Sen. Cornyn Visits Coastal Bend Region, Surveys Damage From Harvey

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, Aug. 28 -- The office of Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, issued the following news release:

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) today joined Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Brock Long, and local officials for a briefing at the Texas Department of Public Safety office in Corpus Christi. Following the press conference, the group surveyed damage in Rockport in the Coastal Bend region of Texas. Excerpts of Sen. Cornyn's remarks from the press conference in Corpus Christi are below, and video can be found here. https://youtu.be/uaUVlkQycpM

"I want to join you in echoing the incredible leadership that we have seen here at the local level, here at the county and the city level, their mayors, everybody pulling together in a typically Texas fashion."

"This is going to be a long haul. We're trying to save people's lives. We're trying to make sure they have a place to live, safe water to drink, sewage, electricity, and the like. But this is going to be a long challenge."

"Let me just close with this: thanks, Governor, for your tremendous leadership. And I know President Trump and his entire Cabinet have been very forward-leaning and very aggressive in their response. But the only way we're going to get through this together as the Texas family is to make sure that we are lashed together at the local level, at the state level, and at the federal level. And I can assure you that we are."

Last week following Governor Abbott's major disaster declaration request, Sen. Cornyn and Sen. Cruz sent a letter of support to President Trump on Friday, August 25th urging him to make federal disaster assistance available to Texas. On Saturday, Sen. Cornyn joined Gov. Abbott and the Mayor of Austin , Steve Adler, at the Wilhelmina Delco Center, a Red Cross shelter in Austin for evacuees, to serve dinner to Texans. Additionally, Sen. Cornyn has remained in contact with President Trump, Vice President Pence, FEMA Administrator Long, and Chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM), Nim Kidd, throughout Hurricane Harvey's landfall and aftermath.