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HOUSTON (AP) – President Joe Biden heard firsthand from Texans stricken by this month’s brutal winter conditions on Friday and pledged to stay with them “for the long haul” as he made his maiden trip to the United States. a major disaster area since taking office.
Biden was briefed by emergency officials and thanked the workers for doing “God’s work.” He has vowed the federal government will be there for Texans as they attempt to recover, not only from the historic storm, but also from public health and the economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
“When a crisis hits our states, like the one that hit Texas, it’s not a Republican or a Democrat who suffers,” Biden said. “It is our fellow Americans who are suffering and it is our job to help all who need it.”
With tens of thousands of residents in the Houston area without clean water, local officials told Biden many are still struggling. While briefed, First Lady Jill Biden joined a volunteer assembly line packing boxes of quick oats, juice and other foods at the Houston Food Bank, where he later arrived.
The president’s first stop was the Harris County Emergency Operations Center for a briefing from Acting FEMA Administrator Bob Fenton and state and local emergency management officials.
Texas was particularly affected by the Valentine’s Day weekend storm that hit several states. Unusually freezing conditions resulted in widespread power outages and frozen pipes that burst and flooded homes. Millions of people have lost heat and running water.
At least 40 people in Texas have died from the storm and, although the weather has returned to more normal temperatures, over a million residents have still been ordered to boil water before drinking it.
“The President has told us very clearly that in crises like this it is our duty to organize swift and competent federal support to American citizens, and we must make sure that bureaucracy and politics do not stand in the way. “Homeland Security said. Councilor Liz Sherwood-Randall, who accompanied Biden to Houston.
Biden was joined for much of his visit by Governor Greg Abbott and Senator John Cornyn, both Republicans, four Democratic members of Congress from the Houston area and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, and County Judge by Harris, Lina Hidalgo.
The president also stopped by a mass coronavirus vaccination center at NRG Stadium, run by the federal government. Biden commemorated the 50 millionth COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday since taking office, halfway to his goal of 100 million shots by his 100th day in office. This celebration followed a moment of silence to mark the passage at the beginning of the week of 500,000 deaths in the United States attributed to the disease.
Democrat Biden suggested he and Republicans Abbott and Cornyn could find a common cause to get Americans vaccinated as quickly as possible.
“We don’t agree on a lot of things,” Biden said. “There is nothing wrong with that, but there is a lot that we can work on together. And one of them is pictured right here today, the effort to speed up vaccinations.
The other US Senator from Texas, Ted Cruz, an ally of former President Donald Trump and one of the few GOP lawmakers who opposed Congress certifying Biden’s victory, was in Florida on Friday for address the Conservative Political Action Conference.
Cruz, who was criticized for taking his family to Cancun, Mexico as millions of Texans trembled in unheated homes, later said the trip was a mistake, but he shed light on the controversy Friday. “Orlando is awesome,” he laughs and hoots. “It’s not as beautiful as Cancun. But it’s good.
At the height of the storm, more than 1.4 million residents were without power and 3.5 million were under boil water advisories in Harris County in Houston, the country’s third largest county.
The post-storm debate in Texas has focused on the state’s maintenance of its own power grid and its lack of better storm preparedness, including weathering of key infrastructure. Some state officials initially blamed the power outages on renewables, even though Texas relies heavily on oil and gas.
In Washington, Biden’s climate adviser said the deadly winter storm was a “wake-up call” for the United States to build energy systems capable of withstanding the extreme weather conditions associated with climate change.
“We need reliable and resilient energy systems,” Gina McCarthy said in an interview with the Associated Press.
The White House said Biden’s purpose during his visit was to support, not scold.
Biden was determined to ask Texans “what do you need, how can I help you more,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. “And what more can we get from the federal government?”
Biden declared a major disaster in Texas and asked federal agencies to identify additional resources to help with the recovery. The Federal Emergency Management Agency sent emergency generators, bottled water, prepared meals and blankets.
Galveston County Judge Mark Henry said in an interview that he was unsure of what more the federal government could do to help because the failures were at the state level. But Henry, a Republican who is the highest county official in suburban Houston County, said if Biden “thinks it’s important to visit, then get off.
Biden wanted to make the trip last week, but said at the time he held back because he didn’t want his presence and those around him to interfere with the recovery effort.
Houston was also the destination of Trump’s first presidential visit to a disaster area in 2017 after Hurricane Harvey caused catastrophic flooding in August.
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Associated Press editors Juan Lozano in Houston, Aamer Madhani in Chicago, and Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller in Washington contributed reporting.
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