Farenthold: Legislators should make storm recovery aid bipartisan goal

Caller-Times (Corpus Christi, TX)

Aug. 30--President Donald Trump's visit to the Corpus Christi didn't include stops in areas most affected by Hurricane Harvey, but Congressman Blake Farenthold said it shows the federal government's commitment to providing aid just the same.

Farenthold lauded the Federal Emergency Management Agency for its swift response to the powerful category 4 storm that killed one, left dozens injured and destroyed entire communities in South Texas.

"The federal government response was in line with expectations if not exceeding expectations," Farenthold said.

The Republican congressman is the only member of the House of Representatives to represent both areas that were leveled by Hurricane Harvey's 130-mile-per-hour winds at landfall and unprecedented flooding in the greater Houston area.

Trump's visit to the Coastal Bend will help the executive branch remember that needs in Fulton, Lamar, Port Aransas and Rockport differ sharply from Houston, Farenthold noted.

Farenthold, who attended a meeting between Trump and various local government leaders along with state officials at an Annaville fire station, said he believes politics will affect the aid program, but only if non-disaster funding is included.

"If we come up with a clean disaster assistance package, I don't think it will have a problem passing congress on a bipartisan basis," Farenthold said.

He added that the reason he stayed in Corpus Christi during the storm was to ensure that he could help coordinate federal aid in the region once it passed.

As of Monday, FEMA Administrator Brock Long said 2 million liters of water and 2 million meals had been delivered to areas impacted most by the hurricane coming ashore.

"It's bipartisan that members of congress don't want to see people suffer," Farenthold said.

Still, he emphasized that the federal government's role is to get through the emergency stage of the disaster. Rebuilding -- apart from federal infrastructure -- is the job of the community and insurance companies, he explained.

"Just because you got kicked down by a hurricane doesn't mean you're supposed to stay down," Farenthold said. "God puts challenges in front of you and you're supposed to face them."

In the days since the storm, Farenthold has been meeting with storm victims, and he's confident the community has the mettle to rebound.

"It may take a year, but this town is going to recover," Farenthold said. "Everybody has a story about being helped out by one of their neighbors. Adversity brings out the best in us."

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