John Cornyn: “last Thursday night, as I was sitting on my airplane scheduled to go into Houston, TX, a severe storm slammed the entire…”

“last Thursday night, as I was sitting on my airplane scheduled to go into Houston, TX, a severe storm slammed the entire southeastern portion of our State, bringing heavy rains, roaring winds, and flooding to millions of people in the area. Now, Houston and Southeast Texas are no strangers to hurricanes and natural disasters, but this was something altogether different. Madam President, 100-mile-per-hour winds ripped through the region, tearing windows out of skyscrapers in downtown Houston and toppling transmission towers, power lines, and uprooting trees. Homes, businesses, roads, and vehicles were damaged by the storms, and, sadly, at least eight Texans have lost their lives. Shortly after the storm, more than 1 million Texans lost power, and it is starting to get warm in Texas as we approach the summer, and some 200,000 homes remain without electricity or air-conditioning. Today, more than 50 campuses across the Houston Independent School District are closed due to power outages. As I said, the Houston region is no stranger to storms, and Texans did as they always do: They immediately mobilized to support those who suffered the worst impact. I want to commend the brave first responders and volunteers and just the good neighbors who supported the emergency response over the last several days as well as the crews who are working to clear debris and restore power even as I speak.…”