Providing for Consideration of Senate Amendment to House Amendment to Senate Amendment to H.r. 601, Reinforcing Education Accountability in Development Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this rule, and I believe the entire country understands why we have the underlying legislation that we have before us today.

The rule provides for consideration of the Senate amendment to the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 601, the Hurricane Supplemental, Debt Limit, Continuing Appropriations, and Flood Insurance Package.

Mr. Speaker, what this means is that the United States Congress, the House of Representatives, first acted in response to the hurricane that hit Texas and Louisiana and caused flooding across the United States. We then passed that directly to the United States Senate, in working with the President of the United States and the administration, and the Senate has provided back the necessary agreement that they passed. That is why we are here today.

We are here today because this great Nation is finding itself in a desperate plight of fighting with, for, and against Mother Nature, in an effort to provide the citizens of the United States of America with the assurances that, at a time when FEMA is engaged in over 30 different efforts across the country, the United States Congress is nimble enough and able enough to see the need of the people of the United States and to respond appropriately.

It is a private-public partnership that takes place not just with the Federal Government, but it is a government-to-government relationship that takes place also with the United States FEMA organization representing the administration and the American people of the States in which those people reside.

I must tell you that I have been impressed with not only the actions that the Federal Government has taken, but I am proud each morning that I stand up and see FEMA and its representatives discussing, preparing, and providing the American people with the necessary information, the cause and the backup to be prepared for what lies ahead.

This legislation directly addresses the critical responses that are needed by this Nation and meets the funding obligations of the Nation. My fellow Texans, several of whom will be speaking this morning on the rule, are men who were directly in the face of the storm; and the people whom they represent and the people who have confidence in them are asking them for the necessary proper help that the United States Government would wish to give. These men and women of the Texas delegation have seen this problem together, and they are addressing it as a team.

We come together not just as Republican and Democrat, men and women, but we come together as a nation. And quite honestly, Mr. Speaker, Texans are overwhelmed with the response that we have seen not just from our colleagues, but the wishes, hopes, and prayers of this Nation, those who have come to Texas and are helping us out.

We now turn our thoughts and ideas and prayers to others who are in harm's way. We are well aware that it has come across our territories, it is entering the United States soon, perhaps as early as this morning, and we have done our work here today and will get that work done as we finalize the vote. We appreciate and respect and thank the Nation for its support.

Please know that this legislation provides us, today, essential emergency disaster relief for those areas devastated by storms. A $15.25 billion emergency supplemental package is contained within this legislation. What we intend to do is to provide this and make it available to the States, where our elected officials will be administering the things that will make them available, along with FEMA, to the American people and to the people who were affected.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday I received a call from a gentleman, George P. Bush, who is our land commissioner in Texas. Commissioner Bush asked me to not only thank the United States Congress, but also the American people. He asked me, along with Governor Greg Abbott from the State of Texas, to thank the American people for standing with us.

We may have been in harm's way, we may have seen over 50 inches of rain, we may have tens of thousands of people who are still in harm's way, but we are not too proud to say thank you, thank you to this great Nation for hearing our call, seeing our need, and, today, providing the necessary resources to help us rebuild our lives.

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

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I would like to publicly thank the Democratic members of the Rules Committee. The gentlewoman, Mrs. Slaughter, has recognized from the first moment when we came back the genuine desire and need for us to work together. Her entire team, including the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), and the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis) and their staff, has worked diligently to ensure that this piece of legislation would become ready for Members of Congress to vote on it.
I would like to thank my staff and also our members, our members of the Rules Committee who spent a great deal of time this week.

Mr. Speaker, we are public servants and we are expected to do what we are doing. But it should also be noted that my colleague went out of her way to ensure that the discussion, the debate, and the delivery of this package is done.

Mr. Speaker, last night I received information from Dr. Shelley Hall and Dr. Rick Snyder from Dallas, Texas speaking most directly about the people who they have come in contact with as volunteers from the Dallas County Medical Society at the convention center in Dallas, Texas. As people have filled our city from outside these storm areas, I hope that they have met also Texans who cared about them. We have a history of this because we had to do this 12 or 13 years ago with Katrina, as we took people, young babies, little babies, who were flown in to Dallas and other areas in Texas; Fort Worth, Texas, opening up its doors; Austin, Texas; San Antonio, Texas. This is an effort that is more than just a State's effort, however, today. This is the Nation.
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Texas delegation, I want to thank Members of Congress, and, in particular, Ms. Slaughter and her team, for expeditiously providing this information of us working together.

Lastly, we will hand this to Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, from the Appropriations Committee, and Nita Lowey, who is that ranking member. I have seen all four of us work together on an important effort.

Mr. Speaker, for that reason, I urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying measure to provide FEMA with this emergency downpayment, as the agency is running out of funds and bracing for Irma's impact, and perhaps two other storms that may be headed to the United States of America or our territories.
We are one Nation under God. I give thanks for that, Mr. Speaker.

The material previously referred to by Ms. Slaughter is as follows:

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