[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 65 (Wednesday, April 27, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H2062-H2065]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SOLUTION TO FLOODING IN HOUSTON, TEXAS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 6, 2015, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al
Green) for 30 minutes.
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the date was April 14, 1970. The
mission was Apollo 13. The message was: Houston, we have a problem.
Mr. Speaker, that was a clarion call from a mission that was in
trouble. Tonight I ring and sound this clarion call from the people of
Houston, Texas, because we have some troubles. We have trouble that is
related to floodwaters in Houston, Texas, that inundated our city and
caused great harm and great damages.
Mr. Speaker, I am on a mission of mercy tonight, a mission of mercy
on behalf of my constituents in Houston, but also on behalf of all of
those in Houston and the immediate area.
I am on this mission of mercy, but I am not without a solution. We
have a solution to the flooding problem in Houston, Texas, and that
solution is H.R. 5025. It is a bill that will help to mitigate the
flood damages. It will not eliminate the flood damages in Houston,
Texas.
I am not sure that we can construct a system that will totally
eliminate all flood damages in Houston, Texas, but I am sure that we
can mitigate, that we can eliminate many, that we can do something
about the magnitude of the problem.
I am absolutely confident, Mr. Speaker, that my mother was correct
when she informed me that there will be times in life when you cannot
do enough. No matter what you do, you won't be able to do enough. But
she also went on to explain to me, Mr. Speaker, when you cannot do
enough and more needs to be done, you have a duty to do all that you
can.
I am here tonight to let this Congress know that we can do more to
help in Houston, Texas. We can do more to mitigate the flood damages
that we have in Houston, Texas.
Mr. Speaker, this bill, H.R. 5025, would accord $311 million. This
money would be for projects that have already been approved that are
related to flood control in Houston, projects that have not been
completed.
This bill would authorize this funding up to 2026. This bill is
needed in Houston, Texas, for many, many reasons. I shall share but a
few, then I will yield to a colleague, and then I will say more.
This bill is needed because it would not only mitigate the flood
damages, but it would also help us with jobs. For those who are
interested in jobs, this bill would create 6,220 jobs. The people who
acquire these jobs will pay taxes. These taxpayers will help us, in
turn, by helping with some of our fire, our police, and schools.
There are many ways that these tax dollars will be used, including a
good deal of them sent to Washington, D.C., to help others across the
length and breadth of our great country.
This bill will save lives. I will say more about that, and my
colleague may say something about this as well. But I think it is
important for us to note now that this bill will have a meaningful,
powerful, significant impact on Houston, Texas.
I am proud to tell you that this Congress has been helpful. We have
already accorded for one project $212 million, but we need $34 million
to complete the project. This is the Brays project in Houston, Texas.
We need $34 million more to complete it.
This project is in an area where we do get flooding, in the Meyerland
area. This project would help prevent homes from being flooded and cars
from being damaged. This is a great project.
We just need to finish the project. The project was authorized in
1990, and it is projected to be finished in 2021, Mr. Speaker. While I
do want to make sure we complete it, I do think it is taking us a bit
too long to complete the Brays project.
Mr. Speaker, the Golden Gate Bridge with all of its majesty only took
4 years, approximately, to complete. The Hoover Dam, a great monument
to what we can do to channel water and turn that water into electrical
power, only took 5 years to complete. For the Erie Canal, we didn't
have the advances in technology that we have today; yet, the Erie Canal
took 8 years to complete.
Mr. Speaker, I spoke of Apollo 13 just a moment ago. Well, it only
took us 8 years, Mr. Speaker, to place a person on the Moon. Surely,
Mr. Speaker, if we can place a person on the Moon in 8 years, we can
complete these projects in less than 30 years.
Mr. Speaker, I am honored at this time to yield to my colleague, who
is a cosponsor of this piece of legislation, who serves us well in the
Congress of the United States on the Energy and Commerce Committee, a
real stalwart when it comes to serving his constituents and standing up
for the people of our city, our county, our State and indeed our
country, the honorable Gene Green.
[[Page H2063]]
Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for
yielding to me, and I also thank him for last Friday, when I was able
to be in your district there along Brays Bayou in the Westbury area and
the Meyerland area and see it.
That happened in your district in southwest Houston, but it also
happened in north Houston and east Houston. It was not as much as some
of the tragedies in other parts of the county, but we have hundreds of
homes that have been flooded.
On April 18, the city of Houston in Harris County, Texas, was
subjected to paralyzing flooding that claimed the lives of our citizens
and required the rescue of 1,200 more. Approximately 2,000 housing
units were flooded, and we are currently working to figure out where to
house these folks who cannot return to their homes.
This is the second major flooding disaster Houston has experienced in
the last 6 months, and the city is expecting additional rain and
thunderstorms this week. Residents of our congressional districts, as
well my colleagues' member districts, have been severely affected, and
we must stop the needless loss of life.
The President has recognized the significance of the catastrophe and
fulfilled a request for disaster declaration. Now it is the job of
Congress to help our constituents.
I have worked closely with my neighbor and friend, Representative Al
Green, to introduce the Tax Day Flood Supplemental Funding Act. The
legislation would provide $311 million to the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers for construction and, in many cases, completion of our bayous
and flood control projects.
Flooding is not new in Houston, but we have learned how to control
it. Our bayou system has saved countless lives and millions of dollars
in damages since being created.
Unfortunately, due to the consistent budget pressure, the Army Corps
of Engineers cannot adequately fund these projects that need to be
finished. This bill would ensure that our Federal, State, and local
authorities have the resources necessary to expedite the flood control
projects we know protect people and property.
Additionally, I want to make sure folks on the ground have the
information they need to get back into their homes.
If residents are subject to flood damage, please report flood damage
by calling 311. Download the Houston 311 app and visit Houston311.org
to submit flood damage reports.
Residents must file an insurance claim with their home or their auto
insurance company for damages they have incurred.
Failure to file an insurance claim may affect your eligibility for
the Federal assistance because, by law, FEMA cannot provide money for
losses that are covered by insurance.
Also, it is important to know that, if Spanish-speaking households
have children that are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, FEMA
will assist you.
Before submitting your application, folks should have the following
information ready: their Social Security number, their home and auto
insurance information, flood damage information, personal financial
information, and personal contact information.
You can apply by phone for FEMA assistance. You can call 1-800-621-
3362. Again, that is 1-800-261-FEMA, 1-800-621-3362.
FEMA can offer two types of assistance: housing assistance, temporary
housing, money to help repair or replace your primary residence.
Nonhousing needs include medical, dental, funeral costs, clothing,
household items, tools, home fuel, disaster-related moving and storage
and replacement of disaster-damaged vehicles.
After 24 hours, you need to follow up with FEMA. A FEMA inspector
should contact you within 10 to 14 days.
{time} 2000
Mr. Speaker, we can help the victims in our neighborhoods, and we
must help them. I urge this body to pass this emergency funding
legislation so we won't have this tragedy again while we are trying to
get people out of the water and back into their homes and back into a
regular life.
Again, I want to thank my colleague for having this Special Order
tonight. Again, our office and all our congressional offices who are
impacted across Houston--whether they be Republican or Democrat--are
here to serve you and serve our constituents. I thank my colleague.
Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for sharing
the time with us tonight. I especially thank him for coming in to the
Ninth Congressional District, his neighboring district, and being of
assistance to my constituents because, as we do this, we really assist
each other.
I would want to, if I may, magnify, amplify what the gentleman said
about this not being partisan. That wasn't his exact terminology, but
this really is not a partisan effort. This is something that impacts
people. Democrats and Republicans have been impacted by these storms.
Rich and poor alike have been impacted by these storms. It doesn't
matter what your gender is. It doesn't matter what your nationality is.
If you have been in Houston, Texas, when these storms have hit, you
have been impacted by these storms.
Tonight, Mr. Speaker, I do think it is appropriate that we say more
about these storms to give some indication as to what we have to cope
with in Houston, Texas. Houston, we do have a problem, but, again, we
also have a solution, H.R. 5025.
So let's say just a bit more about the problem. Let's talk about the
damages in terms of cost. In 2015, we had the Memorial Day flood, and
in 2016, we had the tax day flood. I am going to compare the two, and
in so doing, you can see not only do we have damages occasionally, it
appears that we are starting to have these damages quite regularly.
The damages and costs for the 2015 Memorial Day flood: Approximately
$3 billion in damages. Mind you now, this bill will cost $311 million.
We had $3 billion in damages just for the Memorial Day flood alone in
2015. A billion is still 1,000 million--1,000 million. So we had 3,000
million dollars' worth of damages from this Memorial Day flood in 2015.
The tax day flood of 2016 brought us $5 billion as an estimate of
damages. $5 billion. All of these are estimates. Nobody knows the exact
number. There was $5 billion in 2016, another $3 billion in 2015. That
is $8 billion. Mr. Speaker, the $8 billion happens to be about 25
times--25.72 times--the $311 million.
The point is, why don't we spend the money upfront?
You have heard the phrase ``pay me now or pay me later.''
Why not pay the cost to prevent some of this flooding as opposed to
the cost of repairs after the floods have taken place?
It is interesting to note that these appropriation dollars that we
are talking about are going to be spent. These are not dollars that
will never be spent on these projects in Houston. What we are trying to
do is not allow the projects to be prolonged such that other things are
impacted in our city. We want the projects to be completed as
expeditiously as possible, and there will be many more reasons why I
will call that to your attention in just a moment.
One will be deaths. With the Memorial Day flood, our research
indicates that approximately four people were killed. Four people lost
their lives in floodwaters or as a result of flooding. In 2016, with
the tax day flood, that number doubled to eight people losing their
lives.
We have an opportunity to do something to save lives. There are other
things that can be done to help us save lives as well, but these
things, working with these projects that the Corps of Engineers already
has on its docket, has on its agenda, is working on, finishing these
projects can indeed help us to save lives.
Let's talk about the rainfall so that you can get some sense of how
much water inundates our city. In 2015, we had 11 inches of rain. That
is a lot. In 2016, we had 17 inches of rain. In 2016, that amounted to
about 240 billion gallons of rain. That is a lot of water in one place
at one time.
The rescues. My colleague alluded to people being rescued. In 2015,
we had 531 water rescues. In 2016, 1,200 high-water rescues took place.
This is a good point for me, Mr. Speaker, a good place for me to
commend the newly elected mayor of Houston, Texas, the Honorable
Sylvester
[[Page H2064]]
Turner, who is doing an outstanding job, a stellar job. He just arrived
on the job, but he has really done well with the circumstances that he
has had to deal with, so I commend him.
I also would like to mention now the homes that have been damaged. In
2015, the estimate is that about 6,000 homes were damaged with the
Memorial Day flood. With the flood in 2016, the tax day flood--called
tax day because it was the last day to file your income taxes. In 2016,
on tax day, we had 6,700. Seven hundred more homes approximately were
estimated in 2016 than in 2015. As you can see, we have a problem in
Houston.
Well, let's talk about vehicular damage. In Houston in 2015, the
Memorial Day flood, we had about 10,000 vehicles damaged. 10,000.
Imagine being on your way home and you have this water to inundate the
city. That means that you cannot continue to traverse the city. You
have to take shelter. You have to stop. You try to get your water into
a place wherein you have high terrain. Unfortunately in Houston, most
places are at sea level and a good many are below sea level. As a
result, when we have these types of conditions, we will have damages
that will occur, and many cars will be a part of these damages.
In 2015, approximately 10,000 vehicles. In 2016, approximately 40,000
vehicles damaged. In 2016, 40,000 vehicles. Now, if it takes about
$10,000 per vehicle to repair these vehicles or to replace the
vehicles, $10,000 per vehicle, that is approximately, in a hypothetical
sense, $40 million. So the cost, Mr. Speaker, for vehicle repairs alone
exceeds the amount that we need for the bill to take preventive
measures such that we won't get as many cars in this condition. I say
as many simply because I will reiterate what I said earlier, we will
never eliminate all of the flooding. We can never do enough, but we do
have a duty to do all that we can. We can spare a good many people from
being stranded in vehicles; a good many who lose their lives, I might
add, as well.
Loss of power, meaning electrical power. In 2015, we had 88,000
customers lose power. That is a lot. 88,000 people without power.
Surely we have had more than this in many other places. I am not saying
that this loss of power would in any way compare to some of our other
circumstances that we have had to cope with in different places in our
country, but I do want you to know that this happens whenever we have
these conditions. So year after year after year, the number adds up
because while we had 88,000 customers in 2015, in 2016 we had 123,000
people lose power. We had 88,000 the year earlier; 123,000 this year.
It adds up.
Houston has a problem, but Houston has a solution. The solution is
H.R. 5025, a bill that would accord $311 million to complete projects
that are already being worked on in Houston, Texas, money that is
already going to be spent by virtue of the projects having been
appropriated.
So we have to do this. Why not do this now or as quickly as we can,
save lives, save money, and create jobs?
Let's now talk about FEMA assistance. On the Memorial Day flood of
2015, $57 million was paid out from FEMA to persons who suffered flood
damages. For the tax day flood, we have yet to determine this because
we are still in the process of getting FEMA into the city to assist us.
If I may say so, I want to thank the President of the United States
of America, the Honorable Barack Obama. I want to thank the Governor of
the State of Texas. I thank the Governor for immediately responding and
asking the President to declare certain areas in the State of Texas
disaster areas.
The Houston area has been declared a disaster area. Harris County is
one of the areas so declared. Harris County happens to be, for the most
part, within Houston, Texas. Houston is over 600 square miles. It
literally almost consumes Harris County.
So we have to realize that the Governor did a great thing, in my
opinion. He is a Republican, by the way. And the President did a great
thing, in my opinion. He is a Democrat, for edification purposes. These
two people--one Republican, one Democrat--worked to make sure that we
get FEMA in, that we get all of the aid that we can into the area as
quickly as we can so that people can receive assistance.
There are people who are going to need shelter. It is estimated that
out in the Greenspoint area--this is the area where my colleague,
Sheila Jackson Lee, happens to be the representative from--1,800
apartments have flood damages. 1,800. We have got some 400 workers at
the time I received this intelligence out there helping to make
repairs. These workers are going to be paid for the jobs that they are
doing. That is additional cost.
We had more than 150 families who needed accommodations. They will
need these accommodations for perhaps as much as 3 weeks. This could
end up costing us an additional $150,000. These are all costs that we
can mitigate, that we can reduce. We may not eliminate them, but we can
reduce these costs.
In the Meyerland area, this is an area that was hit hard when we had
the Memorial Day flood, and now when we had this tax day flood--we are
talking about within a year--we have people who are just moving back
into their homes--just moving back into their homes--and they are
flooded again.
This area and the people of this area have sent out a clarion call
for help. They have sent the hew and cry not only to the Congress, but
also to the Corps of Engineers, also to the county commissioners. They
want the city council, the State to do something about this problem.
Houston has a problem, but Houston has a solution. H.R. 5025 is that
solution.
In that Meyerland area that I am speaking of there lives a family,
the Tice family. I want to express my gratitude to the Tice family
because when we set out to visit with people in the area and call these
problems to the attention on a city-wide basis by publishing these
problems, that Tice family opened the doors of their home to us so that
we could come in and meet at their home. They didn't have to do it, but
I am appreciative that they opened the doors of their home. I am
especially appreciative as it relates to this family, Mr. Speaker,
because this family, the Tice family, has a son who is being held
captive in Syria as I speak. This family is suffering the problems
associated with somebody that they love dearly, their son being held
captive in Syria, and they get flooded. Fortunately, this time they
barely escaped, but they had to do mitigation. They had to raise their
floors. They had to do things so that they would not get flooded.
I am calling on us in the Congress to please, let's help the many
families who will suffer again. This is not going to be the last time
that I will come to the floor with this bill if we don't get the help
this time. I assure you that within the foreseeable future, we will
have a similar circumstance.
How do you know, Al Green? How do you know you are going to have a
similar circumstance?
Well, I know because between 1996 and 2014, we had 86 days of
flooding and/or flash flooding in Houston, Harris County. That averages
to four to five days of flooding each year. This is not--N-O-T--this is
not a problem that is going away.
We can resolve it this time with H.R. 5025 or I will be back to the
floor, and I will be calling this problem to our attention again; we
will be talking about more damages to homes; we will be talking about
cars that have been flooded and in need of repair; and we will be
talking about, unfortunately--and I pray that I am entirely wrong--we
will be talking about lives that have been lost; and we will be talking
about how we could have then, how we could have now, how we could have
done things to avoid some of these consequences.
{time} 2015
These consequences can be mitigated, and it is up to us to take the
affirmative action to do so.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to thank the cosponsors of this
legislation, H.R. 5025. Many have signed onto it. I think that, in a
few short days, we have nearly 50 cosponsors, and we will be asking
others to sign on to H.R. 5025.
In thanking the leadership, I am asking that we have an opportunity
to, please, let us, at some point, either
[[Page H2065]]
bring the bill to the floor or let us incorporate it into some of the
supplemental relief that we will be according persons in the immediate
future.
Houston has a problem, but H.R. 5025 can be a great part of the
solution.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
____________________