[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15778]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         THANKING TEAM RUBICON

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Farenthold) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I want to take a few minutes to talk 
about and thank Team Rubicon and all other volunteers who are helping 
assist victims of Hurricane Harvey with storm cleanup, not only in the 
district I represent but throughout the State of Texas.
  Many of our cities still have piles and piles of debris. Initially, 
it was trees and brushes cleared, but now, as people are starting to 
survey and repair the damage to their home, there is insulation, there 
is sheetrock, there are personal belongings all out along the street 
waiting to be picked up and cleaned up.
  This Monday, I spent time with the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, 
visiting some of our cities, and they are telling me that the cleanup 
may not be complete in some cities, like Port Aransas and Rockport, 
until December or January. There is a big job ahead. It is going to 
take a lot of people.
  Several weeks ago, Speaker Ryan and several members of the Texas 
delegation joined Team Rubicon in the Houston area aiding in demolition 
and cleanup in the flood-devastated areas. The group's positive 
attitude and commitment to service is inspiring.
  Last week, Janice Dean of FOX News visited the district I represent 
and told the story about how Team Rubicon is helping with debris 
removal in Wharton, Texas. That is a city of about 9,000 south of 
Houston that was devastated by flood waters associated with the storm.
  You know, Team Rubicon was founded in 2010, following the earthquakes 
in Haiti, by two marines, Jake Wood and William McNulty, who knew they 
could use their military experience and go out and help others.
  Since then, Team Rubicon has drastically expanded across the Nation, 
uniting the skills and experiences of veterans and first responders to 
rapidly deploy emergency response teams.
  I want to thank Team Rubicon for all the help they have provided the 
folks of Texas, especially Wharton, and the people around the world who 
have suffered disasters since 2010.
  I also want to thank Janice Dean of FOX News for helping tell their 
story. Janice's commitment to Team Rubicon didn't stop with just 
telling the story.
  In fact, once the story aired, she has donated $15,000 from sales of 
her children's book, ``Freddy the Frogcaster'' to Team Rubicon and will 
continue to be donating all proceeds from this book to the group. Thank 
you, Janice.
  Thank you, Team Rubicon, and thank you for everyone who is helping 
out those who are victims of Hurricane Harvey and the various other 
disasters that this Nation is facing right now.

                          ____________________