Washington, D.C. – Congressman Michael McCaul (Texas-10) joined Congressman Randy Weber (Texas-14) and a bipartisan Texas delegation in sending a letter to President Biden requesting the expedited approval of Individual Assistance (IA) under the FEMA program for Texans impacted by Hurricane Beryl. The letter was also signed by Representatives Brian Babin (Texas-36), Troy Nehls (Texas-22), Sylvia Garcia (Texas-29), Michael Cloud (Texas-27), Lizzie Fletcher (Texas-7), Al Green (Texas-9), Wesley Hunt (Texas-38), Morgan Luttrell (Texas-8), Dan Crenshaw (Texas-2), Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas-18), Lance Gooden (Texas-5), Kay Granger (Texas-12), Pete Sessions (Texas-17), August Pfluger (Texas-11), John Carter (Texas-31), Roger Williams (Texas-25), and Tony Gonzales (Texas-23). The full text of the letter can be found here or below. As members of the Texas congressional delegation, we write with an urgent plea to expedite approval of Texas’ request for Individual Assistance (IA) under the FEMA program. Specifically, our goal is to amplify the formal application provided to your Administration by acting Governor Patrick yesterday and underscore the speed by which is needed. Many residents in and around the Houston area have been without power for several days with heat indexes exceeding 100 degrees daily. They urgently need the resources FEMA can provide. We would be remiss not to express our appreciation for your major disaster declaration earlier this week (Tuesday, July 9, 2024) approving federal assistance in the form of Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) programs (targeted toward the mitigation of future disasters) and for Public Assistance (PA) to state and local governments. In our experience, these programs have been tremendously beneficial for the recovery of our communities in the aftermath of major disasters, such as the recent storm, Hurricane Beryl. More immediately, though, the vast majority of our constituents require Individual Assistance (IA), as they are more vulnerable—on an individual basis—in their respective homes, while their communities focus on the recovery and rehabilitation of their municipalities at large. As stated in acting Governor Patrick's letter (copy attached), Texans experienced damage from "storm surge, flooding, tropical storm force winds, and tornadoes followed by continued extreme heat and power outages, with over two million power outages at the peak." [emphasis added] Given the ongoing nature of the post-disaster recovery—particularly as residents attempt to deal with extreme heat while widespread power outages preclude the use of air conditioning—we write to underscore the urgency of Texas' request. Respectfully, we request the same speed of response that your Administration provided in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Beryl's landfall on Monday, July 8. ### |