Rep. Jackson Lee Calls for Harvey Aid of ‘Upwards of $200 Billion’

LUI: "I have to ask you this representative, because your city of Houston has been hit hard and we look at the latest real-time noaa satellite Ima — images of what is flooded and there is a big blob over Houston in terms of an area that noaa is considering, the national hurricane center. How are things going." 
LEE: "Well you are absolutely right. This morning I was out giving food to people who are at this point without food and water. Because they have been waterlogged, the water has gone down so we have not only areas that are under water, west Houston, Kingwood, and my other colleagues districts but we are well aware and we know that west Houston is needing a lot of help, as the areas who have now drained, north east Houston and I’m in northeast Houston now. We’re going to be going out and giving out food, what is happening is that people are drying out, but they have nothing. Because if you travel the — the breadth and distance of this county and city, everybody’s belongings what they did have is all out. The damage is so catastrophic that TVs and couches and rugs and personal belongings are out on the front. It is a painful scene to see. But it is even more painful that they don’t have water. They don’t have medical care. And they don’t have — and they don’t have food. The city and county are doing an excellent job as you well know. We have the convention center shelter that is set up early. I’ve been there since Sunday. NRG combining a lot of shelters there and so certainly the local leaders have done the emergency work. Now we have to deal with placing people, but more importantly we have to deal with people who were able to stay in place, who were still around areas where they can’t access the basic necessities. So that is why I think this request of which we emphasize, I’ll give you two points that I emphasize. One, replace the dam. Put in new dams and secure those dams and make them able to with stand the catastrophic incident of Hurricane Harvey. And then to support us in upwards of $200 billion in aid. We have $100 million that is coming. We have a crunch of $8 billion that is coming out. But I tried to make the point over and over again to the president that this obviously is a beginning that we think this damage across this landscape of those who have been in the eye of Hurricane Harvey is upwards of $200 billion."