In a separate letter on Friday, 18 of 23 Texas Republicans in the U.S. We urge you to grant this request to secure the health and safety of all Texans affected by this disaster.” John Cornyn and Ted Cruz wrote Biden on Friday urging approval of the governor’s request for aid “for all 254 Texas counties as a result of severe winter weather that began on February 11, 2021. Much of this damage will be exacerbated by a simultaneous economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that has already challenged local industries and governments,” they wrote Thursday. “Although we expect the extreme winter temperatures to wane, the long-term damage to our homes, businesses, municipal services and infrastructure, energy infrastructure, and agricultural and food systems cannot be overstated. Lizzie Fletcher of Houston, one of 13 Texas Democrats in Congress who jointly urged FEMA to approve the state’s request. “This is an important first step to getting the resources necessary to help our state recover and rebuild,” said Rep. The counties included in the major disaster declaration are Angelina, Aransas, Bastrop, Bee, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Brazoria, Brazos, Brown, Burleson, Caldwell, Calhoun, Cameron, Chambers, Collin, Comal, Comanche, Cooke, Coryell, Dallas, Denton, DeWitt, Ellis, Falls, Fort Bend, Galveston, Gillespie, Grimes, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Hays, Henderson, Hidalgo, Hood, Jasper, Jefferson, Johnson, Kaufman, Kendall, Lavaca, Liberty, Madison, Matagorda, Maverick, McLennan, Montague, Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Nueces, Orange, Palo Pinto, Panola, Parker, Polk, Rockwall, Sabine, San Jacinto, San Patricio, Scurry, Shelby, Smith, Stephens, Tarrant, Travis, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt, Victoria, Walker, Waller, Wharton, Wichita, Williamson, Wilson and Wise. Noting the security required for a presidential visit, he said, “what I don’t want to be is a burden.” The funds provided under the Major Disaster Declaration may provide crucial assistance to Texans as they begin to repair their homes and address property damage.”Īt the White House, Biden said Friday that he hopes to visit Texas sometime next week, though he didn’t specify where. “Texas will continue to work with our federal partners to ensure all eligible Texans have access to the relief they need. “I thank President Biden for his assistance as we respond to impacts of winter weather across our state,” Abbott said in a statement Saturday.
On Saturday, when the White House announced that Biden had approved the major disaster declaration for parts of Texas, aides and the Federal Emergency Management Agency offered no explanation for withholding the designation from the rest of the state. “The governor requested a federal disaster declaration, the president asked his team to expedite that and FEMA determined where the counties should be, where it should focus the immediate resources, where the counties that are hardest hit, so that they can make sure they get the people in most need,” Psaki said on ABC’s “This Week.”
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