e-Newsletter: Week of July 13th
Good Afternoon,
Texas has seen all types of extreme weather, but every time a natural disaster strikes Texans come together to help one another. In the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, Texans across the state and Americans across the country are stepping up to help those impacted. My team and I have been working with local officials to ensure communities in Houston, East Texas, and throughout the Coastal Bend have the resources they need to deal with and recover from the storm. This week, I have been traveling non-stop along Texas’ Gulf Coast meeting with local officials and emergency responders as we work together to aid communities hit by Beryl.
After I traveled to Washington, D.C. for the week’s session period, I continued fighting for Texans. John Cornyn and I, along with a few of our House-side colleagues, held a frank call with CenterPoint Energy to discuss continued electric outages for hundreds of thousands of their customers. Houstonians deserve better than the continued outages they are experiencing.
My hometown of Houston was hit tremendously hard by Hurricane Beryl, and sadly several Houstonians lost their lives due to this storm. Amid this utter tragedy, there is one thing I know for certain—Texans are strong and we will rebuild together. I joined Houston Mayor John Whitmire, Rep. Al Green, and local officials at the Emergency Management Center where we held a press conference encouraging Texans to stay home and stay safe.
“For [the Houstonians who lost their lives], we grieve for them and we pray for their families. We pray … especially for the family of the Houston Police Department civilian employee who lost his life today [while] stepping forward to serve his community. … We're grateful for the professionalism of this team [and] we will work hand-in-hand, as we have repeatedly for years, with city officials, county officials, [and] state officials to ensure that federal resources are made available to help with the rebuild. The rebuild is going to be significant. There was real damage, but the good news is for Houston is this ain't our first rodeo. … We will rebuild, because we are Houston strong.”
I met with officers from the Jamaica Beach Police Department to thank them for working around the clock to keep our community safe in the aftermath of Beryl. I also sat down with local leaders to discuss the fastest path to rebuilding the island together.
“[While in Jamaica Beach, I visited] with a woman who was in her home when a tornado struck the house and pulled the roof off. She called 911, and in less than a minute, the Jamaica Beach police were there and got her out of her home. Now, that's terrifying to be in your home and have the roof pulled off. I went and saw [her home and] the tornado had thrown [the roof] across the street, about 100 yards away from the house.”
I also traveled to the Galveston County Emergency Management Center to meet with Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and local county officials to assess the situation on the ground. We held a press conference addressing the immediate importance of Lt. Gov. Patrick’s federal disaster declaration to ensure federal resources are made available to support the rebuilding of Texas’ Gulf Coast.
“One of the incredible things about Texans is that when we face a crisis, when we face a disaster, we come together. ... When there is a crisis there are no Republicans or Democrats [and] there are no racial or ethnic differences. It is just Texans helping Texans, and that's an amazing thing. … John Cornyn and I, [along with] the entire federal delegation, are supporting the state in having that disaster declaration issued immediately. The next step is working hand-in-hand with the state officials, the county judge, and the local officials to make sure those federal resources are there for the process of rebuilding. Rebuilding takes time, but at this point, our teams have had a lot of experience expediting these resources to come in and help Texans stand up. The good thing is, that Texans are resilient people. Galveston will rebuild. All of the Gulf Coast will rebuild. And we'll do it together.”
As we continued to assess Beryl's damage, I stopped by the hardworking men and women at the Brazoria County Emergency Operations Center. They are doing everything they can to make sure their county is prepared to deal with the recovery and I am committed to helping them every step of the way.
Last month in Houston, 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray was sexually assaulted and murdered by two illegal aliens who were out roaming free because of Joe Biden. The tragic death of this innocent girl was entirely preventable. I teamed up with Rep. Troy Nehls to introduce the Justice for Jocelyn Act to require every ICE detention bed be filled before an illegal alien can be released into the interior. If an illegal alien is released, they must be tracked by continuous GPS monitoring to keep innocent Americans safe from these extreme acts of violence. I spent time with Jocelyn’s mother and grandfather this past weekend, coming up with these mechanisms to prevent any family from ever having to endure this pain.
“No parent, no grandparent, should have to experience what happened to that little girl. It is unspeakable, and it's evil. What's so frustrating is it [was entirely] preventable. This didn't have to happen. This horrific murder [occurred because] two illegal immigrants that the Biden administration had apprehended and had in custody [were] let go. When they let them go [these two illegal immigrants] came to Houston. Within weeks, they assaulted and murdered that beautiful young girl. The Justice for Jocelyn Act prevents the federal government from doing that. … I think that's common sense, and I hope we can pass this legislation to really stand up, number one, to provide justice for Jocelyn, but number two, to protect the next little girl [or] little boy who could become the victim today or tomorrow.”
READ: Sen. Cruz, Rep. Nehls Introduce the Justice for Jocelyn Act
Rest assured, as Texans we always come together to help one another. God Bless!
Keep Texas Strong,
MORE FROM SEN. CRUZ:
READ: Continuing to Push for Solutions on the Rio Grande
ICYMI: Democrats Block Arms for Israel, Put Americans in Harm’s Way to Aid Hamas
READ: New bill honoring Jocelyn Nungaray would enforce detention, tracking of illegal migrants
ICYMI: Senate Judiciary Committee Votes Against Sarah Netburn Nomination as Sen. Cruz Reveals Consequences of Her Decision to House Biological Male Serial Rapist in Women’s Prison
