Texas Democratic Representatives Sylvia Garcia and Sheila Jackson Lee, as well as New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, spoke at a news conference in front of the Houston Food Bank where they said they plan to help Texans affected by the winter storm.
Ocasio-Cortez raised money before the visit and said 100% of the funds will go to five to ten organizations to help jeans affected by the winter storm.
“You know, when a disaster strikes, that’s not just a problem for jeans, it’s a problem for our entire country,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “As mentioned above, disasters do not affect everyone equally when there are already so many families in the state and across the country who are on the edge, who can’t even afford an emergency.”
“You know, we really have to make sure we get food and help from people all over the state, as mentioned here, at the Houston Food Bank, no questions asked,” Ocasio-Cortez said. .
“This is the spirit of New York, this is the spirit of Texas and this is the American spirit,” he added.
Garcia said she was happy that Ocasio-Cortez was there to help the jeans. He also said he believed state leaders should have responded better and said there should be network-independent investigation.
“(Disasters) hurt even more vulnerable populations,” Garcia, who spoke first, said during the press conference. “My district was totally in the dark. And I know people are still hurting today … we have repairs to do.”
“And now there’s help with my good friend, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, she texted me and said,‘ I want to do something, so I immediately said, ‘Do what you do include the Houston Food Bank, “he said.” You know, we’re from Texas, right? Who does things with New York? We always make fun of New York. But this time we love New York. “
Garcia also called for accountability to investigate how the jeans were so affected by the disaster.
“We’re not here to do anything but talk to people,” Garcia added. “The response could have been better on the part of our state leadership. It could have been better in preparation, and better, intensified and it would have been better to do an independent and thorough investigation into why this incident happened, why they didn’t resist the weather. , why they were not prepared, what they will do and make sure they do so in a transparent, fair and equitable manner. ”
He added: “There will have to be reforms with ERCOT and I urge the legislature to do so. And then it should include whether or not to join the federal network. I think everything should be on the table, Texas didn’t want to happen again. They want to be held accountable. “
ERCOT, as it is commonly known, is the state power network of Texas: the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
Jackson Lee said she was worried about her constituents when they received calls from people, including children, who were afraid of dying overnight from freezing temperatures.
“This leaves me in an unspeakable and emotional moment,” he said.
SEE the comments of the representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: