John Cornyn: “over the weekend, as Texans continued to battle COVID-19, those in parts of the State came to face with another disaster…”

“over the weekend, as Texans continued to battle COVID-19, those in parts of the State came to face with another disaster at the same time. It just seems like the challenges keep coming. First, we are in a pandemic. Then George Floyd lost his life unnecessarily and raised our consciousness to the racial injustice that still exists in this country. Then we had a natural disaster like a hurricane. Hurricane Hanna made landfall in South Texas and brought heavy rains and high winds to communities that were already grappling with the pandemic, especially the Rio Grande Valley. On Sunday, nearly 300,000 homes were without power in South Texas, and power is still being restored in a number of those communities. Navigating dangerous floodwaters and downed power lines is difficult under normal circumstances, and when you add a highly contagious virus to the mix, as you can imagine, it presents a host of logistical challenges. I first thank the first responders and emergency crews who have been working overtime these last few days to get our neighbors to safety and to restore their power as quickly as possible. There is a strong sense of community in South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley, and I have no doubt these communities will pull together and come out of this crisis stronger than before.…”