Dick Durbin Urges Bipartisan And Bicameral Solidarity To Support Texas Flood Victims

In Senate floor remarks on Tuesday, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke about the central Texas floods.

Transcript

00:00Mr. President, summer camp is a great memory for so many of us.

00:05We think about the good times we had at the right moment in life with a lot of friends,

00:11learning the basics of swimming and archery and target shooting and other things,

00:16camping out, memories you carry for a lifetime.

00:20Wonderful memories.

00:21A rite of passage for many individuals and many families.

00:25A family tradition passed on to younger siblings and ultimately to our own children and grandchildren.

00:33So many images in our minds over the last several days after the tragedy that occurred in Central Texas.

00:41I know I speak for millions of Americans when I say we're heartbroken

00:44over the flash floods that devastated Central Texas this past weekend.

00:49Early Friday morning, while most were fast asleep, a foot of rain fell onto Texas hill country.

00:56This deluge flowed into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise by 26 feet in 45 minutes.

01:0526 feet in 45 minutes.

01:08Near the Guadalupe, a girls' sleepaway camp, Camp Mystic, which had been there for 99 years,

01:15was all but destroyed by the floods.

01:17Already, that camp has confirmed that 27 of their campers and counselors died in that flood.

01:2427.

01:26I send my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of those campers and counselors.

01:32Tragically, the flooding in Texas continues to take lives.

01:35More than 100 people have perished.

01:38That number is expected to grow, sadly, in the coming days.

01:41In the midst of this disaster, I'm heartened by the kindness and courage shown by the first responders and volunteers.

01:50Twenty separate agencies at every level of government have come together to help save lives.

01:56At Camp Mystic, counselors, many of whom had just graduated from high school,

02:00risked their own lives to save younger campers.

02:03We'll never forget that bravery.

02:07This disaster has impacted people of both political faith, Republicans and Democrats, and independents as well.

02:15I want to say this, and I say this on a reflection of my career in the House and the Senate.

02:22I have never, to my knowledge, never voted against disaster assistance for people in other states in my home state of Illinois.

02:30There but for the grace of God go my people that I represent.

02:34I would hope that the Senate and the House would stand together, Democrats and Republicans,

02:40and say we're going to be there for the victims of this disaster.

02:44I pray that we find the missing loved ones and that we take the necessary steps to stop another tragedy like this from occurring.