Making Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, I would like to echo what everyone has said, especially my colleagues, Mr. Green and others, from Texas who have mentioned how we have pulled together. But I want to rise in strong support of this disaster relief funding for those who have been impacted by this terrible storm.

My district is in Texas 36, and it was totally devastated. All nine counties have been declared Federal disaster areas. The entire district was underwater, a vast lake, from Houston over to the Louisiana border.
The devastation is truly heartbreaking.

I have traveled to each county and assisted in the recovery efforts, and I have met with the victims. H. Res. 502 provides desperately needed resources to help our fellow Americans put their lives back together again and provides a hand up, not a handout. Texans don't want a handout, but we do need the help and the hand up.
In the midst of this devastation, the entire world has seen the resiliency, compassion, and determination of the people of Texas, and I am truly inspired by the incredible stories of goodness.

We have had multiple disasters, especially in my district--multiple-- even three disaster declarations for some of my counties over the past 3 years. I have met and talked to some of my constituents who had just gotten back into their homes 2, 3 months ago from a flood that impacted us last year. One has told me she still had the price tags on their furniture when she woke up during the night to see water in her house.

These are the kinds of things that we are seeing. But in the midst, as I have said, our churches, our first responders, our private citizens, businesses, people from out of State--and I want to especially commend the State of Louisiana, who came over and provided hundreds of boat teams for us--all around the district, people are helping one another.

I just want to urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this very, very much-needed funding and showing our fellow Americans that we stand with them in this terrible, terrible time.

I have been around a long time. I have seen storms--Hurricane Audrey in the 1950s--and this storm, Hurricane Harvey, I have never seen one like this before.

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