Making supplemental appropriations for disaster relief requirements for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017.

I thank the Speaker, and I thank the gentlewoman from New York. Having known the devastation of hurricanes just a couple of years ago, I thank her, and along with her as the ranking minority member, the chairman as well, both coming from the region where they faced the same devastation.

We come together united. We come bipartisan. We come as friends. As I said at the NRG shelter just a few days ago, we have hope. We have hope. We are grateful that we are beginning the process of recovery with the over $7 billion now being allotted for disaster recovery, $450 million of that being for small businesses. The need is great.

Twelve days ago, on August 25, Hurricane Harvey hit this coast, and it hit Texas in a very hard way. To put in perspective the devastation brought by Hurricane Harvey, the volume of water that fell on Houston and other affected areas of Texas and Louisiana could fill more than 24,000 Astrodomes. Hurricane Harvey was a thousand-year storm. It claimed many, many lives. Twenty-one trillion gallons of rainfall fell in Texas. Sustained winds exceeded 130 miles an hour.

I cannot thank, enough, those who gathered and helped, from the local officials, from Mayor Sylvester Turner and Judge Emmett, to Mayor Aaron in Humble, to Mayor Diaz in Jacinto City--cities in my congressional district--to the many volunteers, the Cajun Navy. And might I thank the Texas National Guard--they were standing up--the Marines, the Navy, and, of course, the Army. We traveled with them. I thank the Military Museum of Armed Forces that traveled with me to give out food. We are still in need.

Thousands of people without apartments who have been evicted have been told to go. As I walked the streets of Humble, Texas, in my district, piles and piles and piles of rubbish, people's homes and possessions, even though they had their family and lives, all of their possessions out on the front.

This is a time for us to rise without obstacles. This is a time for us to ensure that all people can be protected. I would like to highlight the DREAMer that died, Alonso Guillen, who came all the way from Lufkin, Texas, just be able to save those who he saw were in need. We need to be able to ensure that he is not discriminated against or my constituents in certain parts of my district who are afraid to seek help simply because they are unstatused.

My friends, I know we can find a pathway forward. I know that we can find a pathway to reauthorize DACA and to do it as soon as possible in tribute to Alonso Guillen, who died with friends when he brought his boat, of his own accord, to be able to come and save those.

Let me tell you what we need. We need housing resources. We need to ensure that we have housing resources to make sure that the people who were evicted can make sure that they have a way to have a home. We need small business resources.

I want to thank the gentlewoman for her time, and I know that we will be working together and making a difference for those who were impacted by Hurricane Harvey.

My prayers for those who are impacted by Hurricane Irma.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3672, which provides $7.85 billion in supplemental appropriations as the Congress's initial response to the massive damaged inflicted on Southeast Texas and Louisiana by Hurricane Harvey.

The speed with which the bipartisan leadership drafted and shepherded this legislation to the floor bodes well for the major challenges that must be met and overcome if Congress if the victims of Hurricane Harvey are to recover from the storm's awful wrath and rebuild their decimated communities.

I thank Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member Lowey, and Speaker Ryan and Democratic Leader Pelosi, for bringing this initial supplemental funding bill to the floor in a timely manner and which lets the people of Texas and Louisiana know that the American people stand in solidarity with them in their moment of heartbreak and anguish.

Mr. Speaker, just 12 days, on August 25, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall for the first time in the state of Texas, just north of the city of Corpus Christi.

Before it was finished, Hurricane Harvey dropped 21 trillion gallons of rainfall on Texas and Louisiana, most of it on the Houston Metroplex.

To put in perspective the devastation wrought by Hurricane Harvey, the volume of water that fell on Houston and other affected areas of Texas and Louisiana could fill more than 24,000 Astrodomes or supply the water for the raging Niagara Falls for 15 days.

Whole sections of Houston, Beaumont, Bayou City, Port Arthur, and other cities were underwater for days.

Hurricane Harvey was a 1,000 year storm that has to date claimed the lives of at least 30 persons, including a 34-year veteran of the Houston Police Department and a family of six who perished in Greens Bayou while trying to evacuate their flooded home and community.

It also claimed the life of a Dreamer, Alonso Guillen, a young Houstonian who came to Texas from Mexico as a teenager, and who died when his boat capsized while he was rescuing survivors of the flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey.

Neither Houston nor any city in the nation has ever experienced flooding of the magnitude caused by Hurricane Harvey.

The statistics are staggering.

21 trillion gallons of rainfall fell in Texas and Louisiana in the first five days of the storm.

The estimated maximum sustained winds exceeded 130 miles per hour as the hurricane made landfall near Rockport, Texas on August 25.

A record 4,323 days, which is nearly 12 years, elapsed since a major hurricane (Category 3 or above) made landfall in the United States prior to Hurricane Harvey; the last Category 3 hurricane to hit the United States was Hurricane Wilma in 2005, the same year Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of New Orleans.

The city of Cedar Bayou received 51.88 inches of rainfall, breaking the record for rainfall from a single storm in the continental United States; my city of Houston received more than 5o inches of rainfall.

More than 13,000 people have been rescued in the Houston area and more than

30,000 persons are expected to be forced out of their homes due to the storm.

More than 8,800 federal personnel were staff deployed to help respond to Hurricane Harvey, supplying approximately 2.9 million meals, 2.8 million liters of water, 37,000 tarps, and 130 generators.

In the first three days of the storm, more than 49,000 homes that had suffered flood damage and more than 1,000 homes were completely destroyed in the storm.

Mr. Speaker, valiant emergency responders are overextended and citizen rescues have become a critical source of assistance in saving lives.

Local authorities closed major freeways, airports, and schools.

Emergency shelters are filled to capacity and efforts to rescue residents continue around the clock.

The anticipated cost of removing debris is expected to dwarf the $70 million spent by Houston removing debris after Hurricane Ike in 2008.

We do not yet know the full cost in human lives exacted by Hurricane Harvey.

But what we do know is that the costs of recovery and reconstruction will far exceed any natural disaster in memory; best estimates place the cost in the range of $150-$200 billion.

Mr. Speaker, there is much work to be done in my city of Houston, and across the areas affected by the terrible, awesome storm that will be forever known simply as Hurricane Harvey.

That is why I strongly support the legislation pending before us appropriating $7.85 billion as the initial response of the Congress to the damage caused by an epic storm.

I must emphasize that what we are considering here is the initial response because much more funding will be needed for Houston--the nation's fourth largest city--and Southeast Texas to recover and rebuild.

For that reason, I urge all Members to join me in support of H.R. 3672 and to commit to providing our fellow Americans in Texas and Louisiana all of the help and support they need to restore their communities to their previous greatness.

Mr. Speaker, to the distinguished gentlewoman, I come now to just stand on behalf of our delegation to be able to say, as I said earlier, I acknowledge the pain of Sandy.

But I now come to make sure that we all understand that this first crunch is only the beginning. We are going to put in legislation that asks for $180 billion, recognizing the hard work of appropriators, and letting you know that people's lives, as we walk through the debris that is in front of every house--it is painful. It is long lasting.

So I just wanted to come to give my thanks and to ask: Will you please stand with me for the long journey that is going to be needed for the infrastructure we build; new dams that are 30 years old; and housing issues that will not end today; and the massive eviction of people in apartments? Not cruelly, I hope, but they are getting eviction notices with no place to go.

Mr. Speaker, so I ask that we as Americans join for the long haul, the long destiny, with prayers for all.

I thank Mrs. Lowey for yielding to me so that we can talk about the long haul.

God bless America.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank our ranking member not only for yielding to me, but also for her call a couple of weeks ago.

And I want to thank our colleague from Lubbock, Texas. We have a lot of water we can send to west Texas, but appreciate the support not just from Texas, but all across the country. People are coming in everywhere.

And I see me colleague, Brian Babin, who is my neighbor. We are not Democrats and Republicans; we are Americans. And that is what we are seeing. And our Speaker pro tempore of the House, also, is neighbor to both of us.

But I rise in support of the hundreds of thousands of victims of Hurricane Harvey in Houston and Harris County and throughout Texas, and I call on Congress to immediately pass emergency funding to help victims from this unprecedented disaster.

Our district is in northeast and southeast Houston and Harris County. We are familiar with hurricanes and tropical storms. We were hit by Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, hit by Hurricane Ike in 2008.

Harvey's disaster and destruction is beyond anything witnessed in living memory in Texas, flooding over 100,000 homes in Harris County alone and killing at least 60 people, including 12 innocent victims in our district.

Countless lives in Houston and along the Gulf Coast have been put on hold: families who cannot return to their flooded homes, children whose schools were damaged, mothers and fathers who cannot go back to work.

I have a school district in northeast Harris County, Sheldon ISD. They have eight schools. Four of those schools are so damaged they can't be reopened.

Houstonians and Texans are proud and independent people. We take pride in our can-do attitude, as witnessed by our brave first responders and countless volunteers who rescued neighbors during the worst of the flooding.

I urge all my colleagues to vote for this critical emergency funding that will help the people of Houston and Texas on the road to recovery. But this is not the only time we will need this emergency funding.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record an article in Monday's Houston Chronicle on the dedication of our doctors and public health workers at the Texas Medical Center in Houston during the worst of Harvey.

[From the Houston Chronicle]

My 60-Hour Shift in the ER During Hurricane Harvey

(By Benjamin Gold)

I was on call at St. Luke's when the major flooding began.

I decided to stay in the hospital, along with many other

residents, attendings, nurses and support staff.

It turns out that a hospital is a fantastic place to be in

a crisis--it has food, water, electricity, even Wi-Fi. I

ended up staying there until Monday, taking shifts with other

residents as we watched over our patients. We even saw some

new ones who somehow managed to make their way through

floodwaters to the emergency room.

Here are some of the things I saw during those 60 hours.

I saw nurses working for almost 20 hours straight and

managing way more patients than usual, refusing to leave

them--they didn't know when the next nurses would arrive.

I saw the cafeteria transformed into a support station with

round-the-clock free meals. The lunch tables transformed into

war rooms as the various medical departments strategized

about how to staff the hospital despite being desperately

under capacity. I got meals from the same cafeteria worker--

Anne--on Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday evening,

Sunday morning, Sunday evening and Monday morning.

I saw patients placed in impossible circumstances. One, a

young man with a son in the ICU at Texas Children's, recently

heard that his house had flooded. He was having high fevers

and coughing up yellow sputum. His chest X-ray showed he had

developed a lobar pneumonia. He was pale and clammy, with

bloodshot eyes.

``Doc, I need go,'' he told me. ``I have to see my son. I

have to call my wife and make sure she's safe. I can't stay

here.''

I was in the ICU when an impromptu meeting was held to

discuss the fact that no relief would be able to come in for

the foreseeable future. There were only two attendings, each

taking 12-hour shifts so the other could sleep. They'd

already been working for 48 hours.

Midway through one of the shifts, one of the sleeping ICU

doctors woke up and asked the active doctor if he was OK.

``I'm cruising,'' he said, smiling. He was bleary-eyed and

weary, but it didn't matter. ``I'm rolling,'' he said and

gave a thumbs-up.

``I'm good to go.''

My fiancee, who also is a doctor, told me that one of her

patients wanted to meet me after they found out that their

doctor had a significant other in the hospital.

``Sure,'' I said, and went over to the room. They were so

appreciative of her care that they invited us to go fishing

with them in Corpus Christi when this was all over. ``I'm

telling you, you've never seen a more beautiful place to fish

your entire life. You'll stay with us, of course! It won't

cost you a penny.''

The man took out his iPhone and showed us pictures of a

gorgeous coastline, Texas-sized sunsets and smiling nephews

proudly holding up fish as big as they were. ``We'll make it

down there,'' he said. ``We'll get through this.''

Finally, on Monday morning, the first wave of relief

arrived, and those whose houses hadn't flooded and had clear

streets were able to go home. Others weren't so lucky.

The Texas Medical Center is what brought me to Houston. It

has more medical schools, hospitals and nursing facilities

per square foot than any other place on earth. It was

incredible to see the resiliency, camaraderie and

selflessness of those who work there in a crisis. Learning

about what to do in a crisis is standard in medical

education. But to see it in action, to see people refusing to

leave until they knew their patients would be cared for, is

something else entirely.

It's been a grim few days, and the worst is not over. We

don't know how many more casualties there might be. Untold

billions in property damage has already been done. But

Houstonians showed their true colors over this past weekend.

I've never been prouder to be a Texan.

Mr. Speaker, I also thank the ranking member for her kind words. I would like to thank the chairperson for bringing this to the floor, both of them.

Mr. Speaker, this is a seminal moment in time, a moment in time that can shape the rest of our time. This is an opportunity for those of us who contend that we are our brother's keeper to, in fact, become our brother's keeper. You see, you can't be your brother's keeper without keeping your brother. This is a chance to be your brother's keeper. This is a chance for the unity that we express when we are before the cameras to manifest itself in the votes that we cast here in Congress. This is a seminal moment in time.

This is a moment in time for us to care not only about those who live in the suites of life, but also those who dwell in the streets of life, those who live on benches, those who sleep under bridges. It is an opportunity for us to cast a vote that will send aid, send assistance to those in Houston, Texas, and all across the area that has been devastated by this monster. It is a chance for us to help them.

But this is only a downpayment, only a downpayment. There must be much more. We need help in Houston posthaste, as is the case with other places around the country that have been devastated.

We need help for housing, not only for those who had homes before the monster hit, but also for those who didn't have homes who need to transition to a place that they can call home. If home is where the heart is, where is the heart of the homeless, people who sleep under bridges? Where is the heart of the homeless?

They have to be given a place that they can call home as well, which means, at some point, we have got to have dollars appropriated for the organizations that help those who live in the streets of life: the homeless. We have got to help them, too. If we can help those in the suites, we can help those in the streets.

I would also say to my colleagues: Please understand, people who are here and undocumented have needs, too. They live in places that are horrible. I have been in their homes. I have smelled the mold. I know what it is

like to see the conditions that they dwell in. It is time for us to put aside the politics that divide us from people who need help and help those people, too. Let's send some more money to the organizations that help them.

This is a moment in time. This is a seminal moment in time. It is time for us to step up and help everyone that is harmed, not be selective. If you are in this country and you are hurting, we ought to help you. God bless you.

I thank you, Madam Leader on my side, the ranking member. I thank you again, Mr. Chairman, and I beg that we do what we can to make sure every person in this country receives the help he or she deserves.

City of Houston,

Houston, TX, September 1, 2017.

Mr. Brock Long,

FEMA Administrator, Department of Homeland Security,

Washington, DC.

Dear Administrator Long: The City of Houston has

experienced a catastrophic event, Hurricane Harvey, and the

assistance of FEMA is critical to the recovery of our

families and community. We are requesting your expeditious

action on the following:

100% federal reimbursement for Categories A (debris

removal) & B (emergency protective measures) as was approved

for Katrina, Rita and Ike.

Advance funding for the Public Assistance program (all

categories of work)

We are seeking the initial advance funding of $300 million

of which $100 million will be used for immediate debris

removal.

As we get more accurate damage assessment estimates, our

goal is to secure total advance funding.

At least 15-20 Disaster Recovery Centers to be adequately

staffed throughout the City of Houston to expedite assistance

to individuals

Deploy 4-5 centers for each quadrant of the City

Provide adequate staffing to ensure that disaster survivors

are promptly assisted

Funding of up to $1.75 billion for a FEMA Sheltering and

Temporary Essential Power (STEP) or Rapid Repair program to

expedite the return of families to their homes and contribute

to a whole community recovery for approximately 50k homes.

We are seeking to increase the cap of this funding to up to

$35,000/home

100% advance funding and expedited processing for First

Responders who lost property in the line of duty.

The City of Houston wishes to serve as a pilot program for

the 100 Houston Fire Department and 200 Houston Police

Department personnel who had significant damage to their

homes and losses due to Hurricane Harvey. Many of these First

Responders are not insured.

The City of Houston will also be asking HUD for an

immediate release for CDBG-DR funds and seek FEMA support in

this request to compliment the recovery efforts. The

coordinated and timely release of funds will enable the City

of Houston to become more resilient and recover faster.

Thank you for your consideration of my requests.

Sincerely,

Mayor Sylvester Turner.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 502) providing for the concurrence by the House in the Senate amendments to H.R. 601, with an amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 502.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present H. Res. 502, a resolution making emergency appropriations to allow the Federal Government to continue the vital response and recovery efforts that are helping the hundreds of thousands of victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Our thoughts go out to all the people of Texas and Louisiana who are coping with the aftermath of this storm and its catastrophic flooding.

As one of the Nation's greatest national disasters continues to unfold before our eyes, this Congress must ensure that our Federal Government is able to meet the short and long-term needs of disaster victims.

I believe that every type of resource ought to be utilized to support rescue, relief, and recovery efforts. I want to reassure the people of Texas and Louisiana that we are there for them in their time of greatest need.

The House Appropriations Committee has already approved a $1 billion reprogramming request for FEMA last week, which has allowed the agency to continue to meet the most immediate needs in the region.

It has become clear that, in the face of a disaster of such magnitude, much more is needed to assist these states and local communities as they recover and rebuild.

Last Friday, we received the administration's initial request for supplemental funding for Hurricane Harvey. We are grateful for the speed of this request, and, recognizing the urgency of the situation, we brought this resolution to the floor today.

H. Res. 502 contains $7.4 billion for FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund, which will allow FEMA to continue its efforts related to Harvey as well as any additional disasters that may strike. H. Res. 502 also includes $450 million to support the Small Business Administration's disaster loan program that will help small businesses and homeowners come back from the disasters.

Working closely with the Texas and Louisiana members, the Appropriations Committee has done its due diligence to guarantee that this funding will make best use of taxpayers' dollars.

I want to thank all of our Federal agencies, first responders from around the Nation, the thousands of volunteers who immediately responded, and all those who have been working tirelessly to make sure that we meet the needs of the people of Texas and Louisiana.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Carter), the chairman of the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson), from the Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Farenthold).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance), my colleague, and I thank him for his assistance many years ago addressing the needs of the residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut during Superstorm Sandy.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

First of all, this morning we salute the courage of all Texans and people from Louisiana. We salute their courage and their resilience.

Once again, I want to thank all of our Federal agencies and, obviously, the Governor of Texas, the Governor of Louisiana, and all those agencies that have been meeting the needs of the people; and, again, the thousands of volunteers who immediately responded and who have been working tirelessly day in and day out to help hundreds of thousands of people affected by this storm and saved, I may say, countless lives.

They have fed and housed the displaced, met critical medical needs, provided transportation, and, most importantly, gave faith to those who have lost literally everything. These are American heroes who are showing the best side of our Nation, and we are grateful for their service.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Let's get the money out the door and help the people of Texas and Louisiana.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, to everyone in Texas and Louisiana who has suffered the loss of a loved one or the loss of everything they own in this catastrophic flood, we are here today to tell you that help is on the way and to say thank you.

Help is on the way because today, in the Congress, there are no Republicans, there are no Democrats. We are all Americans here today, unified in our determination to move swiftly to help all those poor people who have suffered so much as a result of this catastrophic storm.

It is an unparalleled disaster in our Nation's history. My district suffered. We all suffered, all of us in southeast Texas, southwest Louisiana.

My brother and his wife lost everything. Their home is still underwater. My in-laws lost everything. Their home was destroyed, everything they owned and loved, but they are just personal possessions.

No one lost their lives. I can't imagine if you lost a loved one in this catastrophe.

But help is on the way. We are all unified here today. We are all working together to make sure that we get this immediate infusion of cash into the Disaster Relief Fund to help these people who have suffered so much and been displaced so abruptly and so catastrophically.

I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for bringing this to the floor so quickly, thank our leadership for working together to get this done. I want to thank President Trump and his wife for personally donating $1 million to the relief fund for the victims of Hurricane Harvey. I want to thank, also, all of the first responders who sacrificed so much to save so many lives. I want to thank especially the people of America who stepped up to help the people of Houston.

I spent all of last week out in neighborhoods in boats and on trucks and in waders helping pull people and their property and their pets out of their homes.

Last Saturday, I ran into a group of guys, four guys, with a bass boat that drove all the way from Florida. They saw the catastrophe on television and said, ``We can either sit here and watch this or we can go help our fellow Americans,'' and they jumped in their truck and they drove that bass boat all the way to Texas to help us.

A guy from Michigan showed up in our neighborhoods just to help.

I want to thank my friend and my colleague, Congressman Garret Graves of Louisiana, who called me on the second day of the disaster and said: The Cajun Navy is on the way.

I said: What? I didn't know there was such a thing as the Cajun Navy.

Garret said: 110 trucks are on the way to Texas towing 100 boats loaded with thousands of meals of jambalaya and red beans and rice and diapers and water and radios and everything that you need to recover from a storm.

They just did it, our neighbors.

I have never been prouder to be an American, never been prouder to be a Texan or a Houstonian, to see people step up and help each other out of the goodness of their hearts, because we are Americans and we are the greatest nation in the history of civilization, and it is because we are all self-reliant. It is because we all look after each other as a community. We all love each other. We love our family, our God. We respect the law.

This great Nation that was founded on the rule of law is a bond that connects all of us, and we saw it in this disaster, and we thank you all from the bottom of our heart. Help is on the way.

Will the gentlewoman yield?

Today, we are all Americans, arm in arm.