Sen. Cruz: ‘Texas Will Rebuild’
Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh13xDBflzE.
"The relief efforts are being led by the
"Mr. President, I rise today in support of heroes, in support of unity, and in support of love and compassion. I thank the senior Senator from
"I grew up in
"
"Those communities were devastated by category four winds that destroyed homes that destroyed schools that destroyed county courthouses, and city halls and buildings. It took down wires and took down power and took down water, and took down sewage. As I visited each of those communities, you drive down the street and you would simply see home after home that had been obliterated by hurricane winds.
"I remember talking to the mother of a high schooler at
"But
"I went out in an air boat just north of the Addicks dam in
"We took a boat down
"The scope of this disaster defies words. It's not one community or two communities or three communities. It is over 250 miles stretching from
"On the airboat, I saw the county courthouse up to the roof in water. I saw a local
"
"He went to go to work - his wife pleaded with him, 'Please don't go to work. It's too dangerous out there.' He said 'I have to go. It's my job to save lives.' He went, he couldn't go to his regular duty station. All of the roads were flooded. There was no way to get there. So he went to look for another duty station to report to and tragically he got caught in high-rising water and drowned.
"There were the Coast Guardsmen who flew in in choppers and dove into wild water to save people's lives. I spent a lot of time in the last two weeks visiting with the men and women of the
"The
"When I drove through Refugio, a small town on the
"The outpouring of love we've seen has been extraordinary. Now, Mr. President, it wasn't just the first responders who were so extraordinary and let me - we will never - we cannot overstate the gratitude that
"
"Hundreds upon hundreds risking their lives to save their neighbors. Texans helping Texans. We had among others,
"I was at the George R. Brown Center, the shelter that was setup. Met an individual there, he was a
"That heroism was happening every day and every hour. We all mourn the loss of life. There are tragic stories, heartbreaking stories, whether it is
"This disaster easily could have seen a death toll ten times higher, 100 times higher. There were recorded over 51,000 people saved by search and rescue missions. Roughly 2,000 pets saved by search and rescue missions. One of the things the first responders told me over and over again is you better be able to take the pets because there are a whole lot of people who as the water is rising, if you're not willing to take Fluffy or
"In any disaster there are three phases. There's phase number one, the active crisis where search and rescue is the only priority. Saving lives. And let me say the city of
"After the search and rescue is over, after the saving of lives, there is the next phase. And that phase is relief. Providing relief to the people who have lost everything right then. We have roughly 260 shelters that have been stood up across the state of
"Mr. President, my mom uses a walker. I know how difficult it is to get around when you're mobility impaired. I cannot imagine how difficult it was for her pushing through the waist-deep water fleeing for her life. She was picked up by a
"Anheuser-Busch shut down beer production to deliver more than 155,000 cans of water. Now, you know we are in a time of miracles when Anheuser-Busch isn't producing beer. But that's the sort of generosity of spirits.
"One of the state officials who was helping lead the disaster relief called Academy. They had a warehouse in just west of
"The shelters that were stood up, the George R. Brown Center, the N.R.G. Center both of which I've spent significant time at in the last two weeks. I remember one morning at the George R. Brown I was helping serve breakfast. We were serving oatmeal. A fellow standing to my right, I turned to him and said, 'Thank you for being here.' Something I try to do a lot of is just thank people. I don't think you can thank people enough in the midst of crisis for what they're doing. 'Thank you for being here. Thank you for helping other folks.' And he just began laughing. He said, 'Well you know, I got to be here. My house is under water.' He said, 'I'm staying here. This is the only place I have to sleep.' And yet he was up at the food line helping serve others.
"Two gentlemen I met at that same shelter, I asked them as I tried to ask everyone, 'How are you doing? How is your home doing?' Two different gentlemen told me, 'Well, I don't have a home. I'm homeless.' One said, 'I sleep under the bridge.' Both of them were volunteering. Both of them were sweeping the floor. So they weren't just taking shelter but even in the midst of distress, they were helping out, keep the facility clean and care for the needs of others.
"Earlier this week I was at
"At that church in
"There are also some moments of joys. I visited with two little boys who were in their home and the water rose to waist level. They had to be rescued, I think it was by boat. And I asked them, I think they were about 8 and 10 years old. I asked the boys, I said 'Boys, was that scary?' They laughed and said 'Are you kidding? We got to swim in our living room.' Those moments of laughter and joy I think are important, even in the face of fear and death and destruction. The unity we're seeing has been remarkable.
"And then the third and final phase will be rebuilding. And rebuilding is going to be a project that's going to take days. And then it's going to take weeks. And then it's going to take months and it will ultimately take years. The scope of this devastation is massive. There are multiple estimates that this may prove the costliest natural disaster in
"And I'm here to say
"We are seeing incredible generosity from Texans. And we are seeing leadership. I want to commend leadership at every level of government. I want to commend the president,
"I began to see cabinet member after cabinet member picking up the phone and calling, whether the Secretary of
"At the state level let me say Governor
"At the local level, all across Texas, county judges. One county judge in
"And then at the federal level. I commend the leadership in
"I was at the church in
"The day before yesterday, my family and I, we went to a home in
"Today, there are no
"And let me note, it is also the spirit that has us standing in unity with the people of
Minister Creed Announces Support Measure for Affected Farmers by Flooding in North East Donegal
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News