(Houston, TX)—Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) led the Texas Democratic delegation in urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to quickly approve Texas’ request for a major disaster declaration.  This major disaster declaration would unlock federal funding as communities continue to mitigate the impact of this week’s winter storm and begin recovery from this week's winter storm.  Texas called for a major disaster designation earlier today.

Congresswoman Fletcher was joined by Representatives Colin Allred (TX-32), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Lloyd Doggett (TX-35), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15), Al Green (TX-09), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30) Marc Veasey (TX-33), and Filemón Vela (TX-34) in this letter.

“This week’s disaster has left Texans with lasting power outages and damage to our homes and businesses, as well as to our hospitals, critical infrastructure, and more,” said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher.  “We have much to do to recover from this week’s winter storm, which is why my colleagues and I are calling on FEMA to provide resources to help alleviate the effects of this storm as quickly as possible.  I was glad to lead our Texas delegation in sending this urgent request, and I will continue to do everything I can to help our communities get the critical support they need.”

“As members of the Texas Congressional Delegation, we will do all we can at a federal level to make sure a failure like this does not happen again.  But we look to FEMA to help us recover from this disaster in the weeks and months to come,” the members wrote to FEMA.   “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.”

They continue: “FEMA should be prepared to work with the State of Texas and be as flexible as possible should the state submit an expedited request for disaster assistance for the communities impacted by this winter weather and power outage. As these conditions continue, federal assistance from FEMA will be vital in ensuring that communities are able to repair damage and undertake crucial mitigation work.”

The full text of the members’ letter to FEMA can be found here.