Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Floor Speech

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Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, on Sunday I had the great honor of joining President Trump in welcoming Prime Minister Modi to the Lone Star State in an event that was appropriately named ``Howdy, Modi.''

When his trip was announced, people on the west coast and the east coast wondered, ``Why Texas?'' They thought, maybe, he would go to Silicon Valley to talk to Big Tech executives or spend some time in Washington hobnobbing with diplomats and legislative leaders. Those are great places to visit, but Houston is the energy capital of the world. It is providing literal fuel for our growing relationship with the Nation of India.

After nearly a four-decade ban on U.S. crude oil exports was lifted, Texas sent the first American crude oil to India, and today India is increasingly running on American natural gas. The reason that is important is, when I visited India for the first time in 2004, I witnessed a country that is a study in contrast--some highly populated areas like Delhi and others, and then rural areas on the way to the Taj Mahal in Agra, you can see people literally living off the land and using dried cow manure as fuel for their food and for warmth. Obviously, India needs access to affordable energy that America--and Texas, in particular--can provide to help improve their standard of living.

This trade is also vital to our economy in Texas, and we will keep exporting our greatest natural resource to our friends in India and around the world as a result of the energy renaissance we have seen and as a result of the use of unconventional extraction techniques like fracking and horizontal drilling.

Those must sound like foreign words to people in Washington, DC, who think we ought to be able to live on solar panels and windmills exclusively, but I always say, as important as renewable energy is--and it is important--Texas generates the most electricity for any State in the Nation from wind turbines. The wind doesn't always blow and the Sun doesn't always shine, and you need some sort of baseload to try to keep the electricity flowing so people can be afforded the comforts of life and particularly in hot Texas summers make sure the air-conditioner continues to work.

For as deep as our economic ties are, our cultural ties are just as strong. Texas is home to a vibrant Indian diaspora, with more than 150,000 Indian Americans living in the Houston area alone and perhaps about half a million across our entire State. I was glad the Prime Minister had a chance to witness the Indian culture that is woven into the fabric of our State and meet a number of proud Indian Americans, including the 50,000 who showed up for the ``Howdy, Modi'' events in Houston on Sunday, from 48 States, I am told.

Knowing the importance of a strong U.S.-India relationship, 15 years ago I cofounded the U.S.-India Caucus in the Senate. That was at the request of one of my constituents who founded one of the Indo-American Chambers in the metroplex in Dallas, TX, years ago. He is the one who encouraged my wife and I to travel to India in the first place, where I learned a lot about the country--the study in contrasts I mentioned but also that this is the world's largest democracy, and we shared so many values with that country because of our common English heritage and particularly our respect for the rule of law and use of the English language predominantly.

We also saw the advantage of collaborating with India economically-- 1.3 billion people--a great market for the things we make and grow in the United States and a great way to raise the standard of living in India as we deepen our ties militarily and from a national security standpoint. The difference between today and what things were like as recently as 2008, in terms of trade, is just like night and day.

In 2016, the United States designated India as a ``major defense partner,'' with the goal of elevating our partnership with India to the same level as those of our other closest allies.

Since then, we have taken a number of steps to strengthen our defense relationship, such as establishing ministerial dialogue, increasing arms sales to India, and the first U.S.-India triservice exercise later this year. We have made real progress, but there is more we can do to ensure that our efforts are aligned, just as our interests are aligned. Particularly as China is on the march, having a strong and vibrant economy and a strong defense partner in India is more important than ever.

Earlier this year, I also introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which requires the Secretary of Defense to submit a report on U.S.-India defense cooperation in the Western Indian Ocean within 180 days of enactment.

It will allow us to get a clearer picture of current military activities and will enable the Secretary of Defense to enter into military cooperation agreements and conduct regular joint military training and operations with India in the Western Indian Ocean. This would be a major step to bolster our relationship and strengthen our defense cooperation.

I am hopeful this provision will ultimately be included in the Defense authorization bill that is now going through the conference committee between the House and the Senate, and I am optimistic we will be able to get the President's signature and see this critical legislation enacted into law.

(Ms. McSALLY assumed the Chair.) Tropical Storm Imelda

Madam President, briefly, on one other matter, Tropical Storm Imelda made landfall in Southeast Texas last week and dumped massive amounts of rain all across the region.

It is just 2 years after Hurricane Harvey, which is a more familiar name to people up here in DC, but the scenes are heartbreakingly similar. It wasn't the high winds so much as it was the incredible amount of water that was dumped into the Houston area and the surrounding counties. Neighborhood streets began to look more like rivers than roads. Folks were wading in the water, carrying children on their shoulders, and personal belongings washed away with raging floodwaters.

We have learned before, and we were reminded again, that these storms aren't only disruptive; they are incredibly dangerous. Five people have died as a result of the storm, and hundreds more remain displaced.

Imelda was the fifth wettest tropical cyclone in the continental United States, with some areas receiving more than 3\1/2\ feet of rain in a very short period of time. But as we have learned before, these trying times seem to somehow bring out the best in people.

A group of residents in the small community of Cheek, TX, waded through chest-high water to rescue nine horses. Furniture store owner Jim McIngvale, known to all of us as ``Mattress Mack,'' once again opened up his stores as a shelter for victims. His employees were running rescue operations, taking furniture trucks out to pick up those who had been stranded by high water. There was even a 21-year-old college student who worked all night alone at a Beaumont hotel for 32 hours straight. Not only did he singlehandedly manage a hotel, he and other guests ventured out into the flood to help distribute food and water to truckers stranded in their trucks.

I am grateful to the countless people who have helped their neighbors in big and small ways alike and who will no doubt continue supporting their communities in the months ahead.

For many Texans, this is the second time in 2 years they have had to recover from extraordinary flooding. The storm completely devastated communities throughout the southeast part of my State, and folks are just now beginning what will undoubtedly be a major cleanup effort.

With waters receding, local officials are now taking stock of the damage and moving from response to recovery. These rain events--these huge floods--are often more than any one city or one county can manage alone. It is an all-hands-on-deck moment that brings together local, State, and Federal officials, as well as nongovernmental organizations.

Governor Abbott declared a state of disaster in several counties to ensure State resources are available to local government agencies.

Last week, I spoke to many of the county judges who have jurisdiction over much of these flooded areas, the hardest hit areas, and I offered my support. I want to assure everyone who has been impacted by the storm that they are not alone and that we are committed to working together as State, local, and Federal officials to ensure that they have what they need to recover from this devastating Tropical Storm Imelda.

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