Thursday, February 18, 2021

Democrats v. Republicans

Sheila Jackson Lee (D), a U.S. Representative from Texas, came to Houston in person to speak at a press conference held by the Mayor of Houston:

Thank you very much, Mayor. The task of a member of Congress is to work closely with their local officials, the Mayor and the County judge. The Mayor and I met yesterday and he tasked me with a few assignments that I had been working on. And I wanted to thank him very much for this ongoing leadership and really want to take the time to thank Chief Acevedo, Chief Peña, all of them have been getting individual calls from all of us about, Mayor, our constituents stuck in their homes.

I think it’s important to give a little color to individuals, the senior that fell down in the dark, broke his leg, seniors who had to be taken out by ambulance last evening, freezing. These are all city services, OME staff, CenterPoint, and of course public work. So it’s my task of course to say thank you. My district happens to lay on top of the city. And so we say 1.3 million, a whole lot of those individuals are in the 18th congressional district from Fallbrook to Veterans Memorial Spring, all the way to our inner city areas like Third Ward, Fifth Ward, Acres Homes, Southeast parts and beyond, a lot of seniors-

… southeast parts and beyond. A lot of senior citizens, we get calls about blankets. So we’re really in a desperate set of circumstances. In the last two days, I have met by phone with the United States Department of Energy, and they are now working for the requests that we have made, Mayor, on behalf of the city. And I’d like to give a report as to where we are. First of all, I think it’s important to note that the Mayor is correct, this infrastructure belongs to the state. The U.S. Department of Energy, because we deregulated some years ago, energy is less controlled by the government. When I say that, the federal government, because of deregulation. I asked them why our state seemed to be the most devastated because their surrounding states that have similar weather conditions that may be doing a little bit better.

One of the issues is that the Mayor presides over one of the largest cities in the nation. We are urban and rural, and so we’re dense. And what has been discerned by the U.S. Department of Energy is one of the problems is that our system is an isolated system. Texas never worked to inter-mingle with surrounding states, so it makes it very difficult for surrounding states to help us because we have very few sites to receive the information. They have indicated that they’re going to help me legislatively, that’s down the road, I know we can’t deal with that now, to get huge funding to redo what we don’t have. We don’t have, it’s almost like, if I might, you’ve got five cars and you’ve got a one car garage and you can’t get your five cars into a one car garage. So we do not have the sites to receive this. But what we have begun to do, and I need to have an explanation from ERCOT, because I don’t think they have given this information, I don’t know if Center Point has it, have given this information to local authorities. Based on my request yesterday for them to go out hunting for resources, they have asked the Southwest Power Administration that falls under the Department of Energy to extend us power. They have sent us hydro power. They have already sent that power to the state. I think it is important for ERCOT to let us know where that power is being used. I’ve asked them to continue, they are now going back to do as I asked, which is, they’re going to go to New York, they’re going to go to California, and try to see whether or not we can get any sources between now and then. Obviously, the distributors have to be involved as well, but the federal government is now asking New York and California if they can help us.

I even asked Mexico, but Mexico is in dire straits right now, because they didn’t get the natural gas that they needed to get. My good friends at Center Point, I’m not sure whether they can reach there and maybe they’ll respond. We’ll talk offline. New Mexico is also a viable entity in terms of some of our distribution companies. But, Mayor, I will say to you that we are pushing them as hard as we can to see whether or not we can get any swaps, any loans, that’s my terminology, that can get in here for the next couple of days. My concern is that we thought we’d be finished by Wednesday, but I understand that the weather reports suggest that we may be going into Thursday. If that’s the case, then we need to have an additional resource.

Let me conclude by indicating all of our hearts are broken by the lives that have been lost. Carbon monoxide, fires, they’re all around. Grandmothers, children, it’s very painful, and seniors who are by themselves who need help as well. I just hope to encourage all of those who are able to hear, those who are able to help, to check on our seniors and people with special needs and to inform people that cars and garage tragically probably don’t work, and tragically we just beg people. I called churches this morning. I know the Mayor’s been calling churches. They’re out of power. So they can’t even open their sites for us. But I beg people to be very careful with their fireplaces, their cars, and certainly to check on seniors. I’ve had homeowners offer their homes to be able to open them up to a variety of people. That’s what Houstonians are all about.

I do want to, again, give the address of 16605, which I gave to the Mayor and the city, Air Center Boulevard. That warming center has showers, hot showers for men and women. They have hot food. They have 100 cots, and maybe in the daytime, you could utilize the daytime and get warmed up. Get your children warmed up. They have space, 115,000 square feet, and if you can carefully get there, they’re ready now to receive you. And I hope that people who are freezing in their homes may take a moment, I know the cold weather is coming, and they may take a moment to take advantage of that particular center. With that in mind, Mayor, thank you. We will continue to reach out and see what we can get. They will be reporting back to me on those two states, and Southwest has already given hydro-power to the state right now. The question is where that utilization is. It needs to be down here in Houston, Texas.

Ted Cruz, my U.S. Senator, went to Cancun (I don't think the aiports in Houston are open yet, so I'm assuming he flew out of D.C.).  Dan Crenshaw, who is my U.S. Representative (sad to say), is doing no more for his district than trying to own the libs.

I can't even speak to how useless Gov. Absent has been.

I’m sure we need a two-party system. I don’t see why the other party needs to be these idiots.

Silence speaks volumes.
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