[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 201 (Monday, December 11, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1677]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





              FURTHER CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. GENE GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 7, 2017

  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge my colleagues to 
act and pass much needed supplemental appropriations to help victims of 
the recent hurricanes in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. 
Virgin Islands.
  Hurricane Harvey brought unprecedented destruction to the Texas Gulf 
Coast, dropping a record 52 inches of rain and causing catastrophic 
flooding in Houston and all along the Gulf Coast.
  Earlier this week, a report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation 
and Episcopal Health Foundation found that one in nine Texas Gulf Coast 
residents remain displaced, three months after Harvey's landfall. Four 
in ten Texas Gulf Coast residents report sustained damage to their 
homes and nearly half of affected Texas Gulf Coast residents said they 
are not receiving the help they need to recover from the hurricane.
  To date the federal government has provided $10 billion in aid to 
Harvey victims in Texas, mostly advance payments through the National 
Flood Insurance Program. However, far more federal aid is needed to 
rebuild Houston, Harris County, and the Texas Gulf Coast.
  After Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana and Mississippi, and Hurricane 
Sandy impacted New York and New Jersey, Congress responded by passing 
substantial disaster supplemental bills. In 2013, Congress provided 
over $50 billion for recovery and rebuilding efforts as a result of 
Sandy, and $120 billion to rebuild New Orleans and surrounding areas.
  I cannot and will not vote for a continuing resolution until House 
leadership puts disaster relief front and center and passes a 
substantial supplemental disaster bill that will help Texans fully 
recover from Harvey's destruction and prepare the Texas Gulf Coast 
before the next major storm strikes.
  We cannot continue to kick-the-can down the road while thousands of 
families in Texas and other parts of our country continue to suffer, 
months after these terrible storms made landfall.
  I urge my colleagues, regardless of state and party, to join me in 
standing up for disaster victims and calling on House leadership to 
pass a substantial emergency supplemental.

                          ____________________