Lizzie Fletcher: “I am delighted to bring my bill, H.R. 1917, the Hazard Eligibility and Local Projects, or HELP Act, to the floor today…”

“I am delighted to bring my bill, H.R. 1917, the Hazard Eligibility and Local Projects, or HELP Act, to the floor today, and I thank Congressman Pappas, and I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for agreeing to move this bill forward. I am so proud of the HELP Act and all that it represents. It is bipartisan, commonsense, meaningful legislation, that was born out of a real partnership with local officials in my district in Houston that will benefit all Americans. As many in this body will recall, Hurricane Harvey hit my district in Houston and the entire Texas Gulf Coast in August of 2017, causing great devastation, dropping nearly 60 inches of rain, claiming 68 lives, and causing an estimated $125 billion in damages. It was the second-most expensive hurricane in the United States' history. Members of this body responded to Harvey's devastation with the speed and purpose we needed for our recovery, passing three supplemental appropriations bills, sending billions of dollars in aid to Texas through different programs. But our recovery was and still is slow, slower than many expected, and slower than any can afford. Before I was sworn into Congress, I met with our local officials at home to talk about the impediments to our recovery. How could we speed it up? Where was recovery delayed? What could the Federal Government do?…”