Cornyn Marks One-Year Anniversary of Hurricane Harvey

Today on the floor, I spoke ahead of the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey’s landfall on the Texas Coast. Excerpts of my floor remarks are below, and video can be found here. 

This Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey making landfall on the Texas Gulf Coast.

For people who don't live on the Gulf Coast of Texas, who didn't see the shelters firsthand as I did with my friend and colleague Senator Cruz at the NRG Center in Houston, it's really hard to imagine what it looked and felt like.

The outpouring of Texans helping their neighbors over and over again reminded me of a saying I heard years ago at another natural disaster, is that being a Texan doesn't describe where you're from, it describes who your family is.

Governor Abbott immediately formed a Commission to Rebuild Texas and wisely appointed a great Texan, John Sharp, to chair. Following the emergency response, our job here in Washington was just beginning. In the weeks and months following landfall, Congress passed three separate aid bills totaling $147 billion.

There isn't much sense in rebuilding without ensuring the region can withstand another major weather event in the future. That's why we made sure that the third disaster aid bill, a response to multiple hurricanes and wildfires across the country, designated roughly half of the relevant U.S. Army Corps of Engineer construction funds to Texas-specific projects.

Thanks to the Corps, as well as state and local partners, as well as our colleagues here in Congress, some of the most pressing infrastructure improvements are underway.

The long-term planning with the Texas General Land Office as well as the Governor's office and the entire Texas delegation continues.

It's my privilege to serve the people of the great state of Texas, and as part of my job, I’ve unfortunately had the occasion to see plenty of heartache and tragedy over the years.

I pledge my efforts to work to ensure our state remains protected and appreciate the work and support of all of our colleagues as we've met this terrible disaster with an appropriate federal response.