[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 75 (Thursday, May 12, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H2330-H2333]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TAX DAY FLOOD
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 6, 2015, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al
Green) for 30 minutes.
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am honored tonight to stand
here in the U.S. House of Representatives to call to the attention of
my colleagues, my friends, H.R. 5025, a bill that will bring some
relief to much suffering in the Houston area in the State of Texas.
But before I get into the bill itself, I think it appropriate to
thank some people for what they have done to help us get to this point.
I thank my colleague who will be speaking in just a moment, the
Honorable Gene Green, who serves in the 29th District, which is
adjacent to the district that I serve. I want to thank my friend Gene
Green because he is the original cosponsor of this legislation. He was
there to help shape it, and it means something to know that you have a
friend that you can work with to this extent.
I want to thank my friend Congressman John Culberson. He is the first
to make this legislation bipartisan. This is not a partisan issue.
Flooding is not a partisan issue. The homes that are damaged, the lives
that are lost, none of this is partisan. I am grateful to Congressman
Culberson for signing onto this bill.
I would like to thank the 60-plus cosponsors of this legislation who
have said that they want to see what has been authorized materialized,
such that, in Houston, Texas, we cannot only eliminate a lot of
flooding--and we will. We can't eliminate all of it, but we can
mitigate that which we cannot eliminate.
I thank Chairman McCaul of the Homeland Security Committee. He
published the letter for us, the members of the delegation, to sign and
send to the President of the United States, asking that Texas have
certain areas within the State declared disaster areas because of the
horrific flooding that took place on what we call Tax Day.
I thank the leadership for allowing us to have this team on the floor
tonight on both sides. The leadership makes these things possible, and
I am grateful to all leadership for doing this.
Finally, I want to thank President Barack Obama because he did, Mr.
Speaker, declare certain areas in Texas disaster areas so that we might
receive the help of FEMA and funds to help people recover and to
restore their lives and continue with their lives.
So tonight I will say more about some of these things mentioned, but
now I am asking to ask the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gene Green), my
colleague, who is the lead cosponsor of this, to have his commentary.
Because his district has suffered greatly not just this time, but in
the past, from these floods. I will not go into it. I will leave all to
be said about it to him.
But I think it appropriate that I acknowledge his great work in the
Congress of the United States of America not only on this issue, but on
many other issues impacting people within his district and across the
length and breadth of this great country.
{time} 1830
Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague and
neighbor and friend for setting this Special Order tonight for what we
call the tax day floods in Houston and Harris County, Texas.
Our district was hit by flooding, but not near as much as in
Congressman Al Green's, because I was in his district that week, and
also in the neighboring districts, Congressman Culberson, Congresswoman
Lee and Congressman McCaul, and Congressman Brady.
But I was just looking at a memo. In our district, we have Hunting
Bayou, which is part of the legislation, that was overflowed; and the
people who live in that area, along Interstate 10 East, they cleaned
out their homes, the Sheetrock and everything else, and it is literally
a tragedy.
[[Page H2331]]
On April 18, the city of Houston and Harris County, Texas, was
subjected to paralyzing flooding which claimed the lives of 9 of our
citizens and required the rescue of at least 1,200 others.
Approximately 2,000 housing units were flooded, and we are currently
working to figure out where to house the folks who cannot return to
their homes.
This is the second major flooding disaster Houston has experienced in
the last 6 months. The city is expecting additional rain, even this
weekend, tomorrow and Saturday.
Residents of our congressional district, as well as other Members'
districts, have been severely affected, and we must do everything we
can to stop the needless loss of life.
The President has recognized the significance of the catastrophe and
fulfilled a request for a disaster declaration. Now it is the job of
Congress to help our constituents. That is why I have worked closely
with my neighbor and friend and colleague, Representative Al Green, to
introduce the Tax Day Floods Supplemental Funding Act, H.R. 5025.
The legislation would provide $311 million to the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers for the construction and, in most cases, completion of our
bayou and flood projects in the Houston and Harris County, Texas, area.
Flooding is not new to Houston, but we have learned how to control
it. Our bayou system has saved countless lives and millions of dollars
in damage since the creation of them. Unfortunately, due to the
consistent budget pressure, the Army Corps of Engineers cannot
adequately fund these projects.
This bill would ensure that our Federal, State, and local authorities
have the resources necessary to expedite these flood control projects
we know protect people and property.
My colleagues and I have requested the Director of FEMA and the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to tour our districts and
see the damage firsthand, and I renew that request again today.
The support in the community is overwhelming. The Greater Houston
Partnership, our chamber of commerce, supports this legislation, and
they estimate that the total lost is about $1.9 billion.
It is also supported by our local--in Harris County we created a
flood control district that partners with the Corps of Engineers. Our
Harris County Flood Control District also supports this legislation.
Additionally, I want to make sure that the folks on the ground have
the information they need to get back in their homes.
FEMA has opened disaster centers in our community, but if you are not
near one of those centers, you can apply to FEMA by phone. Call 1-800-
621-3362. That is 1-800-621-FEMA. 1-800-621-3362.
FEMA can offer two types of assistance: housing assistance, temporary
housing, money to help repair or replace your primary residence.
Non-housing needs include medical, dental, funeral costs, clothing,
household items, tools, home fuel, disaster-related moving and storage,
replacement of a disaster-damaged vehicle. After 24 hours, FEMA will
follow up with you.
It is important in our district to know that, if your Spanish-
speaking households have children that are U.S. citizens or legal
residents, FEMA can help you if there is a legal resident or a citizen
living in that home.
Mr. Speaker, it is important that we help victims in our
neighborhoods so we can get back on top and help them.
I urge our body, this House, to pass the emergency funding
legislation and do so as quickly as we can.
Again, I want to thank my colleague and friend. I was impressed that
day when we were in his district, in Westbury, at the flooding and the
outpouring of people.
I have seen it in my district where people will literally move
everything from their house; they have to throw it away. It is out on
the curb. The city of Houston is cleaning it up as fast as they can,
but we need to get these people back into their homes.
But this bill that we have will make sure their homes are not flooded
again because, that way, we don't need to have these repetitive floods
like we have had in the last few years.
Again, I want to thank my colleague for this Special Order tonight
but, more importantly, I want to thank him for his leadership on this
piece of legislation. I am proud to be his cosponsor.
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. I thank the gentleman very much. I greatly
appreciate all that he has done to help us, especially coming into my
district, and being there with the mayor, if you recall, who was there.
We had a county commissioner in attendance, County Commissioner Gene
Locke, Mayor Sylvester Turner, and persons from that neighborhood. This
was not your district, but the people were people that the gentleman
cared about, and they are grateful, as am I, for the gentleman's coming
in and visiting with us.
Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. If the gentleman will yield to me; we also
had the press conference, and everybody was confused. We also have the
gentleman's city council member, Larry Green. So they had Congressman
Al Green, Congressman Eugene Green, and City Councilman Larry Green.
They can call all of us and we will help them.
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Absolutely. In Houston, Green is a good name
if you want to become a member of the political order.
Again, I thank my colleague.
Let me elaborate for just a moment on the letter from the Greater
Houston Partnership because a good many people are not aware that this
is another way for us to say chamber of commerce in Texas. We have gone
beyond a simple chamber of commerce. We call ours a partnership because
it is an effort among the many to make sure that commerce excels, but
also to make sure that people have great opportunities.
Houston is a city of opportunity, and I want to thank the Greater
Houston Partnership for the letter that has been sent to us supporting
H.R. 5025.
But now let's be a little bit more specific. I want to thank Mr.
Jamey Rootes. He is the chairperson of the Greater Houston Partnership.
He and I have been talking, and he has been working with me and with my
colleagues to try to make sure that we have an opportunity to get our
message out to the masses. He has done what he can to help us with this
messaging, a message that includes the position of the Greater Houston
Partnership, I must add.
Also, Mr. Bob Harvey, who is the president and CEO of the Greater
Houston Partnership. We made a call to them one morning, asking if they
could get a letter to us indicating their support, and that afternoon
we had the letter in hand, the letter that I hold in my hand currently.
And that letter is, without question, a solid indication of support for
this project.
The last paragraph of it reads: ``We want to make sure that we do all
that we can to help you and your staff as you consider every potential
opportunity for Federal support. Please do not hesitate to call.'' And
they give names and numbers.
They are committed to doing what they can to not only help with this
legislation, but to help people in their recoveries, and to prevent
this from happening again.
The Harris County Flood Control District, Mr. Michael Talbott, sent
the letter, the executive director. And in his letter, he speaks of how
this can benefit the Houston area to the amount of about $2.4 billion.
He goes on to talk about the jobs that can be created--6,220 created
if we can get this legislation done, if we can get this money into
Houston.
I must add this: this money is money that we will get eventually into
Houston. This is not money that we won't ever get. These projects have
been authorized. They are already in progress. It is just that we are
getting the money in a piecemeal fashion, and we need a wholesale
representation of this emolument for Houston, such that we can get on
with these projects, such that we can prevent future damages, such that
we can save lives. What we cannot eliminate, we can mitigate in terms
of damages.
So I am honored that the Corps of Engineers has these projects that
they are working on, and I am especially honored that the Harris County
Flood Control District has let us know that they are absolutely in
support of what we are trying to accomplish with H.R. 5025.
[[Page H2332]]
Now, having said all of these things and making it clear that this is
money that has to be matched, that this is money that we will
eventually acquire, I think it's appropriate for me to say this:
This is about more than money. It is about more than things,
inanimate objects. This is about more than homes and personal property,
cars, and all of the things that we call creature comforts. It is about
more than these things. It is about people. This legislation really is
about human beings. It is about human beings who are in a recovery
phase right now, many of them recovering from the tax day flood, some
still recovering from the Memorial Day flood which took place last
Memorial Day. Mr. Speaker, it is about these people, but not only these
people, it is about people who lost their lives in this flood.
My colleague mentioned that there were nine--nine persons, that we
know of, lost their lives. And wouldn't it be a shame to remember the
flood, remember the damages that were imposed upon the homes, and the
cars, and the furniture, remember the damages, but not remember the
people who lost their lives?
So tonight I want to take just a moment on behalf of my colleague and
many others in this House and just recognize, memorialize the lives
that were lost in this horrific flood, a tragedy that, quite frankly,
could have been mitigated if we had all of these projects to
completion.
Let's just remember these persons and not forget them. So with a
degree of solemnity, I would like to just call their names and say a
little bit about each of the nine.
The first, German Antonio Franco. He was 66 years of age, Mr.
Speaker. He was a retired HEB produce manager. HEB is one of our food
stores. He also worked as a part-time contract limousine driver. This
was a man who had children--three children and four grandchildren. The
circumstances of his death are that he died after an encounter with
high water, something we will see consistently as I go through this.
But he lost his life in Houston, Texas, in a flood.
I would like to mention Ms. Claudia, last name is Melgar. Claudia
Melgar. She lost her life, 25 years of age. She was a college student.
She died in an encounter with high water.
Now, there are those who would say that you can avoid an encounter
with high water. I believe that in many circumstances you can, but in
Houston, Texas, we have what are known as flash floods, floods that
occur in a flash, and there are many times when you can be caught in a
circumstance such that you cannot extricate yourself.
Because of this, the waters will envelop you and you will find
yourself in a position such that you cannot even leave the car that you
are in because of the way the electronics can malfunction. And if you
don't have some device, some tool to break windows, to move yourself
through some passageway other than that door, you will find yourself in
harm's way and you can lose your life.
{time} 1845
This has happened to many people. It happened to Claudia.
I would also like to mention Pedro Rascon Morales, 61 years of age.
He was a big rig driver, a father, and a grandfather. He died in the
cab of his 18-wheeler while trapped in a flooded roadway in Houston,
Texas.
All of these persons are in and around the Houston area. They all
lost their lives in water due to flooding with the tax day floods as we
call them. These are lives that we can never forget. I think that we
should remember the damages that were caused to property and the
destruction, but we shouldn't forget the lives that were lost because
there are families that are grieving to this day because they lost
people that they loved.
These were the daughters and sons of somebody, and we should never
forget that they lived and that they lost their lives, some, I might
add, in a needless circumstance--this is my opinion--because of our not
fulfilling our obligation to fund what has been authorized.
Next, we have Charles Edward Odum, 56 years of age, seventh grade
social studies teacher, married, with two children. Circumstances of
his death: died after encountering high water.
Then there was Teri White Rodriguez, 41 years of age, a wife and
mother of three. Circumstances of death: died in her vehicle after an
encounter with high water, an encounter with high water in Houston,
Texas.
It was an unfortunate circumstance, and we should not forget that
lives were lost.
I know it is going to be easy for many of us to go on with our lives.
This will be put behind us. We have a moment when we focus on these
things, but life is such that there are so many other things that we
encounter that our focus is lost or that we focus on something else.
That is important, so I don't begrudge anybody who has to focus on
other things. I just believe that I have a duty, an obligation, and a
responsibility to make sure that we don't forget these lives that were
lost. There will be others, but we don't want to forget these. There
have been others, but we won't forget these.
We won't forget Sunita Singh, 49, an electrical engineer, a wife and
a mother of two children, drowned in her car after an encounter with
high water.
Let's not forget Suresh Kumar Talluri, 49, a husband and father of
two young children ages 6 and 8, drowned in his car after he was
trapped by high water.
We shouldn't forget and we should commemorate the life of Dharamendra
Uppal. This is an unfortunate circumstance wherein we have the age of
the person undisclosed, the circumstances of the death undisclosed in
the sense that we don't know personal information about this person who
lost his life, or her. I am assuming that from the name it was a
female, but this person died and was found deceased in his car, a male,
deceased in his car which appears to have been submerged. He was a
male. The name is important. The identity is not known completely
because we don't know the age and we don't have personal information.
Then there is a woman with an undisclosed name, with no personal
information available to us at this time who drowned after an encounter
with high water.
All of these unfortunate circumstances involved people. I want to
make sure tonight that while we will talk about the billions of dollars
in damages--and there were billions of dollars in damages, billions of
dollars. It is estimated that it is as high as $8 billion in damages
when you combine the Memorial Day flood with the tax day flood, as much
as $8 billion.
That $8 billion, by the way, is 25 times the $311 million that we
might use to take preventive action.
This money will not go to help people get new homes. This money won't
go to help people get personal items that have been destroyed. All of
this money will go to projects that have been authorized, projects
that, if completed, can possibly prevent the loss of future lives and
projects that, if they had been completed, may have prevented the loss
of some of these lives.
So I take it as my personal responsibility to call this to the
attention of this House and to ask my colleagues to please consider
H.R. 5025. The President has declared the area that I am speaking of as
a disaster area. FEMA is there. This is an opportunity for us to act.
We have done it before, and we should do it now.
I want to assure my colleagues that, when there is a disaster of this
magnitude, you can count on our good offices being with you to help you
through your time of need. We understand that we should be there for
people. This is what we have done in the past, whether it was Sandy,
hurricanes, or whether it was tornadic activities. Whether it is fires
or hurricanes along the Gulf Coast, we want to be there for our people.
This is our country, and a country is more than bricks, buildings,
skyscrapers, and military. It is people who live ordinary lives, who
expect that they would have the opportunity to fulfill their dreams, to
go to work and come home safely and not find themselves in harm's way
by virtue of waters that are not expected, floodwaters that can come in
a flash and take them away.
So, Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues who have signed on to this
piece of legislation. I want to again thank the President of the United
States, the Honorable Barack Obama,
[[Page H2333]]
for making his desires known by declaring certain areas in Texas a
disaster area. I thank the Governor of the State, by the way, Mr.
Speaker, because he acted quickly, swiftly, and promptly to make the
request of the President.
I have mentioned Mr. McCaul. I thank the gentleman again for his
actions in circulating the letter so that all of the members of the
Texas delegation could be on it requesting that certain areas in Texas
receive this attention from the President.
Finally, I know that these are difficult times for us across the
Nation and across the world. There are many things that are happening
that are challenging for us. But among these things, let us not forget
that there were people who lost their lives in Houston, Texas, and let
us not forget that these floods occur with a degree of regularity such
that it is predictable that it will happen again.
We can prognosticate now that this will happen again. If it does, I
will find myself back here as a reminder that there are things that we
could have done, should have done, and hopefully will do to eliminate
much of the flooding and mitigate that which we cannot eliminate. I am
grateful.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________