ICYMI: Sen. Cruz Celebrates Ribbon-Cutting for Packery Channel Restoration Project

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) participated in a press conference yesterday to celebrate the completion of the Packery Channel restoration project. The Packery Channel suffered damage from Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and since then, Sen. Cruz has worked with the City of Corpus Christi and federal agencies FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers to ensure the Packery Channel had the resources to make necessary repairs.

During the press conference, Sen. Cruz said, “We had a completely unified team at the federal level, at the state level, at the local level, and at the county level. Everyone worked hand in hand, and we're all aware when it comes to government sometimes there's bureaucracy [and] sometimes it moves slowly. We’re here seven years after Harvey, instead of two years after Harvey. So, there's frustration there, but … there are a lot of men and women here who worked really hard to get us to this point.

“I can tell you, my office and I, Rep. Michael Cloud, and Sen. John Cornyn … worked hand in hand with the leaders here to get it done. The Packery Channel looks fantastic, and Corpus Christi, as we predicted in the wake of the hurricane, is stronger and more beautiful than ever. I could not be more encouraged about the future of Corpus Christi, … and the great state of Texas.”

BACKGROUND

Seven years after the mass destruction caused by Hurricane Harvey, Sen. Cruz continues to fight to rebuild Southeast Texas:

• In 2023, Sen. Cruz sent a letter to the Regional Administrator of FEMA responsible for coordinating emergency management and disaster response efforts in the southwestern states. In the letter Sen. Cruz expressed his strong support for the City of Corpus Christi’s appeal following FEMA’s rejection of additional funding for the Packery Channel Restoration Project. The restoration project to repair the man-made tidal inlet plays a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance of the local coastal environment and supporting economic activity across Texas.
• In 2022, Sen. Cruz sent a letter to Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Marcia Fudge expressing concern over HUD’s disapproval of the Texas General Land Office’s (GLO) Action Plan Amendment and the delay in Community Development Block Grant Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funding to communities affected by Hurricane Harvey and other natural disasters.
• In 2019, the Senate passed Sen. Cruz’s legislation requiring the HUD to publish federal rules allocating $4.3 billion in Community Development Block Grants - Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding to expedite disaster recovery funding for Hurricane Harvey within 90 days.
• In 2018, Sen. Cruz revised disaster relief legislation to increase funding from $81 billion to $89.3 billion and included $8 billion in more funding available for Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts.
• In 2018, Sen. Cruz issued a statement of support for the Department of Education allocating $174.2 million in federal funds to Texas to cover the cost of educating students who were displaced by Hurricane Harvey.
• In the wake of Hurricane Harvey's devastation, Sen. Cruz ensured his legislative language to provide $5.5 billion in targetedtax relief to Harvey's victims was included in disaster relief legislation in 2017.
• In 2017, Sen. Cruz secured more than $50 billion in emergency funding for storm victims.

Sen. Cruz successfully secured several key provisions for the Lone Star State in the 2022 Water Resource Development Act:

• Sen. Cruz played a pivotal role in authorizing the City of Corpus Christi’s 7001 proposal to change the Packery Channel project’s purpose, clarifying that FEMA is responsible for any damage caused by natural disasters.
• Sen. Cruz pushed for the Coastal Texas Resiliency Improvement Plan to be included in the 2022 Water Resources Development Act.
• Sen. Cruz secured a provision in the bill asking the Army Corps to release certain easements in Nueces County, Texas, allowing the Coastal Texas Resiliency Improvement Plan to move forward.
• Sen. Cruz successfully added a provision to the bill directing the Secretary of the Army to convey the vacated USACE-Galveston District Regional Office in Corpus Christi to the Port of Corpus Christi.
• Sen. Cruz also gained support to add a provision to the bill requiring the Secretary of the Army to expedite its environmental impact review of the Sabine-Neches Waterway Navigation Improvement Project.
• Sen. Cruz ensured that legislative language in the FY23 NDAA would grant non-federal sponsors financing portions of Army Corps water reservoir projects the same financing flexibility that exists for other Army Corps projects.
• Sen. Cruz successfully pushed for a provision authorizing the Army Corps to study flood mitigation concepts in the Lower Clear Creek Watershed and Dickinson Bayou to be included in the 2022 Water Resources Development Act.

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