Political Quotes

“Madam President, the rain is no longer falling in Houston, but the streets are still being flooded as the Corps of Engineers lets water that threatens the integrity of dams located north of Houston out of those dams, actually reflooding some of the neighborhoods that previously have been flooded, even after the rain has stopped for a number of days now. The weight of Hurricane Harvey is still pressing down on my home State of Texas, where many are struggling for some good news and a breath of fresh air. The latest numbers that I have seen are that roughly 100,000 people have lost their homes, 70,000 are still living in shelters or in motel rooms, others are living with friends and family, and more than 700,000 people have registered for individual assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency--more than 700,000. With the water drained in most parts of the city and the area, mold is the next thing that pops up in buildings and houses, and then come the mosquitoes. The mosquitoes aren't just a nuisance. They are a public health hazard as well. We happen to live in an area of the United States where the particular mosquito that carries the West Nile virus and the Zika virus is present. So this represents a public health challenge as well. These are just some of the aftereffects that I heard about as I traveled the State last week. Those are the more localized problems. As we know, there are others that spread far beyond brick homes and ranches with barbed-wire fences.…”