**AUSTIN, TEXAS — **Forty-eight Texas House Democrats today sent a letter to Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, demanding no other legislation be passed, worked on, or considered until both adequate flood relief and disaster mitigation legislation are passed and signed by the Governor.
Kerr County and much of Central Texas are only beginning to rebuild after the tragedy, having lost 135 of their own to the floods. Many more have been displaced, missing homes and family members, unable to evacuate in time due to the utter lack of a timely warning system and proper disaster mitigation.
“Instead of prioritizing flood recovery and real solutions, Governor Abbott has filled the special session agenda with partisan distractions: criminalizing abortion, banning bathroom access, and redrawing voting maps to lock in power for himself and his allies. Texans are still picking up the pieces after historic flooding, but Abbott is letting Trump take over Texas, using our state as a testing ground for extreme, divisive politics,” says the letter from House Democrats. “He is more focused on playing political games than delivering the relief and support our communities desperately need.”
While flood relief was listed at the top of the calls for session, it has been buried in a sea of culture war legislation, including an abortion ban, THC ban, and a trans bathroom ban bill that will not help Texans put food on their tables, roofs over their heads, or rebuild their lives after disaster.
“There is no greater purpose of the government at this time,” the letter states, “Texas families are grieving their dead and Texas communities are hurting. We cannot bring back those lost, but we can stand with these families and shield our children and neighbors from future devastation—if we act with a singular purpose to protect life.
Read the full letter here.