[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13441]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                             HOUSTON STRONG

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Olson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago, a monster Category 4 hurricane 
named Harvey hit my home. It hit us very hard. And 2 days after the 
first blow, it hit us once again. It reversed course and hit us twice 
in the span of 2 days.
  It took out our schools, our shops, our homes, our pets, and the 
lives of over 50 Texans. But there is one thing that Harvey can never 
take from us, and that is, we are ``Houston Strong.''
  Houston Strong is the Smith family. Annie was going into labor as her 
apartment was being swallowed up by floodwaters. She and her husband, 
Greg, were doctors. They prepared to have a home delivery of their 
first child. Their phone calls for help were unanswered.
  Annie called her church and, within an hour, a rescue truck drove up. 
That is her right there, being assisted on the rescue truck an hour 
after she made that call. Twelve hours later, their family grew by one. 
Their daughter, Adrielle, was born. The Smith family is Houston Strong.
  Houston Strong is Buster Stoker and the Cajun Navy. Buster and his 
buddies from Louisiana brought 14 boats to rescue others in our 
disaster. Buster said: ``There were a lot of submerged cars and street 
signs underneath us.'' It reminded Buster of cypress knees in the 
marshes at home. Buster rescued over 100 people, seven by seven. Buster 
and the Cajun Navy are Houston Strong.
  Houston Strong are our first responders, our police officers, 
firemen, EMS drivers, our military, the entire Texas National Guard. 
And first responders include normal, everyday Texans like this man 
carrying a mother and her baby out of harm's way. Texans are Houston 
Strong.
  Two days ago, I took a helicopter tour of the damage with Leader 
McCarthy. The crew on our Coast Guard helicopters rescued 2,000 people 
in harm's way. And I am sure this scene was played out over and over 
inside those helicopters--a neighbor, glad to be alive, her hand 
resting on a rescuer's shoulder. Our first responders are Houston 
Strong.
  Houston Strong is the thousands of volunteers who have been in 
shelters and churches and schools all throughout southeast Texas. I 
went to this high school, Cinco Ranch, in the Katy Independent School 
District. This was up and running within 24 hours of getting the go 
order. They had food, water, toiletries, clothes, and a smile.
  I saw on those people who lost everything smile after smile after 
smile because of volunteers at shelters like Cinco Ranch High School. 
Shelters in Cinco Ranch are Houston Strong.
  I have saved the best for last. This young boy's name is J.W. 
Claburn, IV. He lives in my district, Richmond, Texas. This young boy's 
photo is exactly what I have been trying to convey these last 5 
minutes.
  In closing, I will say that we--America is strong, Texas is strong, 
and Houston is stronger because of Hurricane Harvey.

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