, a Houston police officer. He lost his life on his way to save lives, to help lives, to help people who were in harm's way. It really gives a true definition of what ``in the line of duty'' means. In the line of duty, he was taken away from us.

So I am prayerful that his family, as well as all of the other families that have lost lives, will be able to understand that when words cannot satisfy the concerns that you have, when nothing anyone says can make the difference that needs to be made, I am prayerful that they will understand that they can lean on their faith and that faith can see them through that which they can go through no other way. I am prayerful for them.
I am prayerful for my friends in the State of Florida, where I was reared. I was born in Louisiana, reared in Florida. I attended college in Florida. I went to high school in Florida.

Florida is my home, for all practical purposes, except for Texas, where I call home. I am a transplant, obviously, but Texas is home. I am prayerful for my friends in Florida. I have relatives there. They have a monster headed their way--a monster that is going to, unfortunately, create harm and cause damages.

Now, my hope is that it will skirt Florida and that it will go another way. I believe in miracles, and I am asking for a miracle. But I am prayerful for my friends, for fear that this monster will visit Florida.

My prayer is that I will be able to call every one of my colleagues in Florida and let them know that I care about them and their constituents. As I have said, we are all Congresspersons of the United States of America.

I am prayerful for my friends, prayerful for my family, all of whom are in Florida--not the entirety of my family, not the entirety of my friends, but those who are in Florida.

And finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to say to the Members of this House, I am grateful to every Member who took the vote to help us in a time of need. I have been here long enough to have the good sense to know that for some it was a hard vote, and I am grateful that you took that hard vote, because I understand that people have principles, they have circumstances that are important to them, and that legislation doesn't always come to everyone the way we would have it come.

I am just grateful for those who took that hard vote because they had rationales and reasons that they could show that, if they were to be consistent, perhaps they would have voted another way. But they took the hard vote, and I am grateful to them.

I am grateful that they did so, and I am prayerful that we will all be able to take the hard votes necessary to accord the people who have been harmed by what happened in Texas and across the Gulf Coast and what is about to happen to those who are in Florida and other places, I am prayerful that we will have the courage to take these hard votes so that we can make sure that this government does what it is supposed to do, and that is protect its people, provide for their security, and provide for their welfare in times of need. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful and I am prayerful.

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