WASHINGTON –U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) discussed Tropical Storm Imelda’s devastation of southeast Texas on the Senate floor today. Excerpts of Sen. Cornyn’s floor remarks are below, and video can be found here.
“Tropical Storm Imelda made landfall in Southeast Texas last week and dropped a massive amount of rain all across the region.”
“Imelda was the fifth wettest tropical cyclone in the continental United States, with some areas receiving more than three and a half feet of rain in a very short period of time. But as we’ve learned before, these trying times seem to somehow bring out the best in people.”
“A group of residents of the small community of Cheek, Texas, waded through chest-high water to rescue nine horses. Furniture store owner Jim McIngvale, known to all of us as Mattress Mack, once again opened up his store as a shelter for victims. His employees were running rescue operations, taking furniture trucks out to pick up those stranded by high water. There was even a 21-year-old college student who worked all night alone at a Beaumont hotel for 32 hours straight. Not only did he single-handedly manage the hotel, he and other guests ventured out into the flood to help distribute food and water to truckers stranded in their trucks.”
“These rain events, these huge floods, are often more than any one city or one county can manage alone. It is an all-hands-on-deck moment that brings together local, state, and federal officials as well as nongovernmental organizations.”
“Last week I spoke to many of the county judges who have jurisdiction over the much of this flooded area, the hardest hit area, and I offered my full support. I want to ensure everyone that’s been impacted by this storm that they are not alone and that we are committed to working together as state, local, and federal officials to ensure that they have what they need to recover from this devastating Tropical Storm Imelda.”
Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, is a member of the Senate Finance, Intelligence, and Judiciary Committees.