[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 154 (Tuesday, September 26, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H7523-H7530]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HURRICANES' DESTRUCTION AND COST
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2017, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Weber) is recognized for
60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, in all my years, I have seen a lot
of storms, a lot of hurricanes, a lot of floods, a lot of tropical
depressions, a lot of rains in Texas. We have a whole variety of
weather in Texas and a lot of just about every calamity weather-wise
you can think of. I have seen nothing come close to Hurricane Harvey.
In 24 hours, we went from Tropical Storm Harvey to Category 4 Hurricane
Harvey.
As with most hurricanes, there was no rhyme or reason for the
destruction and the ensuing devastation. Harvey's bands of rains sat on
southeast Texas with a vengeance and for days on end, and the situation
turned quickly from bad to worse.
Mr. Speaker, we got 51 to 53 inches of rain in 3 to 4 days. That part
of Texas' annual rainfall is about 53 inches a year. We got a whole
year's worth of rainfall in under a week's time. Our great first
responders, our volunteers, risked their lives time and time again to
save others.
When the Nation saw that we needed help, the boats and the people
just kept coming. We got the Cajun Navy from Louisiana; 100 guys with
their own boats came to help us. They did things we didn't think were
possible, so I coined a new phrase, ``Cajuneering.'' They came in and
really helped us. We saw neighbors and strangers alike step up to help
each other. That is the Texas way.
When the Nation saw that we needed help, people came pouring in. More
[[Page H7524]]
than that, it is not just the Texas way, it is the American way. No
matter our creed, our color, our religion or background, we are all
united and we work together. Harvey may have brought the downpour, but
Texans and Americans brought the outpour.
Texas 14 is arguably ground zero for flooding and devastation. My
district, from Brazoria County to Jefferson County, the enormity and
the severity of Harvey, sadly, is on full display.
Entire neighborhoods were underwater. How do you recover from that?
Your family and your house is underwater, your cars are underwater,
your furniture, and, sadly, even some of your most prized and precious
heirlooms, family photos and pictures and albums, how do you overcome
that?
Well, I will tell you, by working together. Everyone back home in our
great State knows someone who needs help, and everyone back home is
doing their part to help that person in need.
In all the devastation and destruction, the hope and determination
shared among Texans was absolutely remarkable. Harvey may have deluged
our State with rain and with water, but he certainly did not dampen our
spirit.
One month ago today, Harvey made landfall between Port Aransas and
Port O'Connor, the eye of the hurricane. A few days later, Harvey swung
back into the Gulf and made landfall just west of Cameron, Louisiana.
We literally had a 3-day weather event. Harvey came on shore there by
Rockport-Corpus Christi. We got the bands of rain coming up in the
hurricane as he came ashore. He then went up north and stayed around
for a day or two dumping rain on all of our rivers and streams upstream
from us and our watersheds. Then he came back down to southeast Texas,
down on the coast, and he worked right over, as I said, in Louisiana.
Then after Harvey came Hurricane Irma; after Irma came Jose; and after
Jose came Maria. It has been a historic time.
As of Sunday, September 24--let this sink in--817,758 people are
registered for disaster assistance. FEMA has distributed $502.6 million
in housing assistance and $160.2 million in other assistance. In the
one month since Harvey, the first of a series of hurricanes, FEMA has
completed 239,612 inspections. Almost 22,000 people are living in
hotels because they have no home to return to. That number doesn't even
include those who are staying with family and friends.
The Small Business Administration has approved $509.4 million.
Homeowners have received, to date, $467.3 million in loans. Businesses
have received $42 million in loans. Earlier this month, we passed out
of this Chamber, with overwhelming bipartisan support, a $15 billion
relief bill. Two or three more of those bills, at a minimum, are
expected.
Folks, the monetary damages are adding up to over $150 billion, with
a ``B.''
{time} 1700
There are five business recovery centers in Texas. There are 41
disaster recovery centers. Over 30-something Texas counties were named
in the disaster declaration.
Folks, these are just numbers. They are mind-boggling. You can see
the pictures here beside me. Those numbers don't really tell the whole
story. Let me tell you: behind those numbers are people; behind those
numbers are families; behind those numbers are homes, livelihoods, and
businesses. The lives of our great Texans are behind those numbers. Our
people are hurting, but they will not let a hurricane keep them down.
Wrapped up in all of the devastation is a bunch of heroes and first
responders. I have already talked about the Cajun Navy. I can talk
about the States that sent firefighters and first responders from all
over this great country of ours. So behind the devastation is a bunch
of American heroes. Behind that devastation is a bunch of love, people
doing things for others that just makes your heart feel good. Behind
that devastation is a bunch of hope that we really are one Nation under
God, with liberty and justice and help and mercy for all. Behind that
devastation is a bunch of Americans.
Hurricane Harvey reminded us of our deepest, truest American values.
United we can accomplish just about anything.
Mr. Speaker, I am going to open up the floor for some of my
colleagues. As I said earlier, our great 14th Congressional District
is, arguably, ground zero for flooding and devastation, but I have a
lot more colleagues here on the floor with us that all have a story to
tell.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. McCaul), the
distinguished chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.
Chairman McCaul has worked closely with FEMA and many of our first
responders. His district saw quite a bit of water as well, and I
appreciate his direct involvement and his willingness to be there.
Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Weber for holding this
Special Order and his leadership on this issue. My condolences to the
people in his district. I know Beaumont, particularly, was hit the
hardest. We were hit hard all around, but I know Beaumont was hit very
hard. That is why we need to pass the supplemental in October, to help
the great people in the great State of Texas.
I am chairman of the Homeland Security Committee. One of my
responsibilities is overseeing the response efforts of FEMA--Federal,
State, and local--to see is this working or not. I have seen what
happened in Katrina and Rita and other disasters. I can tell you that
this was the most impressive response effort Federal, State, and local.
I commend the President for signing an advanced disaster declaration
at the request of my Governor, Governor Abbott, who enabled us to
mobilize in advance and preposition assets to have, I think, one of the
best responses I have seen in one of the most tragic storms that Texas
has ever weathered.
By way of history, personally, my grandfather survived the 1900
Galveston hurricane. They rescued him from a treetop. He was 8 years
old. Sadly, 10,000 people were killed in that tragic event.
In this case, we saved almost 20,000 lives, thanks to the good work
of the people in this picture that I had the great privilege to see
right after the storm hit. It was one of the most compassionate
humanitarian responses I think I have ever witnessed.
This particular photo, I think, really captured what Houston looked
like at the time--the first floor under water. It almost looks like the
Iwo Jima of Harvey. You have DPS--Department of Public Safety--the
American flag, a marine, Coast Guard, and National Guard. These people
came together.
But do you know who else came together?
You talked about the Cajun Navy, who came together from Louisiana to
help Texans. A lot of Texans saved Texans in this storm. But to see
that process was really a shining light in a very dark time.
There are so many untold stories of heroic bravery that took place. I
call it Operation Dunkirk. Many of us know or read about that battle,
or many of us have seen the movie, of all of the private boats that
came out to save the British in that battle.
We saw hundreds of private boats coming out, working in unison with
Federal, State, and local responders, saving lives. Again, there were
20,000 lives saved in the process.
Katy High School--Katy is in my district--became the forward
operating base for the Texas Guard, the Active Duty servicemembers, and
all of the first responders. This is where they launched their efforts
to the Beaumont area after they took care of all of the crises and the
flooding in the Houston area. I saw these guys going out in boats and
helicopters and saving lives. This is the best side of mankind in one
of the darkest chapters that our State has really seen. I had an
opportunity to bring Speaker Ryan and Chairman Shuster of the
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee down to look at this. A
remarkable story in, again, a really awful time, but we saw the
resiliency of Texans helping other Texans.
But I also want to credit the entire Nation for responding in a very
compassionate way. I went to the shelters and the churches and I saw
all of the food coming in, and people calling me from other States
asking: What can I do to help?
The firefighters I saw coming from Nebraska, Pennsylvania, and Ohio
were all converging on the State. Indeed, the eyes of the Nation were
on the State of Texas during this devastating hurricane that continued
to rain for days.
[[Page H7525]]
Lastly, I do want to talk about what we can do moving forward. This
is a 1940 map flood control plan that was built by the Civilian
Conservation Corps under President Roosevelt, back in the forties. And
you see here the Addicks Reservoir and Barker Reservoir that were built
in the 1940s. This is the Buffalo Bayou, and this is downtown Houston.
But they had another plan at the time, and it was on Cypress Creek.
That is in my district. In Katy is where these guys were. This is where
it all started. This is the third flood in 2 years in this area, all
starting at Cypress Creek. This is all developed now. It is not rice
fields anymore. It was a watershed event into these reservoirs that
then had a controlled release at 1 in the morning into these
neighborhoods below, flooding the Buffalo Bayou, and then flooding
Houston.
Mr. Speaker, as we look at the supplemental and other projects, this
is the prevention that I think we can be doing in Congress that makes a
lot of sense to provide infrastructure at key points to stop this
flooding from ever happening again.
I know, as Texans, we are all going to come together as a delegation.
I know this entire Congress would come together to not only save lives,
as we did, and help with FEMA assistance to get people back up on their
feet, but then do smart projects like this one to stop this kind of
flooding from ever happening again. That is smart prevention that, at
the end of the day, is going to save money and save human lives in the
process.
In closing, I just want to say that I have never been prouder to call
myself a Texan. I have seen a lot. It is my seventh term. Judge Poe and
I came in together, and we have seen a lot in the seven terms we have
been in Congress. I have never seen our State rally like this at a time
of need, and the Nation rallying behind the State of Texas. I want to
thank all of those who made it possible in our great State, and also in
our great country, the United States of America.
Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman McCaul for his
remarks. I certainly appreciate him and his involvement.
My next friend, Beto O'Rourke, from across the aisle, has seen plenty
of Texas action here. Earlier this year, he had a bipartisan trip with
Will Hurd. On Facebook, we got to watch that and participate in that. I
thank him for doing that. That was a great event. And even though his
district may not have seen any water as a result of Harvey--in fact, we
would have loved to send him some to El Paso, quite frankly--he is a
Texan, he gets it, and he has been there working with us every step of
the way.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. O'Rourke), my
good friend.
Mr. O'ROURKE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Congressman Weber for
bringing us today. I also want to extend my condolences for the loss of
life and the devastation that was visited on the communities that he
represents. I know that he is doing his best to unite those communities
in every way possible to ensure that they get back on their feet, they
rebuild, and are bigger and better than ever. Party difference doesn't
mean anything at this moment. It is all of us as Texans. I join
Chairman McCaul in agreeing that we cannot have a better moment as a
State. I am grateful to him for bringing us all together today.
As he said, I have really had an opportunity to spend some time
traveling Texas, and especially southeast Texas, starting around the
time that Harvey hit. I will tell you, Mr. Speaker, that in Austin,
Texas, on the 25th of August, I was there as the first evacuees were
leaving southeast Texas, coming from Victoria and Corpus Christi and
other places that were under mandatory evacuation orders. They were
arriving at Red Cross shelters that were staffed both by the
professionals and the volunteers.
I was told by the head of Red Cross in Austin that they had never
seen a greater turnout of volunteers on the first day of a disaster. In
fact, I met a young man named Luis Zamora, who at the time was a rising
junior at Tarleton State University and a member of the National Guard,
and who was so disappointed that his colleagues in the Guard were
called up, but he was not. He drove himself down to the Red Cross
headquarters so that he could sign up, volunteer, and help staff one of
these shelters, welcome those who were fleeing this storm, and help try
to make their lives a little bit better.
It reminded me of visiting some of the shelters in San Antonio, where
I had a chance to see their great Mayor Ron Nirenberg in action
personally welcoming people coming from other parts of the State. To
every one of them, his message was: We are so glad you are here. Stay
as long as you need to. We are going to make things better for you. You
focus on you. We will do our best to take care of you.
That really was the message we heard everywhere that we went.
When we found ourselves in Victoria helping to transport some medical
supplies for two of those hospitals, we met an extraordinary young
woman named Lisa Price, who had been up for the last 72 hours, as many
of the people working in those hospitals were, trying to coordinate
care for those in need, coordinate the evacuation of those who were no
longer able to be cared for in hospitals that only had backup generator
power and did not have reliable water and could not keep those
medicines and vaccines chilled.
There were volunteer ambulance corps from all over the State of Texas
who had driven down to Victoria to help transport these patients out.
Lisa and others were helping to coordinate that. Her husband, Jason, a
Department of Public Safety Trooper was out on those roads that had no
streetlights, that had no working traffic signals, trying to ensure the
safety of his fellow Texans. Two extraordinary heroes who exemplify the
way that Texas met this challenge.
I certainly spent some time in Houston, where we heard tale of all of
the first responders, certainly folks who were working under the great
fire chief there, Chief Pena. But also first responders who came from
across the State. El Paso sent folks from the El Paso Police Department
and the El Paso Fire Department. They made over 100 rescues not just in
the Houston area, but also in the greater Beaumont area, including
rescuing a 1-month-old child from chest-high waters. Again, we saw that
both from first responders and everyday citizens who risked their own
lives to save the lives of fellow Texans.
We were in a parking lot in Victoria, where we were picking up
supplies to take to Rockport. We knew, however, that Rockport was under
a mandatory curfew, enforced by DPS. So I approached two DPS cruisers
that were in the parking lot at Walmart, where we were going in to buy
ice and water and diapers and other supplies that they might need in
Rockport. I wanted to ask these two DPS officers if they could help us
to get into Rockport under the curfew. As they were rolling down their
window and I began to introduce myself, they said: I know exactly who
you are. You are Beto O'Rourke. We are from El Paso. We were one of the
first volunteers from the Department of Public Safety in El Paso to
come out to Victoria, and we have been working this community,
communities like Cuero, Port Lavaca, Rockport, and other places.
{time} 1715
They wanted to be where the action was. They wanted to be out there
saving lives. And it made me so extraordinarily proud of El Paso and
Texas once again. It is like the 90 soldiers from Fort Bliss from one
of the aviation brigades who were in southeast Texas as well trying to
facilitate the rescue of their fellow Texans, being where the need was
at its moment of greatest importance, again, making us so proud.
Congressman Weber, I will conclude by telling you that, as we came in
to Rockport and were able to successfully get in under curfew to make
our delivery, we were blown away and inspired by the volunteer fire
department, 20 people strong, 8 of whom had lost their homes and
literally everything in their homes but had not lost a minute's service
to their fellow community out of that Rockport fire station.
They were living in the fire station because they had nowhere else to
live. They were responding to triple or quadruple the service calls.
The rains had now ended. The fires had begun. There was some question
about the viability
[[Page H7526]]
of those structures, and they wanted to be there to save lives.
That fire chief, Steve Sims, and the men and women who serve under
him are the absolute best of us as Texans. I am so glad that you and
every one of our colleagues from Texas, Republican or Democrat, House
Member or Senator, are focused on making Chief Sims, the members of
that fire department, and every Texan affected by Harvey whole again.
We have got to use their inspiration and their example to do the
important work that is here before us.
So I thank you once again for bringing us together, allowing me to
join you and work with you and our colleagues to make sure that Texans
fully recover from Hurricane Harvey bigger and better than ever. Thank
you.
Mr. WEBER of Texas. Thank you, Congressman O'Rourke. And, by the way,
happy birthday.
Mr. O'ROURKE. Thank you. I cannot think of a better way to spend it
than to be here with you.
Mr. WEBER of Texas. At this time, I recognize my good friend, the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin).
Mr. BABIN. Thank you very much for yielding. I would like to thank my
colleague, Randy Weber, my neighbor. I represent the 36th District in
Texas and he represents the 14th, and he also represents my hometown of
Beaumont, Texas, for this Special Order. I really appreciate that.
It was about a month ago that Hurricane Harvey began wreaking havoc
on southeast Texas, dumping record amounts of rainfall across our
region, upending the lives of thousands of families, businesses, and
communities. Across our congressional district, the 36th District of
Texas, we saw anywhere between 20 and 50 inches of rain, setting a new
record for the United States. In fact, unofficially, ranchers in
Liberty County, which I also represent, measured over 60 inches of
rain.
Our entire district, from Houston to the Louisiana border, turned
into, essentially, one gigantic lake, as thousands of homes that had
never flooded before succumbed to Harvey's floodwaters. The impact was
devastating and widespread.
No one was spared. People from all walks of life and socioeconomic
situations, with the majority never having been displaced before, were
baffled and desperate in their situations.
Each of the nine counties that I have the privilege of representing
have been declared Federal disaster areas. The devastation is simply
overwhelming, and the vast lake now is a vast debris field. But in the
midst of this devastation, there were, and still continue to be,
incredible stories of goodness. Let me share just a few examples.
In Orange, Texas, a young couple canceled their wedding to help their
friends and neighbors clean up and begin the process of rebuilding.
These newlyweds have now welcomed nearly a dozen family members into
their nonflooded home.
A volunteer fire department in Buna, Texas, became a big staging
area, like many, many schools and volunteer fire departments all across
this area.
In Cleveland, a constable organized a flotilla of boats to deliver
shelter and supplies.
Dozens and dozens of churches immediately marshaled their
congregations and good Christian people for food, supplies, and
shelters to be delivered.
In Deer Park, church members sprang into action immediately and began
cooking and sharing meals with evacuees from Houston.
In Silsbee, a church opened a community shelter after the county's
only other shelter was cut off by floodwaters.
In Rose City, a really good friend and neighbor rescued nearly
everyone in his entire neighborhood on his airboat, even as his own
home was flooded. His name was Dennis Landry.
Since the flood, neighbors have organized mucking crews, where they
help neighbors remove furniture, appliances, Sheetrock, carpets from
one another's flooded homes.
This has happened all across the Texas Gulf Coast, and the stories go
on and on: neighbors helping neighbors, communities helping
communities, strangers helping strangers. Churches, first responders,
private citizens, businesses, people from out of State all around our
district are helping one another. But that is what we do in east Texas.
When times get tough, we pull together and we get to work.
No one waits around to be told what to do. We are people of action,
and we act when we see a need. And, quite frankly, this is what makes
east Texas so special. Our communities are strong. And through our
faith in God, we take care of one another in times of need regardless
of our own means. It is our shared value for our fellow man that makes
the difference.
In that same east Texas spirit, our office has been doing everything
possible that we can do to help. From the very start, we have been
working overtime to help people get back on their feet. We are blessed
with a professional and dedicated staff that is second to none. And
despite some of our own staff being flooded themselves, we have worked
tirelessly to help our east Texas neighbors and friends get the
information and resources they need to recover and build.
We are extremely grateful for their service, and I would like to
personally recognize some of our staff: Lanie Brown, Lauren Jones,
Rachel Iglesias, Sarah Blacksher, Beverly Ferguson, Will Carter,
Jeannie Kranz, Joyce Morgan, Kelly Waterman, Beth Barber, Sarah Reese,
Steve Janushkowsky, Lauren Ziegler.
These individuals have spent the past month doing everything they can
to help the people of District 36. These are often the unsung heroes
who go the extra mile each and every day, and lately, on weekends and
evenings, to serve the needs of our constituents. It has not gone
unnoticed and is part of the incredible good that has come out of a
tragic hurricane. We are extremely proud and very grateful to them and
their families and everyone who has pitched in.
I would also like to recognize our friends from Louisiana, and
specifically my colleague, Congressman Garret Graves, and his staff,
Paul Sawyer and David Cavell.
Everywhere we went, we saw folks from Louisiana coming over and
helping in the recovery, and we would tell them: Thank you so much. And
we said: This is payback because of Katrina.
Countless churches and individuals and neighbors from our neighboring
State of Louisiana came out to help. Thank God for the Cajun Airlift,
the Cajun Navy, the Cajun Special Forces, and the Cajun Gravy.
And lastly, I would like to thank our first responders. The death
toll would have been much higher if it had not been for these brave men
and women. And for our game wardens, our police departments, our DPS
officers, sheriff's deputies, all the way to our U.S. Coast Guard and
Texas and other States' National Guardsmen, we thank you for everything
that you did, and we remember those who gave their lives in the line of
service.
As we push forward, we have a long road ahead. People are still very
much in need of assistance and resources as they work to put their
lives back together. In fact, the fact that over 800 folks showed up
for our Disaster Recovery Town Hall Meetings over the past several days
demonstrates that there are still many in need.
Last Thursday night in Lumberton, Texas, we had over 200 people come
out. In Orange, Texas, we saw that 77 percent of all homes in that
county were impacted. We had over 500 people come out to meet with
FEMA, State officials, and my staff on a Friday night, and that is big,
because that is football night in Texas.
It is our goal to help folks cut through the bureaucracy and the red
tape to get the answers and help that they need. We have been spreading
staff out across our nine counties, setting up mobile offices to
provide constituents with one-on-one assistance in applying for help
and ensuring they have access to a computer or to complete the
application. And this is not unusual. My colleagues and all of the
other counties, up to 38 counties, I believe, were involved in this
thing and have been doing the exact same thing.
This will be a long road to our recovery, but together, we will
recover, and we will rebuild and come back stronger than ever.
Congressman Weber, I want to thank you, and God bless.
Mr. WEBER of Texas. I thank you, Dr. Babin. The enormity of this
storm and the debt of gratitude that we owe our first responders cannot
be overstated.
[[Page H7527]]
My good friend, Judge Ted Poe, saw plenty of it up in his district,
but he took it in stride, as he always does with any challenge because
he is a Texan and he is a fighter. And, Judge, that is just the way it
is.
I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe).
Mr. POE of Texas. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I appreciate
it, Congressman Weber, for allowing us to talk a little bit about
Hurricane Harvey and what folks did down in the Texas area.
While it was still raining hard, I get a phone call, and I looked at
the area code on my cell phone and I said: I think that is
Massachusetts.
And sure enough, it was Representative Kennedy from Boston,
Massachusetts, calling me saying he would do whatever he could to get
Bostonian's first responders down to Texas to help out. And that is
what happened, as has already been mentioned by all of my colleagues
tonight: both sides of Members of Congress working on this issue to
help in Harvey. Beto O'Rourke is from El Paso. You are from Beaumont.
People may not realize that there is a sign in Beaumont. I used to
represent Beaumont, as you know. As you are driving in from Louisiana,
there is a sign that says: El Paso, Texas, 876 miles away.
That is how far it is from Beaumont to El Paso, and yet Beto O'Rourke
made his way all the way to the Houston-Galveston area to help out as
well. The whole State helped with what was taking place.
The magnitude of the devastation--not just the weather, but the
devastation--if you take the State of New Jersey and turn it on its
side and set it down on the Gulf Coast, that is how much devastation
there was in the State of Texas. That was the area that was hit where
disaster occurred. They got rain as far as Dallas and San Antonio, and,
of course, we know that it went all the way up to Kentucky a thousand
miles away. Still, they were getting rain days later.
I want to talk about one of the people involved in the rescue. Dr.
Babin talked about a lot of folks who helped out. Here is another guy
who helped out. You have probably never heard of him: Steven Perez,
Houston police officer, 34-year veteran of the Houston Police
Department, married, two kids. The rains are coming down. It is in the
middle of the night. It is his time to go on shift at the Houston
Police Department. His wife is saying: Don't go; it is too bad. And he
said: I am going to work. It is my duty.
And he did. He left home. He couldn't get to the downtown Houston
Police Department, so he is headed in a different direction, my
understanding is, up to Kingwood, where I represent--that is about 25
miles away from downtown Houston--where he was going to do what he
could to help folks out there. He took a bad turn, got under an
underpass, and his patrol car was submerged and he drowned. He was out
doing what he wanted to do: to protect and serve.
He is a symbol of all the first responders, of all the badges that
they wear from all over the country who came down there to do their
duty, to help people in need. We regret his loss. We are with his
family and our prayers are with his family, his wife and his two kids,
for their future.
At his funeral, of course, in Houston that I had the opportunity to
attend, there were a lot of police officers from all over the country
showing their respects to another first responder.
With this hurricane that came through the Houston area, I have kind
of an unusual district, so I got hit several places. People got
flooded.
Michael McCall showed, earlier, a map of the Houston area, that there
are two reservoirs that are supposed to protect the city from flooding.
Water filled up those reservoirs, and people whom I represent are on
the downstream of that reservoir. They got flooded when water came over
it.
{time} 1730
But I also represent people upstream, and they got flooded because
the reservoir overflowed up in the northwestern direction. People also
got flooded in the middle of the night after they thought the storm was
over with because Conroe--and, Mr. Speaker, I know you don't know where
that is, but it is just northwest of Houston. They have a lake up in
Conroe. They started letting water out of Lake Conroe because it was
too full. Water came rushing down the San Jacinto River into Humble,
Texas, and Kingwood, Cypress Creek. All that overflowed, and people got
flooded in all of that area as well--thousands of people. Their homes
are devastated. In fact, two of those people who have lost their home,
they are still staying with us, friends of ours. We do take care of
each other.
One thing that I want to mention is we need to get a regional plan to
prevent these disasters in the future. It would be a whole lot cheaper,
in fact, to prevent these floods than try to continue to pay for the
damage of these floods. No question about it, we have to do recovery
now for those people who have lost everything they have, do what we can
here in Congress, and we are going to do that in a bipartisan way. But
we need to have a plan for the future as well.
I have introduced legislation for the Corps of Engineers to come up
with, in 90 days of our legislation being signed by the President, to
evaluate all the conditions in the flood plain area that was flooded
and come up with a long-term plan, whether it is building one more
reservoir, two more reservoirs, making the ones that we have bigger,
desilting the channel to Buffalo Bayou, San Jacinto River, whatever it
is. We need to come as a united area from Mr. Weber's district all the
way up to Mr. McCaul's district and everybody in between on what we are
going to do to solve the long-term flooding problem.
Because, you see, September comes around every September. Mr. McCaul
talked about the flood of 1900. That happened in September, almost to
the same day. Here this flood happened at the end of August, near the
beginning of September.
I hope we can do that. I think that we can, and I do want to
reiterate what has been said about people who just helped each other.
They didn't know each other. It wasn't just neighbors helping
neighbors. It was people who didn't know each other. Some of them who
were flooded out themselves were doing everything they could to help
other people.
There were a lot of bass boats. They weren't all from Louisiana.
There were a lot from Louisiana, but I think it is every young boy's
dream in Texas to own two things: a pickup truck and a bass boat. You
saw all of those pickup trucks and bass boats on the road and in the
water--because a lot of them are pretty high--rescuing people. People
they did not know, Mr. Speaker. They were just looking to help other
individuals. It is remarkable.
I have been through a lot of hurricanes. I grew up in the Houston
area. I remember Hurricane Carla in 1961, before most of you all were
even around. We have had a lot of hurricanes since then. Nothing like
Harvey. It was the granddaddy of all of them. It hammered the Houston
area, but we are using this as an opportunity to fix things because
this Hurricane is not going to defeat the spirit of Texans. It is not.
We will resolve to overcome whatever the difficulties are now and to
fix things in the future so that we can have a response when the rains
of September come.
The rains have stopped, the flood waters have gone down, the rainbow
is out, the kids are playing in the parks again, but we are still at
work solving the problem of what took place and moving on because, as I
said, Harvey will not defeat the Texas spirit. And that is just the way
it is.
Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank Judge Poe. He is exactly
correct. Harvey cannot dampen our spirit or those of our neighbors and
all of our first responders, those who came and helped.
Texas saw the first of four hurricanes this month. Think about that.
Puerto Rico has seen the last two hurricanes. Maria did a number on the
island. They are in need of so many things, but one thing is certain
that they are not in need of: they have a leader here in Washington,
D.C. She has got their back, and I am proud to yield to my good friend,
Congresswoman Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon.
Miss GONZALEZ-COLON of Puerto Rico. Thank you, Mr. Weber, for
allowing me to speak in these Special Orders, and actually speaking
about hurricanes.
Mr. Speaker and Members, last week, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico,
and
[[Page H7528]]
it is by far the worst hurricane to do so in the last century. It came
at a time when Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and most of the
Caribbean were beginning to recover from the impact of Hurricane Irma
just 10 days earlier.
Keep in mind, also, that even before the winds and waves of Irma and
Maria began to lash at the shores, Puerto Rico was already in a dire
economic shape. We are still engaged in lifesaving operations,
searching for and helping people who are in the greatest danger.
Maria snapped the island's communication towers, and gathering
information from many communities has been nearly impossible at this
time, especially in the rural center of the island, where the winds
were ferocious and landslides have occurred.
This hurricane has been a disaster of unprecedented proportions. The
images that you have been seeing on TV are dramatic but don't even
begin to tell the magnitude of this catastrophe and the human suffering
that you can only truly experience by being on the ground. In every
way, Maria is on the same level of Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, Harvey,
but with one major difference: Puerto Rico is an island, which makes it
almost impossible to get aid and disaster relief resources in, as they
can only come by sea or air. The people are basically stuck there with
no place to go.
Currently, Puerto Rico's electric grid is completely down. Roads and
bridges have been washed away, leaving many communities without
communication. A crucial dam has burst, forcing the evacuation of
thousands of people. Hospitals are crippled and operating on power
generators, but the logistics of transporting the diesel needed to run
them is extremely difficult. Thousands of homes, buildings, and
businesses have been destroyed. Water and food are in short supply.
People are waiting in line for up to 6 hours just to purchase $20 worth
of gasoline. Commercial flights to and from the island are almost
nonexistent, with thousands of people on airline wait-lists just to
leave. Most banks cannot operate, and people don't have easy access to
cash, which they need desperately because credit cards are not being
used on the island because we don't have power.
Maria flattened 80 percent of the island's agriculture, and Puerto
Rico's tourism industry has been crushed. For most of the island's
residents, the hurricane can best be described as apocalyptic. Congress
must approve an aid package that is proportional with the level of
devastation. We need tangible relief that addresses the island's
immediate needs. Without help, there will be a massive exodus to the
U.S. mainland, and the ongoing humanitarian crisis will only get worse.
The residents of Puerto Rico are American citizens. They are not
different from every person sitting in this Chamber. But unlike
everyone else, Congress has 100 percent control over the land where we
live. This is a job for the Federal Government, particularly this
Congress, to authorize and appropriate the money needed to rebuild the
island. This is a dire time for the island, and, therefore, our Nation.
The U.S. has an abiding national interest in the recovery and
prosperity of Puerto Rico and its 3.4 million U.S. citizens who are
facing very tough economic times, even before this latest blow.
I have heard from many of you, many of my colleagues, even the Vice
President today, and I am deeply grateful for all the prayers and
support.
I also want to thank the Trump administration for their unwavering
collaboration with the Puerto Rico National Guard. More than 10,000
people were deployed helping the island to restore the power grid. It
will take more than 6 months to get power on the island again.
I hope this House can keep us in your prayers, but also to approve
the package that is going to be needed in October, and I know we will
respond. That was the claim that President Trump made today, and the
Vice President. I was just in a meeting with them. I want to thank the
Speaker of the House for his leadership allowing the waiver to the cost
sharing of FEMA on the island.
Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Gonzalez-Colon
for her remarks.
My good friend from the Southwest, Blake Farenthold, is going to come
and address us. Blake represents the area where Harvey actually made
landfall and brought Category 4 winds and storm surges. As Congressman
Farenthold knows, I understand the devastation that that brings. My
heart goes out to them, and, Blake, please come share with us.
Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I am here to talk a couple minutes about
the best and the worst that I saw during Hurricane Harvey in the 27th
District of Texas that I represent.
The worst was dished out by nature and high winds. The best was the
spirit of the Texans who rose to the challenge. It was neighbor helping
neighbor, friend helping friend, and stranger helping stranger.
I live in Corpus Christi. It is a relatively large community of
almost 400,000 in the metropolitan area. We were spared the brunt of
Harvey. It missed us by about 20 miles. But just across the bay,
communities like Port Aransas, Aransas Pass, Ingleside, Rockport,
Refugio, Tivoli, and many more took horrible winds. Ninety-some-odd
percent of the homes in the resort town of Port Aransas are
uninhabitable right now. The brand new school in Refugio they just
turned the keys over had the roof blown off and was severely water
damaged, and it will be weeks before they are fully operational again
in that school.
Rockport, with their beautiful oak trees, had limbs and branches
strewn all over the streets, and houses' second stories are gone. They
looked great from the front, but then you would look in the back, and
there would be no back.
In Port Aransas, boats having risen and moved inland, an oil drilling
platform loose in the ship channel, completely changing the skyline of
the city.
But rather than sitting around and moping and crying, Texans came
together, helped each other clear the debris, and are slowly but surely
getting on with their lives.
The recovery period is going to be tough, though. There is just so
much debris. They are picking it up and stacking it at transfer
stations, but it will be months before the process is finished. It is
tough driving down the streets of the places you love seeing debris
stacked, smelling the rotting mold. But you know it is going to come
back.
We are struggling right now to find homes for people, places for them
to stay. People have been staying with friends and relatives. FEMA has
been helping out with hotels. I have to say, I am really impressed with
the way local, State, and Federal folks are working hard to give people
a hand up. We have had leaders from President Trump down to Members of
Congress and all throughout the country come to see what is going on,
and all have pledged their help. And it is going to be a Herculean
effort to come back, but come back we will.
I suspect in a year, certainly in 2 years, towns like Rockport and
Port Aransas, where many folks vacation, are going to have their doors
open again and inviting people to come visit. In fact, the goal is to
be ready by spring break of this year, and I suspect it is going to be
worth visiting.
You need to help the businesses out, need to help the people out by
not forgetting us, by keeping us in your prayers, and by supporting us
here in Congress as we give the people the help they need to rebuild
their lives. I want to thank my colleagues from Texas, my colleagues
from the rest of the country, for the support. It is a shame that this
has been such a tough season, but we are seeing not just the resilience
of Texas but of all the American people with what is going on in
Florida. And we are going to get reports, I think, of people helping
people in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and other areas so
damaged by the storms we faced this year.
{time} 1745
But I am proud to be an American. I am proud we are all helping out,
and I look forward to continuing the recovery effort in all of the
areas of this country that have been so devastated by natural disasters
this year.
Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Farenthold for
his comments. The 27th District of Texas is blessed to have him.
A little background: On Friday, August 25, some of the outer bands of
Harvey were beginning to brush the Gulf
[[Page H7529]]
Coast. Texans do what we always do to prepare for a storm. We bought
the essentials. We prepped the house. We tightened things up. We
watched the news. We were as ready for the rain, we thought, as we
would ever be.
But what happened, in my 64 years on God's green Earth, is unlike
anything I have ever seen before like this. And I am no stranger to the
area. I have lived in a 20-mile radius almost my entire life. I hope I
have got a lot more to go yet.
We didn't see the sun for 4 days. Over 50 inches of rain, as reported
by the weather forecasters on TV news, fell from the sky. Actually, it
was about 60 inches in District 4--7, rather, in Jefferson County.
Evacuation orders, mandatory and voluntary, were posted. City after
city started posting the notices. Roads were flooded. Some of them had
hip-deep water, some of them more.
Now, I am a Texan, kind of like Judge Poe said. Two things apply to
me, especially apply to me as a Texan: number one, I am stubborn, and,
number two, I have one of those pickup trucks he talked about;
although, I don't have a half-ton truck. I have got a Ford F-350 4-
wheel drive truck, and I can go through almost waist-deep water.
Starting Saturday, my bride and I began traveling Texas 14, checking
on people. We went first to Brazoria County and met with their EOC,
emergency operations center. We went to the Hitchcock shelter. We met
with volunteers in those shelters. We met with people from the La
Marque Police Department, all over, our first responders.
Our first responders worked endless hours and hours. I tell you what,
it was heartwarming; and I tell you what, Mr. Speaker, you have never
seen anything like that.
From Bay Area Church to the families from League City and Dickinson
that sought shelter, we were there with them. At Victory Lakes, we saw
much of the same thing in the school there at Victory Lakes and League
City.
At Friendswood High School, I met with evacuees, responders, doctors
who had come in from other States to be there to help. These are just a
handful of the shelters that popped up. These shelters and the
volunteers provided a dry place with warm food and warm, friendly
smiles, understanding smiles, to hundreds of families in need. That is
no exaggeration.
Homes that never came close to flooding were taking on water. Roads
turned into rivers. Evacuations and rescues were happening everywhere
you looked around.
Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have left?
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Faso). The gentleman has 6\1/2\ minutes
remaining.
Mr. WEBER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Farenthold).
Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I did want to add that, though Texans
are helping people and people are helping each other, volunteer
organizations like Mr. Weber is talking about, the Federal Government,
also, is helping with FEMA and SBA loans.
Some people have gotten denial letters from FEMA. If you read them
carefully, they are not always denial letters. You should follow up
with FEMA. It may be you are just missing some paperwork.
All Congressmen have folks in their office, caseworkers or red tape
cutters, who can help if you are having problems getting the help you
need from FEMA or the SBA. We can't get them to bend or break the
rules, but if you are having trouble communicating or you feel like you
are not being treated right, please call your Member of Congress'
office because we are here to help in more ways than just sitting up
here in Washington making laws.
One of the best parts of the job is helping folks out on a one-on-one
basis, and we are doing that throughout the district I represent, from
Wharton, Bay City, Victoria, down to Corpus Christi, Rockport, and to
all the other communities that I represent.
So I just want to make sure folks knew that your congressional office
is a resource.
Mr. WEBER of Texas. I thank the gentleman for that.
You know, we were moving throughout our district, as I was
describing. Folks, the sound of a helicopter will never be the same for
us. We saw Coast Guard helicopters. We saw Army, Marine helicopters.
The Marines arrived in Friendswood.
The sun made a brief appearance on Tuesday evening. I found myself on
I-45 in Dickinson passing out water on the overpass there, where the
water was about 4 feet deep in the intersection.
Things kept turning from bad to worse. I was honored to meet with EOC
leaders from Brazoria, Dickinson, Galveston, and Beaumont.
On Tuesday, August 29, in Friendswood, Texas, the Marines arrived.
Thank God for our great Marines.
On Friday, August 31, Beaumont lost water. My bride and I drove
almost 7 hours, having to take back road after back road to deliver
three pallets of bottled water. My good friend Dwight Sullivan and his
wife, Misty, accompanied us with another pallet of water.
We got to Beaumont. I want to gave Mayor Becky Ames of Beaumont a
shout-out. She never wavered. She was a stalwart.
Will Crenshaw from Beaumont, Dragon Products, they got in gear and
they put a workaround on the water system, laid temporary pipes, got
them power, got pumps and got Beaumont some water.
That is just the short version of the first week of Harvey.
The sun finally started to shine again, but the water did not recede
overnight. We took many flyovers to assess the damage. President Trump
came in. Senator Cornyn, Senator Cruz, Speaker Ryan, and leader Kevin
McCarthy were among the many who visited.
Help came from far and wide: New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota. I
could go down the list of State after State after State, all Americans,
all wanting to help. And, of course, Louisiana and the Cajun Navy we
talked about.
Between the Cajun Navy, our Texans, our fellow Americans, there were
many countless heroes who haven't been named and many haven't even been
thanked at all. So to all of them, I want to say thank you. Thank you
from the bottom of my heart for the lives you have saved. I witnessed
some of the evacuations. Thank you for your heroism. I just can't tell
you enough, thank you on behalf of us.
We saws doctors send supplies. We saw hospitals pay for things that
normally they would charge for. We saw cattle and horses wading through
water. We saw businesses open up their doors and help people. We saw a
mother and daughter who took hundreds of evacuees into a Texas City
hotel for a home-cooked meal of spaghetti, salad, fresh fruit, and
dessert.
You were heroes, Lakewood Church, who did open their doors and
provided transportation for the congregants of Beth Yeshurun synagogue.
You heroes were the citizens who saw the incredible effort of your
local officials, and you raised money for them to begin recovering for
their own homes and their belongings.
The heroes were the young men, hoping to attend the Naval Academy one
day, who jumped in that jon boat and went door to door to help.
You were the people who were scared to death in the face of disaster,
and yet you put on a brave face and you waded in, unabashed.
You were the people who lost everything, and your first thought was:
I need to get back to help my community.
You heroes were the first responders who worked around the clock.
Beaumont, alone, received 12,022 911 calls. Let that sink in. That's
one city, 12,000 911 calls.
Well, we are going to have more meetings. We are going to be meeting
with city officials, State officials. We will be meeting with Houston
Mayor Sylvester Turner, who, by the way, tomorrow is his birthday. We
want to thank Mayor Sylvester Turner, County Judge Ed Emmett, County
Judge Matt Sebesta, County Judge Mark Henry, all great heroes.
God bless our heroes. God bless Texas, our great Nation, and all of
those who went beyond and above.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
[[Page H7530]]
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